In the modern world, more than three thousand different ethnic units live, and there are a little more than two hundred states. And this means that, with a few exceptions, the majority are multinational countries.
Terms and concepts
In order to understand the issue in detail, it is necessary to highlight the key concepts that researchers use when studying a particular country. Such concepts as tribe, nationality, people, nation, ethnos are quite close in their meaning, but at the same time they have certain nuances. It is clear enough that all these terms are the result of the historical complication of various elements that characterize this or that ethnic community. Economic development, the expansion of the territory led to an increase in the area of residence of the tribe, which gradually turned into a nationality or people. And as the highest stage of an ethnic unit, one can single out the formation and emergence of a nation. Many scientists agree that the determining factors in the formation of this community are one language, territory, culture and economic ties. However, as the nation developed, thesefactors lose their paramount importance, and it can continue to exist even when divided by state borders.
Formation of national identity
Indeed, confirming this statement, we can refer to the example of such a multinational giant as the USSR. Many nations that existed as part of this state, after its collapse, found themselves on opposite sides of the borders, but did not lose their identity. Therefore, having formed once, they continue to exist, except for cases of physical disappearance. Language as one of the fundamental features of a nation may cease to be such. As the number of people increased, the role of kinship decreased, and it could turn out that two or more languages appeared in one nation. When the former ethnic groups were united into more and more numerous, language variations (dialects) were preserved, sometimes differing quite strongly from the former single language. The most striking example is the Swiss Confederation. Approximately along this path, the multinational countries of Europe were formed. However, not only European countries followed this path of development of national relations. The multinational countries of Asia also could not immediately form as full-fledged polyethnic formations. A series of revolutions and other metamorphoses led them to the need for coexistence, and one of the many Asian states - China - was also formed according to this principle.
Different interpretations of the concept of "nation"
When using the term "nation", one must keep in mind its double meaning. Firstly, scientists consider it as a set of citizens of a particular state. That is, it is a multicultural, socio-political, territorial and economic community of representatives of different nationalities that form the state. In the second case, this definition is used as a designation of the highest form of ethnic unity. Multinational countries that have developed according to the first scenario in the modern geopolitical world make up more than half of all state formations. The most typical example is the American nation. For many centuries, the United States has been called a "melting pot" that successfully dissolved the ethnic diversity of American citizens, turning them into a single nation. This course of events was dictated by historical realities, the emerging industrial type of society made strict demands, primarily of an economic nature, and many nationalities had to unite in order to successfully compete in the international arena. This is how the multinational countries of the world were formed.
Russian style integration
Globalization of the economy has affected the ways of integrating state-national entities. Dynamically developing production has led to the formation of new options for interethnic cooperation. The United States and the Russian Federation are multinational countries, both of them are federations in their structure. However, the way they are organizedfundamentally different. The Russian Federation is built according to the national-state principle of its constituent entities. They have a certain independence in internal affairs and jointly represent the Russian nation.
An alternative way of national cooperation
US states also have some internal autonomy, but are formed on a territorial basis. Russia in this way of organization guarantees the development of the national culture of the peoples inhabiting it. The United States of America, on the basis of democratic laws, also secures the right of each ethnic unit to national and cultural independence. These two types of state associations are present all over the globe.
Globalization and nations
The entry of the world into the information age has further strengthened interstate competition, respectively, and international. Therefore, the main trend is the birth of supranational state formations. They are formed on the principle of confederation and have a great national and cultural diversity. The most typical example is the European Union, which consists of more than twenty countries, and the inhabitants speak, according to the most rough estimates, 40 languages. The structure of this association is as close as possible to the prevailing economic and political realities. On its territory there is a common legal system, currency, citizenship. If you look closely at these signs, you can conclude that there is practically aEuropean supernation. The number of new EU members is growing. Similar processes, but with a lesser degree of cooperation, are taking place around the world. The initial economic and political blocs are prototypes of future supernations. It seems that such large state-national formations are the future of all human civilization.
National politics
The guarantor of the preservation of unity is the national policy in states united in multinational countries. The list of these countries is quite extensive and includes the vast majority of state entities located on our planet. The national policy includes a set of measures to ensure the equal existence and development of the ethnic units of the state. The most multinational country in the world - India - is an example of this. Only a balanced and cautious policy of this country allows it to be the leader of South Asia and successfully compete with its giant neighbor China.
Modern trends in interethnic relations
It is the legislative consolidation of the rights of national minorities that serves as a binding "solution" for these countries. The paths of development of nationalities and the state did not always coincide. History shows many such examples. Multinational countries are most prone to disintegration precisely because of their multi-ethnicity. The twentieth century was the period of the collapse of many such states: the USSR, Yugoslavia, and even the binational Czechoslovakia. Therefore, maintaining the parity of nationalitiesbecomes the basis for cooperation and integration. Over the past two decades, the process of separatism has become somewhat biased, this also applies to established European states, such as, for example, Great Britain, from which Scotland announced its intention to withdraw, as well as the states of Asia and Africa artificially created as a result of colonial policy.
