The terms “nation” and “state” have specific meanings in political science. A Nation is a group of people (a population) with a historic sense of self (cohesiveness, shared history and culture, sometimes a common language). A State is the government structures of a nation. While it seems logical that nations would lead to states, in fact, states (government structures) usually create nations around them.
Nations - Generally, but not always, nations share elements like a Territory (Ex. Israel), a Population (multinational?), Independence (governs itself as a sovereign entity, receives diplomatic recognition) and a Government.
Stages in Building a Nation – Generally, to be a nation, it must first have (build):
1. Identity – The population must come to think of themselves first as citizens of the nation.
2. Legitimacy – Government must gain the respect and willing obedience from the population,
who believe that the government rule is rightful.
3. Penetration – This means that the government cannot just have some portion of the
population; rather it must have the support of substantially all of the population’s belief.
4. Participation – Through slow steps, the people as population as it becomes more educated
must have a say in how the government runs.
5. Distribution – The idea of “who gets what” is the business of politics in nation building and
is never fully settled. (NOTE: All governments tend to grow!)
is never fully settled. (NOTE: All governments tend to grow!)
States (Government): A device to protect natural rights and property. Ideally, a government will provide for the lives, stability, and economic and social well-being of its citizens. John Locke Governments make Public Policy, both tangible (expense) and symbolic (less expense)
A Government must ensure:
(1) National Survival: its sovereignty.
(2) Stability: that is, a system for the orderly transfer of power. Stability in terms of domestic peace is preserved by delivering justice, preserving law and order, and protecting property. There must be education and other infrastructure, jobs, and health care for citizens.
(3) Economic and Social Well-being decisions depend on how the state answers two questions:
Unitary System – Power centralized in the national capital (Ex. Cambodia).
Federal System - Balance of power between national and sub governments (Ex. USA).
Two major questions are:
How much of the economy should the state own or supervise?
How much of the nation’s wealth should be redistributed to help poorer sectors of the society?
States can be classified based on how a society chooses to answer these questions as follows:
High
Statist Socialist Ex. Statist: government owns property 
(Venezuela) (Cuba) but not provide welfare benefits
State Ownership 
Laissez faire Welfare State
(USA, Swiss) (Sweden, Denmark)
Low High
Welfare benefits
Q: Should the State be the agent for Modernization or should that be left to free enterprise?
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