LexBrew
Usage Entry 1175 / 1350 60-second read

Nation vs. State

A people with shared identity versus a political entity with borders.

The comparisoni

✗ Wrong

Kurds are a state without a nation.

✓ Correct

Kurds are a nation without a state — a people without their own political entity.

The ruleii

NATION = people. STATE = political.

NATION is a group of people sharing identity — language, history, culture. STATE is a political-legal entity with defined borders and government. A "nation-state" combines both, but nations can exist without states (Kurds, Basques) and states without unified nations.

Memory aidiii

Remember it like this

Nation = shared identity. State = sovereign borders.

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