Introduction
The nation-state is a means by which the political arena and the cultures of a specific nation are merged to develop one solid solution. This solid solution is having a regulated culture, economic life and even political adventure within the nation’s boundaries. The nation-state slogan is one slogan that is sweet to achieve but hard to achieve. However, this depends on the status of the nation and the number of cultures the nation holds (Domosh 2010). There are well defined reasons why nation-state objective is barely achieved by the nations. Besides there are also factors that slightly support the well-being of the nation-state status of a nation. In this paper, we are going to identify and discuss the factors for and against nation-state success and determine the factors that dominate. In this case, we are going to identify the differences in reasoning between the information in the book The Human Mosaic and other supportive materials.
The nation-states has some of the most encouraging objectives that any leadership or citizenship of a country would love to embrace. Citing many developed countries, they have input many strategies to ensure that they try to sage-guard their cultural divergence and differences. This however has been dependent on some factors like the size of the different ethnic minorities among others (Ietto-Gillies 2012). To be precise, the major means of creating a nation-state is ensuring that there is something they share in common. This may include a common religious belief, culture, or even common heritage.
A state is ruled by the means of legislation. This means that there has to be use of a constitution to govern the people. However, legislature in such entities has to advance from one level to a better one. Some legitimate factors behind the sovereignty of the nation play a vital role in development of a nation-state (Domosh 2012). Previously, a nation-state has been identified as a territory where the nation and the state have geographical coincidence. Basing our discussion on the origin of nation state in the book the human mosaic, theories called the modernization theories of nationalism were involved. These theories are responsible for the evolution of nation-state status from the nationalism status. Most of these theories were facilitated by developments in the globe. These developments include mass literacy as well as the mass media. Observations have it that some of the countries in the Europe region performed well in achieving their objective of common identity.
With reference to the topic of theories that evolved the nation-state, the nations were able to develop national consciousness. A theorist argued that nations are imagined communities. This means that the members cannot identify each other from their differences in culture or language of conversation. This is done through the modification of different languages into one specific language. Current information about nation-states arises from the emergence of modern systems of the states. As indicated in the state-driven theories, nationalists have played a big role in developing the nation states (Ietto-Gillies 2012). Political campaigns have formed part of the chain of events that led to its existence.
Common identity is first identified from a culture point of view. In the efforts to have nation states, the cultural movement acquired a political implication. From that position the nationalists were able to carry out their campaigns in an informed manner. They were able to achieve a state of balanced power (Ietto-Gillies 2012). The balance of power within different cultural diversities meant a clearly defined state of governance with central control and independent entities. However as a result of globalization and its adverse effects, there have been critics of the success of a nation state. The sovereign status of the geographical commonness has been put under a challenge. This is as a result of the rate at which the world is converging into a globally operated state.
Globalization incorporates numerous events. Globalization emerges as a result of international integration. This international integration emerges as a result of exchange and sharing of culture, ideas, products and even global views (Saunders 2012). This has been made possible by the rapid movement of information and people. The development of carrier vessels has enhanced a high rate of movement of people. On the same ground, there has been notable movement of information through the internet.
As a result of globalization, nation-state position has been challenged. The objective nation-state is to maintain a culture. That is, it pre-empts to have a nation of define common culture as well as common religion among other unifying factors. However, globalization has it that people are moving in and out of their territories for valid reasons that vary. In that case, the efforts of a specific nation to embrace an unchanged culture are hampered (Saunders 2012). An individual from the Middle East will travel toward the western countries. With him or her, she carries a culture practically different from the one he or she finds with the hosts. To an uncontrollable level, the two parties will suffer from change of environment. The host is tempted to copy and emulate the new culture and even change from the old one. The same can happen to the traveler. He or she is subject to suffering cultural exploitation.
The globe has some policies that do allow some economic social and political activities to be operated without restriction. This means that the territorial strength of the nation-states’ political geography is ignored. As a result there is a high possibility loss of the highly maintained territorial boundaries (Dreher 2008). For example, in the economy, different international states are entering into common territory trade unions or even security regions. As a result, the earlier implemented legislations hindering other states from intrusion are ignored. The situations by which nation states are included in this trade organization demarcate it from the status of a political guru. The powers of the nation states are henceforth declared null as far as the powers of these organizations remain present.
Despite the fact that globalization has a very high influence on the operations of all member states, there occurs a situation that defined nations decline (Dreher 2008). The nations that decline from following these rules and regulations in exchange improvise and implement their own restrictions. These restrictions may be aimed at controlling the rate of entry within their territories. The only disadvantage that such a nation would have is the penalty imposed when a state does not support or comply with the organizational regulations.
Conclusively, nation-states have a unique political aroma. That is, they are in a position to maintain an admirable cultural, economic and even political life. However, they are affected by the upcoming evolutions of technology. The presence a connecting system like the internet does not give a chance for cultural monitoring. However, if a nation state decides to make it a priority to maintain the status of a successful political geography, it should be ready to face the consequences. There is a high probability of transnational flows remaining restricted. That is the price of maintaining a nation-state.
References
Domosh, M., & Jordan-Bychkov, T. G. (2010). The human mosaic: A cultural approach to human geography. New York: W. H. Freeman.
Dreher, A., Gaston, N., & Martens, W. J. (2008). Measuring globalisation: Qauging its consequences. New York: Springer.
Ietto-Gillies, G. (2012). Transnational corporations and international production: Concepts, theories and effects. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Ndala, E. L. (2009). The effects of the market-based reform on the agrarian structure: A study of post-independent land reform in Namibia. Rotterdam: Erasmus University.
Saunders, B. (2012). Overeducated and over here the experiences of skilled EU migrants on self-initiated foreign work experiences in unskilled UK jobs. © Bradley Saunders.