Nation
A nation is a form of cultural or social community. Nationhood is an ethical and philosophical doctrine and is the starting point for the ideology of nationalism. Members of a "nation" share a common identity, and usually a common origin, in the sense of history, ancestry, parentage or descent. A nation extends across generations, and includes the dead as full members. Past events are framed in this context; for example; by referring to "our soldiers" in conflicts which took place hundreds of years ago. More vaguely, nations are assumed to include future generations.
A nation is usually the people of a state, and while traditionally mono-cultural, it may also be multicultural in its self-definition. The term nation is often used as a synonym for ethnic group (sometimes "ethnos"), but although ethnicity is now one of the most important aspects of cultural or social identity, people with the same ethnic origin may live in different nation-states and be treated as members of separate nations for that reason. National identity is often disputed, down to the level of the individual.
Almost all nations are associated with a specific territory, the national homeland. Some live in a historical diaspora, that is, mainly outside the national homeland. A state which explicitly identifies as the homeland of a particular nation is a nation-state, and most modern states fall into this category, although there may be violent disputes about their legitimacy. Where territory is disputed between nations, the claims may be based on which nation lived there first.
Nationality
Nationality is the legal status or bond of membership that links an individual to a sovereign state (or nation-state), establishing reciprocal rights and obligations, including the state's duty of diplomatic protection and the individual's allegiance. In international law, it is frequently described as a “legal bond” grounded in a “genuine connection” of attachment, shared existence, interests, and sentiments between the person and the state (drawing from the Nottebohm case jurisprudence and related scholarship).
- Nationality vs. citizenship: While the terms are often used interchangeably in everyday and some domestic contexts, scholars commonly distinguish them. Nationality denotes the international dimension of state membership (e.g., the right to diplomatic protection abroad and recognition under international law). Citizenship typically refers to the internal political and civil rights and duties within the state’s domestic legal order.
- Acquisition: Nationality is generally acquired by birth (jus soli—right of soil—or jus sanguinis—right of blood), naturalization, or other legal means, and is considered a fundamental human right under Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (everyone has the right to a nationality and may not be arbitrarily deprived of it).
In ethno-cultural or sociological contexts, “nationality” can also refer to membership in a people sharing common language, culture, history, traditions, or origin—sometimes independent of (or in tension with) formal state citizenship, as in cases of stateless nations or multi-national states.
This dual usage—legal-political and ethno-cultural—reflects the term’s evolution since the late 18th and 19th centuries alongside the rise of the modern nation-state system. In strictly academic writing, especially in political science, international law, and sociology, the legal bond interpretation predominates when precision is required.
