4.3.1 Introduction to the Modern State

In this video, Professor of International Relations Nil S. Şatana of Bilkent University in Turkey teaches a class on the origins and definition of the modern nation state.
 
Guiding questions:

1. Were nation-states as they are currently configured inevitable in world history? Why or why not?
2. What is the importance of the “use of force” for Weber’s definition of the nation-state?
3. How does the professor define sovereignty?
4. Why did states value their sovereignty 50 years ago more than today?
5. On the presenter’s account, is the nation state the natural way to organize political reality or a result of contingent historical events?

Video Credit: “IR347 20111024 LECTURE10 The Rise of The Modern State and Sovereignty,” CosmoLearning, 2015.

Thumbnail: Map of unification of Italy, 1815-1870. Image Credit: Shepherd, William. Historical Atlas. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1911, on Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.