Characteristics of a Modern Nation-State - Essay Example

Nation and Transnational Entities Task Characteristics of a Modern Nation A modern nation can either consist of one or many nationalities that have come together in a formal political union. It has self-rule that is characterized by sovereignty to the effect that no any other state has authority over its territory (Bull, 2007). It is characterized with selecting an official language, controlling currency, ordering elements of community through the implementation of bureaucracy, and a system of law that guides citizens. A modern nation-state has some form of organized government that is accountable for giving services to people, as well as police power. Moreover, a modern nation-state has a defined territory. Lastly, a modern nation-state has a population that shares national individuality or customs. Nation An example of such a nation is Brittany in northern France, since it is a faction of a populace that is tightly knit and shares a familiar culture. It is superior compared to a distinct community that shares a familiar language, account, institute, and creed. Consequently, it does not have physical borders that separate them. State A state can also be referred to as a country. An example of such a state is Argentina, which connotes a political entity that is self-governing. It has a permanent population and a government association with other states. It is as a result of people with a nation having a State or country. Nation-state An exemplar of a nation-state is the United Kingdom. It is a unitary state that was formed as a result of two kingdoms that include kingdom of England and the kingdom of Scotland. UK is perceived as a ‘country within a country’ by the British government. How USA Fits Criteria and Functions of a Modern State USA is a perfect exemplar of a nation state. Though it is a multicultural society, it is regarded as a nation-state due to the existence of the shared American "culture." It has a territory that is composed of all the states; it also has a regime and sovereignty. The sovereignty is implemented and observed in the interaction between local state and federal laws that are formed to govern the discrete territories. USA has a well-managed geographical territory that is fixed and defined, for example, the borders amid Mexico and Canada. It uses its federal laws to govern a large portion of land that surrounds the borders. States in America have their policies that determine a person that enters, stays, or is denied entry. Moreover, USA has foreign policies such as immigration policies with Mexico and support to Israel and also policies that protect and guide the country and its inhabitants. How United States Government and American Society Work To Foster; Fixed territory The government in its bid to foster a fixed territory protects the country against external aggression. This can be illustrated by the unrelenting effort by the government to fight the Al-Qaida that poses the greatest threat to the territory of the United States. The USA has protected its borders from the prohibited immigrants that deal with drugs and criminal cases by proposing a HR 6061 Secure Fence Act. This involved constructing a border fence to discourage unlawful immigration, but not to meddle with its intimate relationship with Mexico. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the responsibility of amassing import duties, imposing US regulations such as business, customs and migration, and providing international trade. Sovereignty The American government utilizes authority over the American society. The Government does not allow any other entity to exercise authority over its citizens. This is also achieved through its foreign policies as well as internal policies. The foreign policies are controlled amicably by government structure that is well crafted. The USA government is divided into 3 structures that include the ‘Executive’, the ‘Legislature’ and the ‘Judicial’. The president is the head of the government and shares the power with Congress and judiciary system that are self-determining. The supreme law is the constitution that guides each state in forming internal laws. Common culture Existence of a common culture is what binds American society as a nation-state. There are various state policies aimed at promoting the American Culture. This is accomplished through an education system among other policies to promote a common culture in a society that is fundamentally multicultural. USA has national events that are held to foster a common culture. They include; ‘the birthday of Martin Luther King’, ‘Washington’s Birthday’, ‘Memorial Day’, ‘US Independence Day’, ‘Workers Day’, ‘Veterans Day’ and ‘Thanksgiving Day’. They unite citizens from diverse cultures to feel as one. Foreign Policy Objectives of the United States The leading example of United States foreign policy is to achieve a democratic, secure as well a flourishing world that will profit the American people, as well as the international community. Examples of USA foreign policy objectives are foreign aid and regulation of nuclear technology and hardware globally. In foreign aid, USA has provided military, food, and capital aid to countries worldwide. Others include multilateral economic contributions such as to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). USA is termed as the largest worldwide donor because of its effective foreign policies. The world rankings penalize US for donating to countries that are undemocratic and less poor, which they perceive as unfortunate. In regulating the nuclear expertise and hardware, USA is one of the members of Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) that involves in planning Missile shield in Europe. It monitors countries that intend to create nuclear weapons, and has held many meetings and visits to various countries. European Union as a Transnational Entity Historical Events and Interests during Twentieth Century That Led To the Creation of European Union The European nation was formed as a result of the following events; the idea of Europe that was as a result of the unified empires that exited before 1945, and the 