Jump to Content Jump to Main Navigation
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law [MPECCoL]

Nation States

Peter Hilpold

Content type:
Encyclopedia entries
Product:
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law [MPECCoL]
Article last updated:
December 2023

From: Oxford Constitutions (http://oxcon.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 19 January 2025

Subject(s):
Dual nationality — Loss of citizenship — Minority groups — Nations and national identity — Democracy — Group rights — Ethnic minorities — Borders — Secession — Federalism

General Editors: Rainer Grote, Frauke Lachenmann, Rüdiger Wolfrum
Managing Editor: Martina Mantovani

1 There is no generally accepted definition of the term ‘nation state’. At its core lies the Latin term ‘nation’ (‘birth’). In the Middle Ages, it referred to the origin of individual persons, as opposed to their status (Roellecke 32). Over time, it came to refer to the origin of a people, to the place where a people, organized in a state, comes from. This term evokes, therefore, a series of further associations: the relation of a people to ancestors settling on the same territory since immemorial times, a strong cohesiveness of this group by blood and common...
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please subscribe, or log in via the Sign in panel on the left of this screen to access all subscribed content.