Nation States Quotes

“THE MIDDLE OF WHAT? EAST OF WHERE? THE REGION’S VERY name is based on a European view of the world, and it is a European view of the region that shaped it. The Europeans used ink to draw lines on maps: they were lines that did not exist in reality and created some of the most artificial borders the world has seen. An attempt is now being made to redraw them in blood.”
― Tim Marshall, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

“When we imagine an alien planet, we rarely imagine it to be divided into countries—because that would be, you know, backward.”
― Neel Burton

“Questioning the morals, motives, and actions of a nation-state is not an expression of hatred for it or its predominant religion.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Well, in my view what would ultimately be necessary would be a breakdown of the nation-state system―because I think that's not a viable system. It's not necessarily the natural form of human organization; in fact, it's a European invention pretty much. The modern nation-state system basically developed in Europe since the medieval period, and it was extremely difficult for it to develop: Europe has a very bloody history, an extremely savage and bloody history, with constant massive wars and so on, and that was all part of an effort to establish the nation-state system. It has virtually no relation to the way people live, or to their associations, or anything else particularly, so it had to be established by force. And it was established by centuries of bloody warfare. That warfare ended in 1945―and the only reason it ended is because the next war was going to destroy everything. So it ended in 1945―we hope; if it didn't, it will destroy everything.”
― Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky

“Page 165:
A state is a legal-territorial concept referring to that set of structures and institutions that seek to maintain control over a population within a specific geographical area. A nation refers to a group of people who share culture, history and usually language in a specific territory and who give political expression to this common identity. A nation-state is a state in which national and political borders coincide. In most cases, they do not.”
― Milica Zarkovic Bookman, The Demographic Struggle for Power

“Technology and global trade have diluted the ties between nationals and strengthened the bonds between geographical strangers. To be from and connected to just one place is becoming rarer, and people feel increasingly disconnected from the nation-states issuing their birth certificates and passports.”
― Lauren Razavi, Global Natives: The New Frontiers of Work, Travel, and Innovation

“Countries are stories, concepts, invented by people just like you and me. And we can invent new stories, concepts, and culture based on shared, global experiences. People will continue to travel, as they always have, to places with better opportunities, fewer threats, and more fun to be had. Yet as the world becomes more global and technologically advanced, not everyone gets to participate beyond one locality, and protecting free movement is often overlooked. That’s why our systems need to adapt. Governments and companies need to deliver new infrastructure to keep up with the pace of technology, its impact, and its potential.”
― Lauren Razavi, Global Natives: The New Frontiers of Work, Travel, and Innovation