Friday, September 7, 2007
What is a state? [Yoo, Week 2, Dialogue]
Although I agree with Agata's assessment of Greg's definition, I think of "State" as much more complicated than simply "a political entity under a unified government within a set of distinct boundaries." I would like to point out that the boundaries seen in much of Africa and Asia today are the result of European colonization. The Great Powers divided up the land in spheres of influence without regards to traditional boundaries or ethnic groups. For example, in Afghanistan only 44% of the population belong to the dominant ethnic group. Not only that, the dominant group is scattered not only in Afghanistan, but other states as well. Countries that feature multiple ethnic groups will always be challenged in maintaining order, especially with the onslaught of nationalism. I believe a state to be only valid and legitimate only if the state has somehow surpressed, assimilated, or encompassed everybody within the border. Therefore, I feel the definition of "state" is much more complicated than what we perceive it to be.
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1 comment:
Another good point....here's a question: in the presence of multiple ethnicities within the boundary of a particular nation-state, is there the possibility that something else - another narrative - unifies the groups under a larger national umbrella? If so, is this sufficient? Or, perhaps a flimsy compromise at best?
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