The issue researched on is the emergence of the nation-state system in Europe. The term “nation-state” is made up of two elements of “nation” and “state.” Thus, a nation-state can be defined as a state that offers a sovereign territory to a particular nation. The nation-state system in Europe emerged as a result of various reasons.
Scholars Campbell, MacKinnon, and Stevens believe that three key factors led to the creation of the nation-state system in Europe. These include the decline of the long rule and influence of the Catholic Church on the continent, the bubonic plague that led people to doubt or question their allegiance to the Catholic Church opting for the nation-state system, and the expansion of literacy (Campbell, MacKinnon, and Stevens 33). On the other hand, Habermas, argues that the national consciousness disseminated by propaganda led to the materialization of the mentioned system in Europe (237). While exploring the rise of the nation-state system across the world from 1816 to 2001, Wimmer and Feinstein opine that the occurrence of the French and American revolutions towards the end of the eighteenth century led to the emergence of the nation-state system in Europe (764).
There is a close relationship between the global citizenship and emergence of the nation-state system in Europe. Global citizenship refers to when people around the world understand the links between human rights, human duties, and cosmopolitan beliefs. Additionally, people become connected locally and globally while seeking out information about the world. The nation-state system has ensured the sovereignty of states thus allowing interaction among them through migration, cultural exchange, and trade. Citizens of various nation-states are today more concerned with connecting with one another at the local, regional, and global levels (Wimmer and Feinstein 772).
Bibliography
Campbell, Patricia J., Aran MacKinnon, and Christy R. Stevens. An Introduction to
Global Studies. John Wiley & Sons, 2010., http://ewclass.lecture.ub.ac.id/files/2014/09/Patricia_J._Campbell_Aran_MacKinnon_Christy_R._BookFi.org-1.pdf
Habermas, Jürgen. “The European nation-state: On the Past and Future of Sovereignty and Citizenship.” Public Culture 10 (1998): 397-416, https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/jaro2010/SOC763/um/lecture_11/11_1_11-Habermas.pdf
Wimmer, Andreas, and Yuval Feinstein. “The Rise of the Nation-State across the World, 1816 to 2001.” American Sociological Review 75, no. 5 (2010): 764-790., http://www.columbia.edu/~aw2951/WimmerFeinstein.pdf