Vlog #29 - Nations, States, & Nation States
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores the complexities of nation-states, challenging the simplicity of borders on maps. It delves into the concept of sovereignty, from divine right to the people's consent, and the evolution of 'nation' as synonymous with 'people.' The script examines national identity through shared history and memory, using Ireland, Cyprus, and the Kurdish situation as case studies. It discusses the struggles of defining 'a people' and the remedies for conflicting national identities within one state, such as partition or population movement, and emphasizes the importance of understanding historical narratives to prevent violence and foster peace.
Takeaways
- ๐ The world map's neat lines dividing countries belie complex geopolitical realities, including civil conflicts and disputes over land and ownership.
- ๐๏ธ The term 'nation-state' is commonly used but often fails to capture the intricacies of countries experiencing ongoing civil strife.
- ๐ The concept of 'state' can be defined by geographical boundaries and the central power's control, while 'nation' refers to a group of people sharing a common identity.
- ๐ Historically, sovereignty was believed to derive from divine right, but by the 18th century, the idea emerged that sovereignty comes from the people.
- ๐ The Declaration of Independence exemplifies the shift towards popular sovereignty, where the power of the state is justified by the consent of the governed.
- ๐ค National identity is formed through shared experiences, history, and a collective narrative, which can be more unifying than language, race, or religion.
- ๐๏ธ Conflicts arise when different groups within a state have divergent historical narratives and memories, leading to a struggle for recognition and power.
- ๐ฎ๐ช The example of Ireland shows how partition can be a solution to conflicts, but it may not fully resolve the underlying issues and can lead to further divisions.
- ๐ The Cyprus and Kurdish situations illustrate that partitions and the lack of a state can lead to ongoing tensions and the struggle for national recognition.
- ๐ External interventions to mediate conflicts are not always effective, and solutions like population movement can be extremely painful and unjust.
- ๐๏ธ The international community should strive to understand and learn from historical conflicts to anticipate and prevent new ones, avoiding the perpetuation of violence.
Q & A
What is the significance of neatly drawn lines on a map in terms of geopolitical reality?
-The neatly drawn lines on a map represent the borders of countries and give a sense of finality. However, the geopolitical reality is often more complex, with civil conflicts, land disputes, and local loyalties that do not adhere to these lines.
What is the term used to identify countries on a global scale, and what does it often fail to adequately describe?
-The term 'nation-state' is used to identify countries globally. It often fails to adequately describe countries where civil war or significant internal conflicts are ongoing, as the term implies a unified political entity.
How is the 'state' defined in the context of the script?
-The 'state' is defined as the area over which a central power, or sovereign, has control. This includes a monopoly on violence within its borders and equal status among other states internationally.
Who first laid out the characteristics of sovereignty, and in what century?
-Jean Bodin first laid out the characteristics of sovereignty in the 16th century in his work 'Six Books of the Commonwealth'.
What was the revolutionary idea about the source of sovereignty that emerged by the end of the 18th century?
-The revolutionary idea was that the source of sovereignty lay in the people, not in divine right or natural laws, as previously thought.
How does the script define a 'nation' in relation to a 'state'?
-A 'nation' is defined as a group of people who share a common identity, often based on a historical narrative and collective memory. This forms the basis for the consent of the people, which justifies the sovereign power of the state.
What does the script suggest is a stronger binding factor for a nation than language, race, or religion?
-An identity of political antecedents, such as a shared national history, collective pride and humiliation, and a community of recollections, is suggested to be a stronger binding factor for a nation.
What is an example of a nation-state conflict mentioned in the script, and how was it resolved?
-The conflict between Catholic Irish and Protestant Irish in Ireland is mentioned. It was resolved through a partition in 1921, creating the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, and later through peaceful means in 2007.
Why are partitions not always a good solution to nation-state conflicts according to the script?
-Partitions are not always good solutions because there are often people on both sides who believe the partition is unfair, leading to ongoing tensions and potential violence.
What are some of the remedies discussed in the script for when two peoples lay claim to the same territory?
-Some remedies discussed include external forces refereeing the situation, partitions, and population movement or ethnic cleansing. However, these are often imperfect and can lead to further issues.
What is the script's final lesson regarding sovereignty and international community involvement?
