The modern state has been influenced by 'ethnic' and 'racial' identities. Discuss - Essay Example

A nation has been defined as a creation of human made organizations as opposed to other more organic parts of a society such as the tribe, race and ethnicity. For instance, Ulrich Beck 2002 have argued that nations are just communities of imagination and that they do not hold a society as closely together as a tribe or race would. The role of race and ethnicity has been in the centerpiece of understanding the modern state. Even the most developed modern states such as the UK have been built around racial and ethnic groups.

Marx 1998 looks at how a common cause can be used to be the centerpiece of a nation by looking at how the Afrikaners in South African developed from small independent families into one community because they wanted to unite against the white settlers. In this regard, it may seen that the modern state, everywhere is built around racial and ethnic groupings. In the modern state, race is a more cohesive unit of the society, and it is only when these are closely knit that a nation can prevail. This kind of thing is realized in the creation of the United Kingdom.

McClelland and Rendall 2000 discuss how the reform act of 1867 changed the way citizenship and the definition of national politics in England. Through this act political and social reforms changed the way the in the society contributed to the running of the nation. It would then seem that society and its components such as race and ethnic groups are crucial in the creation of a state. The impact of this act and so many acts formed around the race and ethnicity and this has defined the modern state.

Paul 1997 looks at how the government in England has tried to limit citizenship for outsiders and how this has influenced the way the nation has diversified its population. This can be seen as a major factor to define the modern state. The government in the United Kingdom has since the 1980s tried to govern the way in which immigrants are able to become citizens and get work permits in the UK. When the society is considered as a significant ingredient for a nation, other abstract issues such as values and morals become important and eminent in the way a nation is governed.

According to what Sonya 2009 discusses in her journal article, titled Sex, Citizenship and the nation in World War II Britain, the world war affected morality in the UK and in turn affects the national standing. The main concern as she points out is that the country would be populated with too many illegitimate children, likely black ones. In this paper, it is clear that the authorities in the UK were worried about more ethnic differentiation in the nation and the presence of too many illegitimate children.

Race and ethnicity play their parts in the development of a nation through citizens. In any country, citizens associate with race first before they associate with the modern nation. In this regard, race and ethnicity have been used as the building blocks which make the modern state. This can be seen in the mid 20th century colonialism in Africa. In Kenya for instance, there was a situation where Asian Britons were protected by the British government as citizens in Kenya. However, after Kenya achieved its independence in 1963, the citizenship of the Asian Britons was changed and the British government disowned them, leading to state of insecurity for the Asians.

According to Bhikhu 2001 it is absolutely necessary for majority culture to be assimilated into the national culture in order to help in building a stronger