The State

Answer the following questions IN YOUR OWN WORDS.  DO NOT quote or copy text directly from your book because this does not demonstrate that you understand what you have read.  Follow the standard format for written work in your syllabus.

1.  What defines a nation?  How does this relate to nationalism?

2.  What defines a nation-state?  How does this differ from a nation?

3.  What are the five challenges that complicate building a nation-state?  Why does this particularly present a problem for developing states of the Global South?

4.  What is a microstate and why does it raise concerns about granting self-determination?

5.  What qualities define a state and why are these key to statehood?

6.  What's the difference between an authoritarian and democratic form of government?  Explain how the type of government of a state may affect its ability to promote its political agenda.

7.  If the democratic peace thesis is correct, with Russia moving toward a much more authoritarian form of government, how should relations between it and the US evolve?