Essay 1

1. In studying comparative politics, we must discuss the important distinction between a nation and a state. (a) Define the concept of a state.
(b) Explain how a nation is different from a state.
(c) Describe one challenge governments face in securing stability in multination states.
(d) Discuss at least one policy that governments have taken to address the challenge you described in part (c). A state is an ongoing administrative apparatus that controls the territory.
An organization that maintains control over a given territory
A set of political institutions that generate and execute policy within a defined territory
The entity that has the monopoly on the legitimate use of coercion within a given territory

A nation is a group with a shared identity that seeks to share territory or government. A State is a self-governing political entity. The term State can be used interchangeably with country.
A nation, however, is a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture.
It matters because one has legally recognized sovereignty and the other does not under the Westphalian system.
States have external independence meaning that the government has armies, navies, and air forces to maintain their state of sovereignty. They are also a part of the United Nations, which is the “global club of States”. They also have internal control over their populations meaning they have the power to make laws and enforce them.
Nations can originate from people’s linguistic, religious, racial or the awareness of a shared history.
A state is a set of institutions that maintain control over a given territory, while a nation is a group of people bound by common traits (such as race, language, religion, and ethnicity) and political identity or aspirations.
A nation refers to a group of people and not an institutional mechanism or set territory.

THE NORTHERN IRISH CONFLICT
UK: Irish Catholic nation of Norhern Ireland vs. Protestant nation caused conflict with formatjion of IRA (Irish republican army)– violence between nations within a state
-Political separation of Ireland began in 1800s when Irish Catholics desired complete independence from Britain, but Irish Protestants feared living in a country ruled by a Catholic majority -IRA wanted to end British rule in northern Ireland and reunite Ireland politically

Government devoted some of its powers to the regional governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- In an attempt to pacify both factions, the British passed in 1920 the Government of Ireland Act, which divided Ireland into two separate political entities, each with some powers of self-government. –accepted by protestants but rejected by catholics
- a treaty was signed in 1921 creating the Irish Free State from 23 southern counties and 3 counties in Ulster. The other 6 counties of Ulster made up Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1949 the Irish Free State became an independent republic.
--fighting did continue after this point and other treaties/resolutions were tried