Nation

(OF from L. nationem from nasci, to be born). The inhabitants of a country, ruled by the same government; the territory of that country; a group of persons who generally speak the same language and share some common history. Distinguished from ethnicity, which applies to persons of a single, common origin. The modern nation is polyphonic. It is formed in the process of structuring the market and national cultures over the basis of the emergence of civil society in a given territory. Different nations may speak the same language (e.g. England, the United States, and Ireland; Germany and Austria; Spain and the Spanish-speaking Latin American nations; the Arab states, etc.). The term “nation” in the modern sense appeared during the wars of independence of the English and Spanish colonies in the Americas and during the French revolution. The United Nations recognized the right of nations to self-determination, contributing to the dissolution of the colonial system and the appearance of hundred new nation states following the Second World War. Universalist Humanism (*) supports the claims to national cultural autonomy of groups of persons who regard themselves as a nation, as well as their right to receive education in their own language, and to the free use of their own language in relations with official institutions. At the same time, humanists call for the resolution of national conflicts through negotiation, without recourse to violence, and for respect for those borders recognized by the international community.