nation
Nation
Nation is a large group of people united by a common language, ancestry, history, or culture. People often feel great loyalty to their nation and pride in their national characteristics. Such feelings of loyalty and pride are often referred to as nationalism.
In international law, nation means a group of people exercising self-government within a defined territory with the recognition of other nations.
Recognition is shown by other nations through the exchange of ambassadors. When a new nation is recognized by other nations, it acquires certain rights and duties. Sometimes in international law, a nation is called a country or state.
Identify
1. Do you identify yourselves in terms of your village, city, region, country, continent, planet…or just as individuals? Or does it depend on the circumstances?
2. How do you friends or the people around you identify themselves?
3. There is a strong sense of nationalism in our country. Yes or no?
4. Or do people in your country place greater loyalty to their family, their clan, their community, their ethnicity…or themselves above all else?
Nationhood
5. During the Olympics or World Cup or other international sporting event, do you and your friends always cheer for your nation’s team or athletes? Why or why not?
6. Notions of nationhood are outdated. Do you agree?
7. Is there lots of patriotism in your country? In what form? Give examples.
8. Do the people of your country tend to be very ethnocentric, somewhat ethnocentric, somewhat open to outsiders, very open, or does it depend, it varies?
9. I get along with people who have similar interests with me regardless of their nationality. True or false?
Regionalism
10. Is there a stronger sense of regionalism than nationhood where you live?
11. Are locals in one part of your country concerned with other parts of the country?
12. Do people in one city care about another city?
13. People in the city don’t care about the country. True or false?
14. People in our nation’s capitial don’t care about the rest of the country. Yes or no?
Succession, Separateness
15. Does your region, state, or province want to secede (break away) and form an independent country?
16. Some or many members of an ethnic group or a region within a country keep to themselves, speak their own language, or have their own religion. Is this true or false?
17. Are there separatists and insurgents are waging an armed struggle against the government. They are waging a “war of independence”, “revolting”, or committing “terrorism”.
18. Who is “right” and who is “wrong”? How can this be resolved?
Wider Areas
19. Is your country a part of a larger entity, block or association, e.g. the European Union, NAFTA?
20. Our country should form unions or associations with neighboring countries. What do you think?
21. Which country, nation or ethnic group, if any, do your or your friends admire, or wish your nation or country was more like? Why? Give examples.
22. Are there any areas in which you feel that your country could “improve” on?
View of the World
23. The whole world is becoming one, big, giant, single supernation. Do you agree? Would this be good or bad?
24. The whole is merging into a single culture in terms of language, fashion, convenience and fast food, government, cars, computers, ideals, values, behaviours. True or false?
25. Are we moving towards a One World Government? Give examples to support or refute this. Would this be good or bad?
26. All borders should be eliminated. Do you agree? Why or why not?
