Why it is hard to trump a civilisational State

Inthe context of the ongoing Iran war, Iwonder if people have thought about the difference in intrinsic strengths between nation-States and civilisation-al-States.

- Pavan K Varma

A nation-State, in its modern conception, is a political construct. A civilisational-State, by contrast, is something far deeper and more enduring.

(WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Inan age where geopolitical conflicts are reduced only to metrics of military power or economic heft, conventional strategists sometimes ignore this difference.

A nation-State, in its modern conception, is a political construct. It is defined by clearly demarcated borders, a sovereign government, and a sense of shared identity that is often consciously cultivated. But most nation-States are relatively recent creations, emerging from the churn of history over the past few centuries — products of treaties, wars, colonial withdrawals, and ideological movements. In fact, before the Treaty of Westphalia in the 17th century, “nations” did not exist as political units but as cultural entities.