Political Science - Nations vs States vs Nation-States Essay

Political Science - Nations vs States vs Nation-States - Essay Example However, the merge of all these elements do not constitute a nation (Sarmah 3). People in a nation share common beliefs and religion, and are unified in common descent and language. â€Å"Nations occupy a self-constituting public space characterized by specific identities and ways of life† (Segesvary 22). Unity among its people is important to a nation. Prior to the First World War, Austria-Hungary was considered as a state but not as a nation. People of Austria and Hungary were politically united; separated by any affinity; individually diverse; and unwilling to live in unity. A state must be sovereign; however, a nation will remain being a nation even if it loses sovereignty. There is no division between a state and a nation in a single-nation state. A state can have a number of nationalities to make a nation. It is when a nation loses its statehood that the distinction between the two becomes evident. Germany and Japan lost their statehood in the post-World War II because t hey lost sovereignty, however they maintained their nationhood because of their people’s aspiration to live in unity and affinity. Later, these countries were able to regain statehood (Sarmah 3). Inhabitants of a nation are racially harmonized with shared universal language, faith, traditions, and history.