-The script suggests that the international community should understand the history and examples of nation-state conflicts to foresee and prevent new antagonisms, aiming to avoid violence that becomes self-generating.
Outlines
๐ Geopolitical Boundaries and Nation-States
This paragraph discusses the discrepancy between the neat lines on maps that define countries and the complex geopolitical realities they mask. It introduces the concept of 'nation-state' and questions its adequacy in describing regions experiencing civil unrest or war. The paragraph delves into the historical evolution of sovereignty, from divine right to the concept of popular sovereignty, where power is derived from the people. It also touches on the Declaration of Independence as an example of this shift. The narrative then explores the challenge of defining a 'people' and the significance of shared historical narratives in forming national identities, using the example of Ireland's struggle with its national and state identities.
๐ก Conflicting National Identities and Resolutions
Paragraph two continues the exploration of national identity by examining the complications that arise when different groups within a single state have divergent historical narratives. It uses the example of Cyprus and the Kurdish people to illustrate situations where the issues of nation and state are not resolved. The paragraph then discusses various remedies for such conflicts, including external mediation, partition, and population movement, acknowledging the imperfections and difficulties associated with each. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding historical contexts to prevent the escalation of violence and the formation of new antagonisms.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กGeopolitical reality
๐กNation-state
๐กSovereignty
๐กNational identity
๐กCivil war
๐กPartition
๐กEthnic cleansing
๐กSelf-determination
๐กHistorical narrative
๐กViolence as a self-generating monster
๐กInternational community
Highlights
The geopolitical reality is often more complex than the neat lines on maps suggest.
The term 'nation-state' may not adequately describe countries with ongoing civil conflicts.
A state is defined by the central power, or sovereign, which has control over a defined area.
Sovereignty is characterized by a monopoly on violence within the state's borders and equal status internationally.
Jean Bodin first outlined the characteristics of sovereignty in the 16th century.
The source of sovereignty has been historically debated, with theories ranging from divine right to social contracts.
By the 18th century, the idea emerged that sovereignty comes from the people, not from divine or natural sources.
The Declaration of Independence exemplifies the concept of sovereignty deriving from 'one people' or 'one nation'.
Defining a 'people' or 'nation' involves shared language, race, religion, and a collective historical narrative.
John Stuart Mill emphasized the importance of a shared political history in forming national identity.
Conflicts arise when different groups within a state have divergent historical narratives.
The example of Ireland's struggle with nation and state identity took centuries to resolve.
Partitions, like the one in Ireland, can separate conflicting groups but may not fully resolve issues.
The Cyprus conflict between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots remains unresolved due to differing national narratives.
The Kurdish people, spread across multiple countries, represent a large group without a state of their own.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is an example of two peoples with competing historical narratives and territorial claims.
Possible remedies for conflicts include external referees, partitions, or population movements, each with its own challenges.
Violence can perpetuate and intensify national identities, leading to a cycle of ongoing conflict.
The international community should aim to understand and prevent conflicts before they escalate into self-sustaining violence.
Transcripts
animal crackers on a Tuesday and vlog 29
[Music]
so when we look at a map of the world we
see countries countries divided up by
very neatly drawn lines lines which have
a nice sense of finality to them right
this land belongs to this country and
that land on the other side of this line
belongs to that one of course we know
that the geopolitical reality is
anything but as conclusive as these
lines suggest we know that there is
civil fighting contests ations of land
and ownership local loyalties local
hatreds religion sex and factions who
can and often do flip their noses at
straight lines drawn in comfy rooms by
foreigners at some time in the past
we've come to use in our global parlance
the word nation-state to identify these
places it's a term we don't think too
much about we use it freely without
going to our dictionaries but the truth
is of course that nation-state as a term
quite often fails to adequately describe
many of these countries where for
example civil war is a continuing
reality so maybe by pulling the term
apart we can get a better understanding
of how these two words nation and state
can come together now the state is what
can be defined by lines on a map the
area over which the state central power
called the sovereign has control the
sovereign in theory has a monopoly on
all the violence that occurs in the
state and on the international stage the
sovereigns voice in theory is an equal
among other suckers this is the basic
definition of sovereignty equal abroad
master at home it was Jean Bodin in the
16th century who first laid out these
characteristics in his six books of the
Commonwealth thereafter Boden and others
