Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2020

The Fundamental Social and Political Mechanism of the Modern State—Based on the Analytical Perspective of Nation-State

(Abstract)

Zhou Ping

Among the numerous groups to which the concept of “nation” is applied today, the “nation” which is combined with the state and takes the form of the state, that is, the “nation” of the “nation-state,” is so called because of its outstanding national characteristics and implications. The nation is the national community of a country. In the long-term process of its formation and development, the effectiveness of the ways created by the nation to deal with specific social and political problems develops into a series of mechanisms which basically means that the population becomes national citizens and the national citizenry becomes integrated. These mechanisms have foundational significance for the formation, consolidation and development of a modern country, modern society and even modern civilization. Thus from the beginning of modern times, the nation-state has become a basic social and political mechanism with worldwide foundational influence. This constitutes an important perspective on an accurate understanding of the history and immediate reality of the world since modern times. In the context of increasing globalization, the emergence of frequent, sustained and large-scale transnational population flows has brought about changes in the nation-state’s population structure. On the one hand, it brings new challenges to nation-state mechanisms; on the other hand, it highlights the importance of construction of the nation-state in modern state construction. To fully reveal the nature of the nation-state and thus achieve an accurate understanding of it is thus an important task for political science and related disciplines.