what is a nation state

A nation-state is a political unit where the state, a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory, and the nation, a community based on a common identity, are congruent. It is a territorially bounded sovereign polity, or state, that is ruled in the name of a community of citizens who identify themselves as a nation. The legitimacy of a nation-state’s rule over a territory and over the population inhabiting it stems from the right of a core national group within the state to self-determination. Members of the core national group see the state as belonging to them and consider the approximate territory of the state to be their homeland. A nation-state is characterized by shared geography, culture, and politics, and it is a large, politically sovereign country or administrative territory. It is important to note that a true nation-state in the academic sense of the word does not exist, as nearly every state (country) in the world contains more than one national group.