Multinational state
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A multinational state is a state (country) in which the population consists of two or more ethnically distinct nations (peoples) that are of significant size. This contrasts with a nation-state where a single nation comprises the bulk of the population. An oft-cited example is the United Kingdom of England (English people), Wales (Welsh), Scotland (Scottish), and Northern Ireland (Irish)[1].
The phrase refers to the objective existence of distinct ethnic groups in a country; whereas multiculturalism refers to an official policy of acknowledging the equality of these distinct groups. A country may be, or may have been, multi-national but not multicultural.
Multinational states differ from states such as Iceland and South Korea in which an overwhelming majority of the population is ethnically homogeneous.[citation needed] India and China are the largest countries in the world by population and are both multinational, having many recognised ethnicities.[citation needed]
Empires may be dominated by one particular nation, sometimes organized as a nation-state. For example, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which consisted of Austrian Germans, Magyars (Hungarians), Czechs, Slovaks, Romanians, Slovenes, Poles, Croats, Serbs, and Italians.
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[edit] References
- ^ Ascherson, Neal (2007-08-24). "Scotophobia". Eurozine. http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-08-24-ascherson-en.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
