Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
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States, Nations, and Civil Society
States like to pretend that they are eternal, but they are actually quite mutable human institutions. State boundaries, especially those created in the process of de-colonization, sometimes carve lines through fluid national and ethnic communities. Ethnic conflict arises when states run by majority peoples ignore or even violate the rights of minorities, as real economic and political conflicts deteriorate into nationalist violence. Because of the incongruence of states and nations, some states fail and new states emerge as unrepresented or indigenous peoples demand their human, social, and economic rights.
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Statehood and Sovereignty
Citizenship and Nationality
This section provides information on the changing role of citizenship and nationality. In a globalizing world, national identity is blurred, as more people carry multiple passports and the affluent travel, study and work in multiple lands. Increasingly, national passports can be purchased outright. Traditional concepts of nationality, based on language, culture, ethnicity or religion, have weakening relevance, but mass migration and economic crises still fuel outbursts of exclusivist nationalism.Failed States
Failed states can no longer perform basic state functions such as education, security, or governance, usually due to fractious violence or extreme poverty. Within this power vacuum, people fall victim to competing factions and crime. Sometimes the United Nations or neighboring states intervene to prevent a humanitarian disaster.Emerging States and Unrepresented Peoples
Ethnic or religious minorities, living in states that provide them little or no official representation or rights, sometimes feel that violence may be their only recourse. Unrepresented peoples also have few international forums at which to appeal - states dominate even the United Nations. Some separatist movements succeed, and people establish or regain their own state. But once independence is gained, the good life does not necessarily begin. Other minorities may, in turn, be disregarded or oppressed in the new emerging state.NGOs and States
Although NGOs have organized influential campaigns and global policy initiatives, international law does not formally recognize them. State sovereignty remains the fundamental principle in international relations. However governments increasingly view NGOs as indispensable partners.
More Information on Statehood and Sovereignty
More Information on Nations and States