1945-1957 peace forged to lead in terms of security, politics and economics. Further events were the 1958-1972 emergence of two communities formed Euratom and the European Economic Community (EEC), the1973 to 1993 enlargement to Delors and the 1993 to 2003 creation process. A revelation was set to strengthen European economies to be achieved through supranational organization. The only objective that was shared by all the European states was the economic benefit. Majority of the states have not yet accepted the objective of a federal Europe. Major Institutions and Significant Nations That Make Up the European Union Major Institutions The first institution is the European Council. The council is responsible for setting up the European Union’s political direction. However, it has no power to make laws. It is made up of a President and national leader of state or government. The council is supposed to meet at least once in six months. It represents the governments of members of states. There is also the European Parliament. It represents the European Union Citizens. The citizens directly elect it. It is responsible for adopting new laws. The other is the European Commission. The Commission is responsible for the interests of the whole union. It is responsible for proposing new laws as well as implementing them. Finally, there are two other institutions namely the ‘Court of Justice’ and the ‘Court of Auditors’. They uphold the rule of European law as well as controlling the financing respectively (Malesvic, 2006). Significant Nations That Make Up the European Union 27 member states make up the European Union. These states include: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium Luxemburg and Netherlands, UK, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland among others. The Contemporary Function of the European Union European Union (EU) is intended to foster closer relations among the correlate states. This is to utilize all the abilities of the member countries, for instance, free trade, free movement of populace as well as autonomy in job choice. This has been achieved by doing away with the bureaucracy that was involved with those issues. One mechanism that has been proposed to achieve this is through the adoption of a common currency. It was also formed to counter the United States as the only global super power. For instance, during the United States war on Iraq, many of the European Union countries stood up to the United States. Foreign Policy Objectives for the European Union The Lisbon Treaty has developed the foreign policy objectives of the European Union. The objective is purely non-military reliance. Rather it is in the fields of trade and aid. In humanitarian aid, it has initiated assistance to developing countries by forming an organization known as European Community humanitarian aid office (ECHO). EU members contribute money that is distributed to third world countries for food and education assistance, hence, is one of the largest aid donors globally. It is criticized for failing in achieving its goals and being inefficient. In trade, it has entered into accord with other foreign countries in a bid to foster trade and development (Smith, 1986). All EU members have joined the World Trade Organization and are effectual through their participation. It is also a union that is represented by a Trade Commissioner, hence, proving interests in participating in trade. How Nation-States and Transnational Entities Engage In Foreign Policy I think that a nation-state examines the foreign policy whether it is economically, politically and military appropriate before engaging in it. Nation-State looks at the outcomes and effects of the foreign policy when implemented in rightfully. Both Nation-State and transnational entities craft and engage in foreign policy to create a friendly relationship with other countries and highly position itself in global political economy. An example is USA, which has foreign policies such as foreign aid and trade that are favorable to other countries; hence, America has maintained political and economic dominance globally. I agree that transnational entities do not posses autonomy that Nation-States have in international relations. In addition, it has curtailed external powers as well as exceptionally complex institutions and policy. On the other Nation-States, foreign policy is driven by local politics. One major characteristic is that the transnational entities do not rely on military power unlike Nation-States. They are engaged to provide stability to other foreign nations in military intervention. It also does not engage in political incentives as part of foreign policy. Transnational entities engage in matters of low politics, as opposed to high politics, which is the real realm of foreign policy. Consequences of Interaction in International Politics Foreign policy and aid have been subjected to many debates, praises and criticism. Many people see the interaction as a means of promoting the entities own interest and not focused on the interests of other foreign countries. Such is the level of suspicion that any nature of foreign interaction is scrutinized with a toothcomb. The interaction has caused sharp divisions especially amid the United States and the European Union member countries. This was especially demonstrated during the war by the United States in Iraq where European Member States stood up against the United States. There is also a general feeling the interaction has been applied selectively. An example is the situation in Darfur and Somalia, which has not received any military assistance from any entity unlike the situation in Libya, which has been restored to normalcy a few months later. References Bull, H. (2007). Civilian power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms. New York. United States. Auerbach Publications Landoll, D. J. (2006).The security risk assessment handbook: a complete guide for performing security risk assessments. New York. United States. Malesevic, Sinisa (2006). Understanding NationalismandEthnicity. New York. United States. Palgrave. Smith, Anthony. (1986). The Origins of Nations: Basil Blackwell. Read More