Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

The concept of nationalism of ideology and shared values has existed since Biblical times,' and has only become more prominent in societal structure in the centuries that have followed. Many attempts to define what is and is not nationalism have been made throughout history, 2 yet despite these attempts there is no perfect formula for what gives rise to nationalism or what makes a nation-state and how to create it. However, at its core a nation is comprised of people, and all nations, regardless of organization, ideology, or ethnicity, turn to law to control - if not to shape - their societies. This duality of basic composition is perhaps best illustrated by the Black's Law Dictionary definitions of "nation" 3 and "state." 4 According to these definitions, a "nation" is "[a] large group of people having a common origin, language, and tradition and usually constituting a political entity."5 A "state" is "[t]he political system of a body of people who are politically organized; the system of rules by which jurisdiction and authority are exercised over such a body of people."6 From this emerges the unity of people and law, which forms the fundamental core of the global concept of a nation-state, regardless of where one believes the concept itself originated.

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