Immigrants/emigrants, children and grandchildren of immigrants/emigrants, people that are born in a country, but move to another within their first month of existence, people that are born in a country, but are adopted by a family of another country, people who move from country to country for professional reasons and take their family with them… Belonging to a nation can be tricky. The concept of nationality includes other concepts like identity, language, territory, traditions. Below, these concepts are explored and shown how they are interconnected. After all, words are not chosen by chance. 

First, we shall distinguish nation from country. The English word “country” comes from the vulgar Latin terra contrata, meaning “opposite land”. The word was adopted by the English language via the French old word contree, by then meaning “region”. Interestingly, the current French word for country is “pays”, which can mean “country” or “region”. It comes from the Latin word pagus, meaning “a piece of land bounded by stakes”. “Nation” also comes from Latin, natio, whose meaning is related to “birth”. Therefore, while “country” is related to the land itself, “nation” is related to where the people are born.

Second, it is useful to understand what “state” means. It evolved from the Latin word status, the same origin as “status”. Contrary to what it may seem, the meaning is similar: the position with regard to something. When talking about a country, it means the regime in which the country is governed. When talking about an individual, it means the level of prestige held. Just a note to say that “status quo” is a Latin expression meaning “the current state of affairs”.

Third, a historical note should be introduced. For many centuries, wars were fought to gain territory and/or power. The history of Europe is about the changing of borders. Furthermore, religion, as a source of power, has always played an important role. The Roman Catholic Church aimed to have all Europe under its power, and maybe even the whole world. For centuries, countries had to be recognized by the Pope to have their declaration of independence validated. For example, Portugal declared independence from Spain in 1143, but that status was only formally obtained in 1179 after several insisting pleas to the Pope. Since then, with an exception of 60 years, Portugal has kept its independence and pretty much the same borders.

At the beginning of the 17th century, a bloody war was fought between Christians: some defended the Catholic Church, others defended Protestantism. It ended with the Westphalia Peace, which changed everything for Europe (and, at some level, for the world). From then onwards, countries would become secular and completely independent and autonomous. They should no longer interfere in other countries’ affairs for any reason and should not invade another country to expand land.

Until then, people did not feel like belonging to a country, but to a region, with undefined borders, where they spoke the same language and had the same traditions. However, people would move a lot from place to place for several reasons, thus, that sense of belonging could change throughout their lives. After Westphalia, the regions became part of a country and a sense of national identity got stronger. In other words, people became identified with the land where they were born, and with its culture, its history, its language.

This was particularly useful for the army. Before Westphalia, Governments would hire mercenaries, soldiers that were paid to fight for a country and sometimes they would change sides to earn more money. Even Knights would only go to war in exchange to new farming lands or new titles, enriching themselves. As battles were the soldiers’ life, they would take their families with them wherever they went. Therefore, military camps were like portable cities. After Westphalia, Governments started to recruit national citizens, men who would be loyal to their country and would not change side. Loyalty became more important than money. Besides, as soldiers would return home after serving the army, military camps became more focused on military matters.

By the 18th century, a political ideology was brewing that defended the supremacy of a country above all others and that people born in a certain country would have a duty of allegiance to that country: nationalism. It differs from patriotism in the sense that a patriot loves the country where he/she was born as a choice, whereas a nationalist sees it as an obligation.

“Patriotism” comes from the Greek word patēr, meaning “father”. Depending on the country/language, some see their country as the “fatherland”, others as their “motherland”. For them, their country is like family, it is their identity. Wherever they go, whatever they do, they take that identity with them. Their country, and its culture, its traditions, and its language, represent their roots, the place where they come from and the place where, when they return, will always be welcomed.

While patriotism is a feeling, nationalism is an ideology, as previously mentioned. Nationalists developed the idea that those who were born in a certain country, and who are the children and the grandchildren of people who were also born in that country, are the rightful heirs of its identity. Yet, the pride in that legacy is confused with supremacy: nationalists convey the notion that their country is theirs and only theirs and they are better than those born in other countries. This ideology led to xenophobia: “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign”.

Migration is a phenomenon that has always existed since the beginning of time. It is not only a human phenomenon, but a phenomenon in most species on this Earth. Homo sapiens have spread all over the world because they moved from continent to continent. Later, tribes would move from place to place even though they were restricted to a specific region. Feudalism seemed to fix people to one place, but if we look closely, we see that people were still on the move anyway. During this time, borders were ill-defined and nationalism was not yet established. After Westphalia, people did not stop moving, but their movements became more controlled and nationalists turned migration into something sinister.

