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64-1143: MERI's mission is to contribute to the process of nation-building , state-building and democratisation in the Middle East and its objectives are to promote and develop human rights, democracy, good governance and economic prosperity [1]. MERI's remit includes a broad range of activities, including, international Politics, National Security, institutions of Democracy and Governance, Economics, Energy, Environment, Public Services, Civil Society and Cultural Development. MERI publishes its findings and conduct its policy debates in three languages, including English, Arabic and Kurdish. The institute has conducted numerous research projects and published quality reports on ISIL , internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and minority rights, post-war reconciliation, governance system reforms, promoting human rights (protecting minority's rights, prevention of violence against women) and institutional reform (Judiciary system, public prosecution, interior ministry and Ministry of Peshmarga ) MERI collaborates widely with universities and peace organisations in

128-416: A "feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they'". National identity can incorporate the population, as well as diaspora , of multi-ethnic states and societies that have a shared sense of common identity. Hyphenated ethnicities are examples of the confluence of multiple ethnic and national identities within a single person or entity. Under international law , the term national identity , concerning states,

192-514: A 20 year long nation building project. Frank McKenzie described it as "an attempt to impose a form of government, a state, that would be a state the way that we recognize a state." According to McKenzie, the US "lost track of why we were there". Afghanistan was not "ungovernable", according to the former Marine Corps general, but it was "ungovernable with the Western model that will be imposed on it". He says

256-403: A collective phenomenon, it can arise from the presence of "common points" in people's daily lives: national symbols , language, the nation's history, national consciousness , and cultural artifacts. Subjectively, it is a feeling one shares with a group of people about a nation, regardless of one's legal citizenship status. In psychological terms, it is defined as an "an awareness of difference",

320-490: A common language history, ethnicity, and world views (Connor 1994; Huntington 1996 ). Constructivists believed in the importance of politics and the use of power by dominant groups to gain and maintain privileged status in society (Brubaker, 2009; Spillman, 1997; Wagner-Pacifici & Schwartz, 1991 ). Finally, the civic identity school focuses on shared values about rights and state institutions' legitimacy to govern. A few scholars investigated how popular culture connects with

384-410: A completely different context, with reference to what has been succinctly described by its proponents as "the use of armed force in the aftermath of a conflict to underpin an enduring transition to democracy". In this sense nation-building, better referred to as state-building , describes deliberate efforts by a foreign power to construct or install the institutions of a national government, according to

448-435: A deeper level, national identity may be deliberately constructed by molding different ethnic groups into a nation, especially since in many newly established states colonial practices of divide and rule had resulted in ethnically heterogeneous populations. In a functional understanding of nation-building, both economic and social factors are seen as influential. The development of nation-states in different times and places

512-411: A feeling of obligation toward other citizens. The socialization of national identity, such as socializing national pride and a sense of the country's exceptionalism contributes to harmony among ethnic groups. For example, in the U.S., by integrating diverse ethnic groups in the overarching identity of being an American, people are united by a shared emotion of national pride and the feeling of belonging to

576-481: A longer time , and can be challenged by supranational identities, which refers to identifying with a more inclusive, larger group that includes people from multiple nations. Research on the study abroad experience that focused on the effects of American stereotypes found that American students faced challenges in connecting with their host country during their study abroad experience because of stereotypes of American identity. A stereotype that affected their experience

640-448: A model that may be more familiar to the foreign power but is often considered foreign and even destabilizing. In this sense, state-building is typically characterized by massive investment , military occupation , transitional government , and the use of propaganda to communicate governmental policy. The expansion of primary school provision is often believed to be a key driver in the process of nation-building. European rulers during

704-410: A nation and enhances national identity. Sociologist Anthony Smith argues that national identity has the feature of continuity that can be transmitted and persisted through generations. By expressing the myths of having common descent and common destiny, people's sense of belonging to a nation is enhanced. However, national identities can disappear over time as more people live in foreign countries for

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768-438: A nation is, and his ideas contrast those of both Anderson and Gellner. In the book, Gilbert acknowledges that nations are many things. Gilbert says nations are: Nominalist : Whatever a group of people who consider themselves a nation say a nation is. Voluntarist : "Group of people bound by a commonly willed nation." Territorial : Group of people located in the same proximity, or territory. Linguistic : People who share

832-586: A national consciousness, the awareness of the national communality of a group of people or nation. An awakening of national consciousness is frequently ascribed to national heroes and is associated with national symbols . National identity can be considered a collective product. Through socialization, a system of beliefs, values, assumptions, and expectations are transmitted to group members. The collective elements of national identity may include national symbols, traditions, and memories of national experiences and achievements. These collective elements are rooted in

