1.1, 1.1.1 - Nation-states and sovereignty

State, nation and government

A state is an enduring political organisation that governs a population within a territory and claims supreme public authority there.

It has institutions such as courts, administrative bodies and armed forces. A government is the people and arrangements directing those institutions at a particular time. A government may lose an election while the state continues: the replacement ministry does not have to create a new country, currency and legal system.

The 1933 Montevideo Convention provides a useful starting point for identifying a state: a permanent population, a defined territory, government, and capacity to conduct relations with other states. These criteria concern political organisation; they do not require a single language, ethnicity or religion. Recognition by other states can make diplomatic relations easier, but recognition and effective government are different questions. The convention is a regional treaty, rather than a mechanical rule that settles every disputed claim to statehood. Montevideo Convention, Articles 1–3.

A nation is a group that sees itself as a distinct community, often drawing on shared history, culture, language or political aspirations. Membership is partly about belonging and identification. National identity can persist without a sovereign state, and a state can contain several national identities.

For example, the UK is one state, while the Cabinet Office described it as comprising four nations in a parliamentary answer on 20 May 2025. This supports the distinction between a state's institutions and the identities within it; the government's description does not settle how every individual identifies, particularly in Northern Ireland. UK Parliament, written answer HL7177.

Citizenship and national community

A nation-state brings territorial government and a national political community together.

Citizenship is legal membership of a political community, carrying rights and responsibilities defined by its laws. Depending on the system, these may include voting, access to public services and duties such as obeying the law. Citizenship is not the same as residence: someone can live under a state's jurisdiction without being a citizen.

Nationality can describe identification with a nation. It is also used legally for the bond between an individual and a state, including in passport and diplomatic matters. Legal nationality and citizenship often overlap, but the words are not interchangeable in every legal system. For analysing a national community, ask both who has legal membership and how people understand their belonging.

A shared national identity can make strangers willing to fund public services and accept common political decisions. Schools, public ceremonies and a shared political history may reinforce that identity. The resulting solidarity does not require identical ancestry: a civic understanding of the nation emphasises shared institutions and membership, whereas an ethnic understanding places greater emphasis on descent and inherited culture.

Neither model guarantees harmony. An exclusive account of national belonging can marginalise minorities even where they have citizenship. Conversely, several national identities can coexist within a shared state. Treat the nation-state as a relationship between authority and belonging, rather than assuming every state's population is culturally uniform.

Internal and external sovereignty

Sovereignty concerns where final authority lies, while effective control concerns what that authority can achieve.

Internal sovereignty means the state claims final authority to make and enforce rules for citizens and other people under its jurisdiction. A company may set workplace rules, but it cannot claim an independent right to overturn criminal law. Institutions within a state can divide powers under a constitution; this does not automatically create several independent sovereign states.

External sovereignty means a state's independence in its relations with others. No other state has a general right to govern it. The 1945 UN Charter establishes sovereign equality and prohibits the threat or use of force against another state's territorial integrity or political independence. Legal equality does not mean equal wealth, military strength or diplomatic influence. UN Charter, Article 2(1)–(4).