The nation is one of the most important actors in politics. The national question is given significant attention in the political programs of parties, regardless of their spectrum. Nations are often the initiators of political change.
The term nation has different meanings. It can denote the population of a country (or the state itself) and an ethnic community. The modern understanding of the nation took shape during the period of the Great French Revolution, when national identity began to form. French revolutionaries characterized themselves as patriots; accordingly, it was civic identity that formed the basis for the formation of the nation. Since then, the nation has been understood as a historically formed community of people based on economy, language, territory and psychology, as well as cultural characteristics.
Some scholars believe that nations cannot be considered real subjects of political processes. In their opinion, nations are formations artificially constructed by political elites, limited within the state. However, one can hardly agree with this position. Since the national aspect is often the basis of the requirements for the state. It was the national idea that became dominant for the activation of movements against oppression and slavery, the formation of national states.
In modern political life, national problems play an important role. Among them, sovereign development, equality of nations, the inalienable rights of nations (to self-determination, to self-identification, etc.). National issues can contribute to an increase in the level of political participation, they play a noticeable role in party struggles, in the process of forming political institutions.
Nations can contribute to the solution of other important socio-political problems. In particular, they can help to raise the cultural level of a particular nation, or their social security. Other likely goals of national movements are the spread of national identity (for example, by opening schools with instruction in the national language), expanding the rights to special forms of political representation, and legislative initiatives.
There is even a separate ideology - nationalism, the leitmotif of which is the protection of the interests of national communities when interacting with state power. This ideology is activated in difficult moments of the historical development of the state, when it is necessary to ensure the high cohesion of society and its constituent parts. Sometimes nationalism can take on an extreme form that defends the thesis of the superiority of one nation over another.
Nations are both subjects and objects of politics. However, the role of nations is not the same. Based on their position, they distinguish between dominant and oppressed nations. The former possess the full range of political resources. In realizing their political goals, they can rely on the army, government agencies, the media, etc. Oppressed nations act as subjects of politics, since they oppose the dominant nations. Ignoring their interests can lead to serious negative consequences for the stability of society.
National and interethnic relations do not exist in their pure form. Within nations, there are different social strata and groups, which makes them closely interconnected with political and economic aspects.
The importance of nations in political life is determined by the fact that many politicians and movements use the national question as their trump card in the political struggle.
