 | Nation-state: Encyclopedia II - Nation-state - What states existed before nation-states?
Nation-state - What states existed before nation-states?
Border of Austria-Hungary in 1914
Borders in 1914
Borders in 1920
Empire of Austria in 1914
Kingdom of Hungary in 1914
Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1914
In Europe, before 1850, the classic non-national state was a multi-ethnic empire. It was a monarchy ruled by a king or emperor, or in the case of the Ottoman Empire, by a Sultan. The population belonged to many ethnic groups and they spoke many languages. The empire was dominated by one ethnic group, and their language was usually the language of public administration. The ruling dynasty was usually, but not always, from that group. This type of state is not specifically European: such empires existed on all continents. Some of the smaller European states were not so ethnically diverse, but were also dynastic states, ruled by a royal house. Their territory could expand by royal marriage, or merge with another state when the dynasty merged. In some parts of Europe, notably Germany, very small territorial units existed. They were recognised by their neighbours as independent, and had their own government and laws. Some were ruled by princes or other hereditary rulers, some were governed by bishops or abbots. Because they were so small, however, they had no separate language or culture: the inhabitants shared the language of the surrounding region.
In some cases these states were simply overthrown by nationalist uprisings, which were inspired by the so-called ideal of the nation-state, meaning a state with a uniform state sponsored national identity. In other cases a nation state seems to have grown by accretion of smaller entities. Some grew to unification by trade and political integration. Some were unified by force. The transition was complex, but this so-called nation-state became the standard ideal in Europe, and in the rest of the world because of European dominance of the world. This so-called nation-state, at least in theory, has a uniform population, language and culture. It stops where the nation stops, and it does not swap territory with other states simply, for example, because the king’s daughter got married. For example, at least in theory, there is a uniform French identity which is different from a supposed uniform German identity, despite the fact that the French-German state border is not the French-German ethnic border and there are some who would consider themselves of German ethnicity on the French side of the border and vice versa. The so-called ideal of the nation-state is actually a state which has attempted to define a national identity which justifies its existence, internally and externally; this process is often ironically called nation-building.
By this model, non-national entities have survived in Europe: the independent principalities of Liechtenstein, Andorra, and Monaco, the republic of San Marino, and the Vatican City.
Other related archives1850, Aino, Andorra, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Belgian nationalism, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazilians, China, Chinese, City-state, Copts, Culture_of_Switzerland, Danes, Denmark, Empire of Austria, England, Ethnic issues in Japan, Europe, Faroe Islands, Filipinos, Flemish, France, French rule in Algeria, German-speaking region, Germany, Greater Albania, Greater China, Greater Finland, Greater Germany, Greater Hungary, Greater India, Greater Morocco, Greater Netherlands, Greater Romania, Greater Serbia, Greater Somalia, Greenland, Han, Hokkaido, Hungarian, Hungary, Iceland, Irish diaspora, Irredentism, Italy, Japan, Japanese Demographics, Jennifer Government: NationStates, Jews, Kingdom of Hungary, Koreans, Liechtenstein, London, Megali Idea, Monaco, Nation, Nationalism, Nazi Germany, Non-Intervention, Northern Ireland, OED, Ottoman Empire, Pan-Germanism, Pan-Slavism, Paris, Political geography, Political science terms, Prussia, Raison d'être, Republic of Ireland, Revanchism, Roma, Roman Empire, Romanticism, Ryukyuans, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovaks, Sorbs, State, Sultan, Switzerland, Taiwanese, Treaty of Westphalia, United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Vatican City, Walloon, Zhonghua minzu, abbots, absolute sovereignty, assimilation, balance of power, bishops, blocs, cantons, casus belli, city-states, colonial, colonies, cultural, dependent territories, diaspora, dynastic states, dynasty, département, emperor, empire, extermination, fascist, government, homeland, homogeneous, independence, international corporations, irredentism, law, legitimacy, literacy, lynching, mass media, mob violence, monarchy, motherland, nation, nation-building, national identity, national language, national minorities, national minority, nationalism, nationalists, non-governmental organizations, pan-nationalism, pogroms, political, princes, regionalist, romantic nationalism, secessionist, separatist, sovereign, sovereign state, sovereignty, state, total war, unitary state
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "What states existed before nation-states?", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