896-567: A rise in national consciousness has been the first step toward creating a nation . At a glance, national consciousness is one's level of awareness of the collective and one's understanding that without "them", there is no "us". It is the mere awareness of the many shared attitudes and beliefs towards things like family, customs, societal and gender roles, etc. The awareness allows one to have a "collective identity", which allows them to be knowledgeable of where they are and how those places and people around them are so significant that they ultimately make

960-416: A shared identity had to be made among them. The spread of capitalism brought the demand for constant retraining, and Gellner thought that as a result, the demand was met by creating a shared past, common culture, and language, which led to the birth of nations. Gellner thought that nations were contingencies and not universal necessities. He said that our idea of the nation was as such. Two men were only of

1024-432: A state who take the initiative to develop the national community through government programs, including military conscription and national content mass schooling. Nation-building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth. According to Columbia University sociologist Andreas Wimmer , three factors tend to determine the success of nation-building over

1088-574: Is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state . Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable. According to Harris Mylonas , "Legitimate authority in modern national states is connected to popular rule, to majorities. Nation-building is the process through which these majorities are constructed." In Mylonas's framework, "state elites employ three nation-building policies: accommodation, assimilation, and exclusion." Nation builders are those members of

1152-717: Is entirely grant-funded, hence its financial and political independence. MERI's one-off seed capital ($ 3.5 million) was awarded in December 2013 by the Kurdistan Region's Oil and Gas Council (Capacity Building Funds). It has since competed successfully for research funds internationally. It has been awarded major grants from the European Union under the Horizon 2020 program, including the EUNPACK and FEUTURE. It has also secured funding from

1216-777: Is influenced by differing conditions. It has been suggested that elites and masses in Great Britain, France, and the United States slowly grew to identify with each other as those states were established and that nationalism developed as more people were able to participate politically and to receive public goods in exchange for taxes . The more recent development of nation-states in geographically diverse, postcolonial areas may not be comparable due to differences in underlying conditions. Many new states were plagued by cronyism (the exclusion of all but friends); corruption which erodes trust; and tribalism (rivalry between tribes within

1280-464: Is interchangeable with the term state's identity or sovereign identity of the state . A State's identity by definition, is related to the Constitutional name of the state used as a legal identification in international relations and an essential element of the state's international juridical personality. The sovereign identity of the nation also represents a common denominator for identification of

1344-820: The Al Qaeda forces that carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States . NATO responded under US leadership. In December 2001, after the Taliban government was overthrown, the Afghan Interim Administration under Hamid Karzai was formed. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established by the UN Security Council to help assist the Karzai administration and provide basic security. By 2001, after two decades of civil war and famine , it had

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1408-562: The Australian government and aboriginal population in Australia . The Australian government and majority culture-imposed policies and framework that supported the majority, European-based cultural values, and a national language as English. The state did not support the Aboriginal cultures and languages, which were nearly eradicated by the state during the 20th century. Because of these conflicts,

1472-600: The Russian people and were viewed as "unwelcome and abusive guests". Immigrants were considered outsiders and were excluded from sharing the national identity of belonging to Russia. As the world becomes increasingly globalized , international tourism , communication , and business collaboration have increased. People around the world cross national borders more frequently to seek cultural exchange, education, business, and different lifestyles. Globalization promotes common values and experiences and encourages identification with

1536-1137: The United States , Europe and the Middle East . MERI also organises high-profile annual conferences (MERI Forum) where political leaders and policy experts in Iraq and neighbouring countries attend. MERI held its inaugural Forum (MERI Forum 2014) between 4–6 November 2014. This was considered a first in the region, as it included open debates between Fuad Masum (President of Iraq), Salim al-Jabouri (Speaker of Iraqi Parliament), Osama al-Nujaifi (Vice President of Iraq), Nechirvan Barzani (former Prime Minister, now President of KRI), Barham Salih (former Prime Minister of KRG - later became President of Iraq), Masrour Barzani (current Prime Minister of KRG), Qubad Talabani (Deputy PM of KRG) as well as international policy makers, such as Foreign Ministers (e.g. Turkey), ambassadors and academic experts (). The MERI Forum has been conducted annually since, and its impact has been significant on policy-making and public awareness. MERI organised

1600-585: The United States Institute of Peace . MERI became operational on 18 May 2014. In 2015, only one year after its establishment, MERI was named among the top think tanks in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) Region, and the highest ranking in Iraq . MERI consolidated its position for successive years (2015-2019) and ranked the first in Iraq and 34th in MENA countries (among 507 institutions, top 7%) according to