having worked at its use tried to figure
out where the source of sovereignty live
but I believed as was the custom of his
time that the sovereign then ruled by a
king or Prince was derived from God and
political thinkers for the next two
centuries continue to find the source of
sovereignty in divine right or in the
laws of nature or social contracts but
by the end of the 18th century a
revolutionary new idea came to the fore
it said that the source of sovereignty
lay not in the man upstairs but in the
many men and later women
in other words the source of sovereignty
was in the people you see it loud and
clear in the very first line of the
Declaration of Independence when in the
course of human events it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the
political bands etc etc one people in
other words one nation by this time the
word nation had become synonymous with
the word people so here you have a state
which finds the justification for its
sovereign power the monopoly on all the
violence that happens within its borders
in the consent of the people the nation
hence nation state the question becomes
how do you define a people what makes
people a people we have a number of
problematic nation states in the world
places couched in what seems like
unceasing violence and to understand
them we must first understand how people
develop a national identity now there
are a number of things that groups can
share a language race a religion but
stronger than all of these is as John
Stuart Mill the great liberal thinker
said an identity of political
antecedents a possession of a national
history a community of recollections
collective pride and humiliation
pleasure and regret connected with the
same incidents in the past a historical
narrative a national memory this binds
people closer together than any other
common trait unfortunately and as we
know too well the many millions of
people who find themselves in a state
very often don't have the same memory
narratives diverge are rewritten mixed
with myth and fiction as the years and
decades pile on all of a sudden you have
one state with two people's or three
people's and the problem grows it took
four hundred years and a lot of blood
for the island of Ireland to resolve its
issues between nation and state wasn't
easy Catholic Irish and Protestant Irish
have very different memories of a
national history full of conquest and
subjugation in 1921 the largely Catholic
southern part of the island declared
itself independent from Britain the
Protestants being largely of British
descent and who held power in the north
had no desire to break from the UK so a
partition was built separating the Irish
Free State from North Ireland good
solution right keep the warring factions
apart the only problem is that the
Catholics still in North Ireland became
an ill treated my Nord here's a map
showing the distribution of Catholics
and Protestants
in North Ireland doesn't really suit
straight lines on a map does it
fortunately in 2007 the Irish troubles
were settled peacefully however this
kind of conclusion isn't really the norm
though there is a partition for example
on the island of Cyprus the northern
Turk Cypriots in the southern Greek
Cypriots haven't yet come to the same
kind of conclusion because the issues of
nation and state there haven't yet been
resolved nor have they been resolved for
Kurdish Muslims the largest single group
of people in the world who don't have a
state of their own
now we know of course that many Kurds
live in the northern part of Iraq but
few if any identify themselves as Iraqi
the example that we're perhaps most
familiar with is that of Israel and
Palestine we know the history and we
know how each party writes the narrative
and who's to say which is right just
last Saturday was landing an annual day
of Palestinian protests for an event in
1976 in which the Israeli government
planned to expropriate thousands of
Palestinian demands for security and
settlement purposes one protester was
killed more were injured and sent to
hospitals what are the remedies when you
have two peoples living in a territory
to which both can lay claim territories
which are a part of their history their
family history well you can have
external forces come in and try to
referee the situation but we've seen
from first-hand experience how imperfect
such solutions can be
how about partitions like in Ireland or
Cyprus difficulty is there's always
going to be people on both sides who
think the partition is unfair what about
population movement a kind of ethnic
cleansing where one people has to move
to another place it's a solution but an
extremely painful one in which those who
are forced to move lose everything
all of these remedies are not lightly
taken but the sad truth is that they are
often better than the alternative which
is endemic violence that feeds on itself
lessons here are feeble but maybe this
is the most important one violence of
this kind produces precisely those
experiences which pass into history
confirming strengthening the identity of
both sides worse violence of this kind
produces people with the stake in it
continuing namely young men to whom such
civil war becomes a way of life
providing a source of employment
excitement adventure and most
importantly purpose sovereignty is a
problematic thing it can often produce
deeply depressing results but if there's
one thing that we can do as an
international community
it's to try to understand the history
and example of such cases to try to
foresee and prevent new antagonisms
before the violence that consumes them
becomes a self-generating monster well
she actually managed to keep most of
them in
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