Obviously, at least in Europe, persecuting people that choose different paths in life regarding what was considered the norm was not something new. Hence, the war between Catholics and Protestants that led to the Westphalia Peace. Jews and Muslims have been discriminated against and mistreated for centuries by Catholics. As mentioned before, the Roman Catholic Church wanted to dominate the entire continent, and maybe the world, under the same religion. Therefore, people from other religions were pressured to leave or to covert. In Westphalia, it was determined that countries would become secular. This decision did not end the religious prosecutions (Holocaust is an example), but made them wrong.

European xenophobia took a new turn with nationalism. Now, it was not about “strange” people who followed a different religion, it was about “strange” people who supposedly belonged to another country, or another nation. Nation implies a cultural identity in which people are born. Inside some countries you can find several nations. For example, the United Kingdom is composed of four nations: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. So, for example, people who are born in Edinburgh consider themselves Scots, with a British nationality. Spain, Germany, and India are other examples. In the old days, each of these countries were composed of several Kingdoms and Principalities. Then, they came together to form a unified country. However, the identity of each nation has not been entirely lost.

Now, add immigrants to this mixture (people who crossed international borders to live inside in “others’ country”). They arrive with traditions, languages, and cultural histories that were developed in a different land. Undoubtedly nationals of another country, they establish themselves in that country, socializing with nationals from their home country and forming a “foreign” community. For example, there are Chinatowns in many cities in the world. Their children are raised within that community the same way as they would be if they had been born in their parents’ country. Yet, these children go to school and interact with nationals of the country where they were actually born. Some of them never visit their parents’ countries in their life. Which is their nation? The nation of the country where they were born or the nation of their parents and the community in which they were raised?

Legally, there are rules to determine that. For example, according to the Constitution of the USA, all children born inside USA borders are automatically USA nationals. In some countries, immigrant parents can request their nationality for their children. Therefore, it is possible for babies to have more than one nationality, in the eyes of the law. How about in the eyes of individuals? For example, Albert Einstein, the famous physicist, is considered German because he was born in Germany. However, he renounced that nationality twice and died as a Swiss and USA national. Let’s tell the story of his citizenship.

Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, currently located in the Federal Republic of Germany. When Einstein was born, Ulm belonged to the Kingdom of Württemberg, which was a state integrated in the German Empire, also called the Second Reich. When Einstein was 15 years-old, his parents moved to Munich (with him, obviously). Munich was then the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which had been an independent state until 1871, integrating from then on the German Empire. For professional reasons, his parents moved to Italy, but left Albert Einstein in Munich in a boarding school. He hated it so much that he ran away and renounced his German nationality (for the first time). He then went back to school in Switzerland and later obtained a higher degree. Having been stateless for 5 years, he was given Swiss nationality in 1901. He lived and worked in Switzerland until 1914, when he moved to Berlin. Back then, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia, also integrated in the German Empire. Einstein became a German national again. The Kingdom of Prussia became the Free State of Prussia in 1918, but still part of the German Empire (although unofficially it was called the Weimar Republic). The German Empire became unofficially the “Third Reich” in 1930, with the establishment of Nazism. As Einstein was being persecuted for his Jew background, he decided to emigrate to the USA in 1933 and renounce his German nationality (for the second time). In 1940, he became a USA national. He died in 1955 a Swiss and USA citizen.

Salman Rushdie is considered one of the greatest British writers. However, he was born in India to Indian parents. Before India became part of the British Empire, it was composed of several independent nations, in what are today provinces. Salman Rushdie’s parents were from Kashmir, a northern region, but he was born in Bombay, which is currently named Mumbai, capital of the Maharashtra region (about 1600 kilometres south of Kashmir). At the time of his birth, India was part of the British Empire, thus, he became a British national. When he was 17 years-old, he went to study in England, where he stayed for university graduation and the beginning of his professional career. He moved to the USA in 2000 and in 2016 he added the USA nationality to the British one. In the meantime, his parents moved to Pakistan, a part of India which became independent for religious reasons. Muslims had always been persecuted by Hindus and when India became independent from the British Empire, Indian Muslims decided to create their own country. Millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan (including Salman Rushdie’s parents) and millions of people from other religions moved from Pakistan to other parts of India.

There are also the cases of the diplomat’s children and the children born in a country, but adopted by people from other countries. For example, Morgan Hurd was born in China, but was adopted by a USA national when she was less than one year-old. She became a great USA gymnast.

Belonging to a nation is more intricate than may seem at first.