There is a difference between the terms nation, state, and country, even though the words are often used interchangeably. Country and State are synonymous terms that both apply to self-governing political entities. A nation, however, is a group of people who share the same culture but do not have sovereignty. When the “s” of state is lowercase, it constitutes a part of a whole country, such as the different states of the United States of America. When the “S” of State is uppercase it signifies an independent country ( in German nouns are capitalized). How were countries defined in the past? In the past, governments often used two opposing theories to define a country—the Montevideo Convention treaty or the constitutive theory of statehood. In 1933, at the Montevideo Convention in Uruguay, a treaty was signed on the Rights and Duties of States. The treaty defined a State using four criteria—a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and a capacity to enter into relations with other States. The convention also declared that a State did not have to be recognized by other States, meaning a country could exist even if other countries did not recognize it. Conversely, the constitutive theory of statehood said that a country existed if it was recognized as sovereign by other countries. Therefore, if other countries recognized a country as independent, it was, even if the country did not have control of its territory or a permanent population. Read more: State, Country, and Nation | Infoplease infoplease/world/statistics/state-country-nation.html#ixzz2YwIL1EOT
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 15:22:07 +0000
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