In the modern world there are more than three thousand different ethnic units, and there are a little more than two hundred states. And this means that, with some exceptions, the majority are multinational countries.
Terms and concepts
In order to understand the issue in detail, it is necessary to highlight the key concepts that researchers use when studying a particular country. Such concepts as a tribe, nationality, people, nation, ethnos are quite close in meaning, but at the same time they have certain nuances. It is clear enough that all these terms are the result of the historical complication of the various elements characterizing a particular ethnic community. Economic development, expansion of the territory led to an increase in the range of the tribe, which gradually turned into a nationality or people. And as the highest stage of an ethnic unit, the formation and emergence of a nation can be distinguished. Many scholars agree that the determining factors in the formation of this community are one language, territory, culture and economic relations. However, as a nation develops, these factors lose their paramount importance, and it can continue to exist even when it is divided by state borders.
The formation of national identity
Indeed, confirming this statement, we can turn to the example of such a multinational giant as the USSR. Many nations that existed as part of this state, after its collapse, found themselves on opposite sides of the borders, but did not lose their identification. Therefore, having formed once, they continue to exist, with the exception of cases of physical disappearance. Language as one of the fundamental signs of a nation may cease to be such. As the number of people increased, the role of kinship decreased, and it could happen that two or more languages appeared in one nation. With the unification of the former ethnic groups into more and more numerous, variations of languages (dialects) were preserved, sometimes differing quite strongly from the former single language. The clearest example is the Swiss Confederation. Approximately along this path multinational countries of Europe were formed. However, not only European countries followed this path of development of national relations. The multinational countries of Asia also could not immediately form as full-fledged multi-ethnic entities. A series of revolutions and other metamorphoses led them to the need for coexistence, and one of the many states of Asia - China - is also formed on this principle.
Different interpretations of the concept of "nation"
When using the term "nation", it is necessary to keep in mind its dual meaning. Firstly, scientists consider it as a collection of citizens of a certain state. That is, it is a multicultural, socio-political, territorial and economic community of representatives of different nationalities forming the state. In the second case, this definition is used as a designation of the highest form of ethnic unity. The multinational countries formed according to the first scenario in the modern geopolitical world comprise more than half of all state entities. The most characteristic example is the American nation. For many centuries, the United States has been called the "melting pot," which has successfully dissolved the ethnic diversity of American citizens, turning them into a single nation. Such a course of events was dictated by historical realities, the emerging industrial type of society imposed stringent requirements primarily of an economic nature, and many nationalities had to unite in order to successfully compete in the international arena. This is how the multinational countries of the world developed.
Integration by Russian type
The globalization of the economy has affected the ways of integrating state-national entities. Dynamically developing production has led to the formation of new options for interethnic cooperation. The USA and the Russian Federation are multinational countries, both of them are federations in their structure. However, the ways they are organized are fundamentally different. The Russian Federation is built on the national-state principle of the constituent entities. They have a certain independence in internal affairs and together represent the Russian nation.
An alternative way of national cooperation
The US states also have some internal autonomy, but are formed on a territorial basis. In this way of organization, Russia guarantees the development of the national culture of the peoples inhabiting it. The United States of America, on the basis of democratic laws, also enshrines the right of each ethnic unit to national-cultural independence. These two types of state associations are represented all over the globe.
Globalization and Nations
The entry of the world into the information age has further strengthened interstate competition, respectively, and interethnic. Therefore, the main trend is the birth of supranational state formations. They are formed on the principle of confederation and have a great national and cultural diversity. The most typical example is the European Union, which includes more than twenty countries, and residents speak, according to rough estimates, in 40 languages. The structure of this association is as close as possible to the prevailing economic and political realities. On its territory there is a general legal system, currency, citizenship. If you look closely at these signs, we can conclude that the European supernation has practically developed. The number of new EU members is growing. Similar processes, but with a lesser degree of cooperation, are taking place around the world. The initial economic and political blocs are prototypes of future supernations. It seems that it is precisely such large state-national entities - the future of all human civilization.
National policy
The guarantor of the preservation of unity is national policy in states united in multinational countries. The list of these countries is quite extensive and includes the vast majority of government entities located on our planet. National policy includes a set of measures to ensure the equal existence and development of ethnic units of the state. The most multinational country in the world - India - is an example. Only a balanced and cautious policy of this country allows it to be the leader of South Asia and successfully compete with its giant neighbor China.
Modern trends of interethnic relations
It is the legislative consolidation of the rights of national minorities that serves as a binding "solution" for these countries. The development paths of nationalities and the state did not always coincide. History shows a ton of similar examples. Multinational countries are most susceptible to decay precisely because of their multi-ethnicity. The twentieth century was the period of the collapse of many such states: the USSR, Yugoslavia, and even binational Czechoslovakia. Therefore, maintaining parity of nationalities becomes the basis for cooperation and integration. Over the past two decades, the process of separatism has acquired some tendency, this also applies to well-established European states, such as, for example, Great Britain, from which Scotland announced its intention to secede, as well as the states of Asia and Africa artificially created as a result of the colonial policy.