Nations & Self-Determination
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 19.1.1
Nations
Nations are groups of people who identify themselves as a cohesive unit based on shared values in society.
Nations and countries
- The nation is the central focus of politics and political activity.
- A nation does not just relate to a country. A nation may also be a political unit within a country.
- E.g. Scotland
- E.g. Quebec
- A nation without a state, like Scotland or Quebec, may pursue a form of minority nationalism, whereby it seeks self-determination from the host-state in order to improve the economic, social and political condition of its people.
Nations and sovereignty
- A nation may or may not have sovereignty depending on its constitutional settlement.
- For example, while Scotland has control over health and education, it is not sovereign. The UK government can take this power back by a simple majority in the UK Parliament.
- In federal countries, however, some degree of sovereignty is given. French-speaking Quebec is a nation due to its language, culture, and traditions and also has sovereignty as a member of Canada.
Defining nations
- The cohesiveness of a nation may be based on, for example, language, religion, ancestry, history and/or race.
- A nation may not have the political structures that it desires. The people of a nation have common bonds which foster a sense of kinship but lack political autonomy.
- Some nations lack distinct territory; for example, Kurds and Palestinians meet the requirements of a nation but have no territory of their own.
Example - Scotland
- Scotland is within the UK but has a distinct identity that is rooted in its history as a separate country.
- Despite the creation of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in 1999 and the devolution of significant powers to Scotland, the SNP has consistently argued for independence from the UK.
- They argue that Scotland can only achieve its true potential outside the UK and the aspirational character of this nationalism is replicated in most nations.
Self-Determination
Self-determination is the idea that the nation should have the right to govern itself and that only self-government can achieve the outcomes that are in the interest of the nation.
Statehood
- The achievement of an independent nation-state (statehood) is the ultimate, and most desirable, goal.
- Forms of political autonomy, like devolution in Scotland, are welcome but are not enough to satisfy the need for self-determination.
- Only statehood (the formation of an independent nation-state) will suffice.
Forms of self-determination
- The desire for self-determination today takes a number of forms:
- Nations without territory: the Kurds, for example, have no territory of their own. The desire for their own nation-state has led some to take up arms against host-states who they feel illegally and unfairly occupy their territory.
- Nations that are occupied or under coercive control: Taiwan is a nation which has been de facto independent since 1950. However, its sovereignty is disputed by China which seeks its reunification with the mainland.
Forms of self-determination
- The desire for self-determination today takes a number of forms:
- Nations seeking independence by democratic means: Scotland, Quebec and Catalonia seek independence through secession - the severing of the territory from the host state (the UK, Canada and Spain).
- They seek a mandate for this action by achieving a majority in a referendum.
- This implies that the route to statehood is through negotiation.
International law
- International law, after WW2, recognised the right to self-determination.
- In the latter half of the twentieth century, self-determination was achieved through independence from Empires (as in Africa) or larger political units (as in eastern Europe from the Soviet Union).
- It became a jus cogens rule, a law that all states recognise as binding.
- However, this does not give an automatic right to statehood so nations usually have to prove that they have majority national support.
Test yourself on Nations & Self-Determination
Which statement is true regarding nations?
Which factors might influence the cohesiveness of identity in a nation?
What makes a nation?
Which statement is false?
How does self-determination impact the world today?