(ML) How Does THe Nation-State Work?

"In a social-political frame, one must abandon the social contract version of national societies, and turn to a version that can register the situations in which territorial allegiances are in flux, ambiguated and productive of changing sentiments towards self and other." (Edkins and Zehfuss -- Global Politics: A New Introduction 2009)

A nation is an imagined community. It is limited and has finite, if elastic boundaries, beyond which are other nations. They are imagined as sovereign with deep, horizontal comradeship. A nation-state on the other hand is a form of political organization and ideals; an autonomous political community bound by overlapping bounds of citizenship and nationality.

The nation-state only works in the event of temporary association that different nations or identities engage in for a specific purpose. This may be simply a territorial issue or the issue of safety against outside forces.

A nation-state only works then in the event of the cooperation of all parties involved. It is like the issue of a representative government, be it parliamentary or otherwise, because the concept simply relies on the agreement of all parties involved.

In my opinion, that's such a fickle concept...