Countries

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For other uses, see Country (disambiguation).
European topographical map
Same map as above, but showing countries instead of topographies

In geography and politics, a country (IPA: /ˈkən-trē/1) is a political division of a geographical entity. Frequently, but not always, a country is considered a Sovereign territory and is associated with the notations of State, Nation and Government. Formal recognition as a state requires the fulfillment of the constitutive theory of statehood, which requires that for a state to be to be recognized as a sovereign state, it must receive recognition from other states, which, in turn, are themselves recognized by other states.

In common usage, the term country is used casually in the sense of both nations and states, with definitions varying. In some cases it is used to refer to both states and other political entities,234 while in some occasions it refers only to states5 It is not uncommon for general information or statistical publications to adopt the wider definition for purposes such as illustration and comparison.678910

The current criteria for the classification of a entity as a country is the Constitutive theory of statehood. This theory merely sets the recognition by other countries as a determining factor, although countries may abuse this system to only recognize countries when it is to their advantage. A previous criteria suggested, but never gained consensus was the Montevideo Convention which had more definite criteria, but was easily exploited.

In ancient history, civilizations did not have definite boundaries as countries have today, and their borders could be more accurately described as frontiers. Early dynastic Sumer, and early dynastic Egypt were the first civilizations to define their borders.

Contents

Criteria

For an entity to be classified as a country, it must fulfill the constitutive theory of statehood, this internationally recognized convention requires that for an entity to be recognized as a country, it must be recognized by the global community.11

Constitutive theory of statehood

Main article: Constitutive theory of statehood

The constitutive theory was developed in the 19th century to define what is and is not a State. With this theory, the obligation to obey international law depends on a entities recognition by Countries. Because of this, new States could not immediately become part of the international community or be bound by international law and recognized nations did not have to respect international law in their dealings with them. One of the major criticisms of this law is the confusion caused when some States recognize a new State, but other States do not, a situation the theory does not deal with. Hersch Lauterpacht, one of the theories main proponents, suggested that it is a State's duty to grant recognition as a possible solution. However, a State may use any criteria when judging if they should give recognition and they have no obligation to use such a criteria. Many countries many only recognize a State if it is to their advantage.12

Montevideo Convention

Main article: Montevideo Convention

One of the criteria most commonly cited by micronations in regards to their eligibility to become countries is the Montevideo Convention. The Montevideo Convention was signed on December 26 1933 by the United States, Honduras, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Cuba but contrary to the belief of many who wish to exploit it, it never received international consensus.13 The Montevideo Convention has four conditions that an entity must meet to become a country, a country must possess:

  • a permanent population
  • defined territory
  • Government
  • capacity to enter into relations with other states

Because of these easy to meet criteria, the Montevideo Convention was never accepted by the international community, countries instead use the constitutive theory of statehood as a benchmark.11

History

Ancient

Main article: Ancient history
Boundaries of the Roman Empire

The first countries of sorts, was those of early dynastic Sumer, and early dynastic Egypt, which arose from the Uruk period and Predynastic Egypt respectively at approximately 3000BC.14 Early dynastic Egypt was based around the Nile River in the north-east parts of Africa, the country's boundaries were based around the Nile and other places where oasises existed.15 Early dynastic Sumer was located in southern Mesopotamia with it's borders extending from the Persian Gulf to parts of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.14 By 2500 BCE the Indian civilization, located in the Indus Valley had formed. This basic country extended 600KM inland from the Arabian Sea.16 336 BCE saw the rise of Alexander the Great, who created an empire from Greece to India, the boundaries of which, extended hundreds of kilometers17. The Roman Empire (509 BCE-476 CE) was the first civilization to define their borders, although they could be more accurately described as a frontier;18 instead of the empire defining its borders with precision, the borders were allowed to trail off and were, in many cases, indirectly ruled by others.19

See also

References

  1. ^ "country". Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2008). Retrieved on 2008-12-01. 
  2. ^ "Acts Interpretation Act 1901 - Sect 22: Meaning of certain words". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  3. ^ "The Kwet Koe v Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs & Ors [1997] FCA 912 (8 September 1997)". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  4. ^ "U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 2—General" (PDF). United States Department of State. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Matt. "Geography: Country, State, and Nation". Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  6. ^ "The World Factbook - Rank Order - Exports". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  7. ^ "Index of Economic Freedom". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  8. ^ "Index of Economic Freedom - Top 10 Countries". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  9. ^ "Asia-Pacific (Region A) Economic Information" (PDF). The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  10. ^ "Subjective well-being in 97 countries" (PDF). University of Michigan. Retrieved on 2008-11-12.
  11. ^ a b Ryan, John; George Dunford, Simon Sellar (2006). Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations, Lonely Planet. pp.9. ISBN 1741047307, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=5ZRrwrlIPSYC. Retrieved on 13 November 2008. 
  12. ^ Hillier, Tim (1998). Sourcebook on Public International Law, Routledge. pp.201–202. ISBN 1859410502, http://books.google.com/books?id=Kr0sOuIx8q8C. 
  13. ^ "Convention on Rights and Duties of States (inter-American); December 26, 1933". The Avalon Project. Yale University (2008-11-17). Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. Retrieved on 2008-11-20.
  14. ^ a b Daniel, Glyn (2003). The First Civilizations: The Archaeology of their Origins. New York: Phoenix Press. xiii. ISBN 1842125001, http://books.google.com/books?id=wx9FAAAAMAAJ. 
  15. ^ Daniel, Glyn (2003). The First Civilizations: The Archaeology of their Origins. New York: Phoenix Press. pp.9–11. ISBN 1842125001, http://books.google.com/books?id=wx9FAAAAMAAJ. 
  16. ^ Daniels, Patrica S; Stephen G Hyslop, Douglas Brinkley, Esther Ferington, Lee Hassig, Dale-Marie Herring (2003). Toni Eugene. ed.. Almanac of World History, National Geographic Society. pp.56. ISBN 0792250923. 
  17. ^ de Blois, Lukas; Robartus van der Spek (1997). An Introduction to the Ancient World. New York, US: Routledge. pp.131. ISBN 0415127734, http://books.google.com/books?id=9o3Ti6H2_BQC. 
  18. ^ "A World Defined By Boundaries". Intertext. Syracuse University (2001). Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
  19. ^ Kaplan, David H; Jouni Häkli (2002). "The 'Civilisational' Roots of European National Boundaries" (HTML). Boundaries and Place: European Borderlands in Geographical Context, Rowman & Littlefield. pp.19. ISBN 0847698831, http://books.google.com/books?id=edb-7VL6H0cC&pg=PA18&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0. 
  • Anderson, Benedict; 'Imagined Communities: Reflections On the origin and Spread of Nationalism'; London, Verso; 1991
  • Viotti, Paul R. and Kauppi, Mark V.; 'International Relations and World Politics - Security, Economy, Identity'; Second Edition; New Jersey, Prentice Hall; 2001

External links

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