1664-545: The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (which states: " A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law. "). Any deprivation or revision of the sovereign national identity appears to constitute an ethnocide . National identity could not be subject to imposition, revision, or deprivation under any circumstances. National identity can be most noticeable when

1728-431: The global community . People may adapt cosmopolitanism and view themselves as global beings, or world citizens . This trend may threaten national identity because globalization undermines the importance of being a citizen of a particular country. Several researchers examined globalization and its impact on national identity. They found that as a country becomes more globalized, patriotism declines, which suggests that

1792-643: The "common points" in people's daily lives: national symbols , languages , colors , the nation's history, blood ties, culture , music , cuisine, radio, television, and so on. Under various social influences, people incorporate national identity into their identities by adopting beliefs, values, assumptions, and expectations which align with one's national identity. People with identification of their nation view national beliefs and values as personally meaningful and translate them into daily practices. Three main schools of defining national identity exist. Essentialists view national identity as fixed, based on ancestry,

1856-508: The "imagined community" is that a nation is socially constructed, and the nation is made up of individuals who see themselves as part of a particular group. Anderson referred to nations as "imagined communities". He thought that nations, or imagined communities, were delimited because of their boundaries regarding who is in and who is out. Anderson believed that the nation operates through exclusion. Though nations exclude those outside of it but also their members who are not immediately considered in

1920-446: The 19th century relied on state-controlled primary schooling to teach their subjects a common language, a shared identity, and a sense of duty and loyalty to the regime. In Prussia, mass primary education was introduced to foster "loyalty, obedience and devotion to the King". These beliefs about the power of education in forming loyalty to the sovereign were adopted by states in other parts of

1984-435: The Aboriginal population identifies less or does not identify with the national identity of being an Australian, but their ethnic identities are salient. As immigration increases, many countries face the challenges of constructing national identity and accommodating immigrants. Some countries are more inclusive in terms of encouraging immigrants to develop a sense of belonging to their host country. For example, Canada has

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2048-517: The Allied victors engaged in large-scale nation-building with considerable success in Germany. The United States, Britain, and France operated sectors that became West Germany . The Soviet Union operated a sector that became East Germany . In Japan, the victors were nominally in charge but in practice, the United States was in full control, again with considerable political, social, and economic impact. After

2112-797: The Global Go To Think Tank Index report issued by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania ’s Lauder Institute . MERI's publications or quotes from its scholars have been extensively cited in major news and media outlets, including The New York Times , the Voice of America , the Australian RN-ABC, NBC News , Aljazeera , Washington Post , the Economist and others Nation-building Nation-building

2176-441: The U.S., and thus tend to mitigate ethnic conflicts. From the point of International Law , sovereign national identity could not be subject to a treaty regulation or revision, and any international treaty aiming to create or change the national identity of the sovereign state appears to violate the jus cogens rights of the nation . Treaty of revision of the national identity could be subject to termination under Article 53 of

2240-759: The collapse of communism in Yugoslavia in 1989, a series of civil wars broke out. Following the Dayton Agreement , also referred to as the Dayton Accords, NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and also the European Union , engaged in stopping the civil wars, punishing more criminals, and operating nation-building programs especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Kosovo. Afghanistan

2304-510: The collective a nation. In short, national consciousness can be defined as a specific core of attitudes that provide habitual modes for regarding life's phenomena. National identities in Europe and the Americas developed along with the idea of political sovereignty invested in the people of the state. In Eastern Europe , it was also often linked to ethnicity and culture. Nationalism requires first

2368-454: The collective idea of their national identity. Anderson thought that nations were delimited and also were: Limited: Because of the mental boundaries or concepts, we set about others are by culture, ethnicity, etc. We do not imagine everyone in one society or under one nationalism, but we are mentally separate. Sovereign: Nations were sovereign because sovereignty symbolizes freedom from traditional religious practices. Sovereignty provides

2432-426: The conceptualization of national identity includes both self-categorization and affect. Self-categorization refers to identifying with a nation and viewing oneself as a member of a nation. The affect part refers to the emotion a person has with this identification, such as a sense of belonging or emotional attachment toward one's country. The mere awareness of belonging to a specific group invokes positive emotions about

2496-613: The first (inaugural) Iraq Forum in Baghdad (2-4 May 2023), in partnership with Al-Nahrain Centre. This was yet another high-profile conferences that brought together decision- and policy-makers as well as national and international academics, diplomats and journalists. The conference was attended by Prime Minister MS Al-Sudani, KRI President Nechirvan Barzani, Deputy Prime Ministers of GoI and KRG, A/S of State Barbara Leaf, SRSG Jeanine Plasschaert and several Cabinet Ministers and political leaders. MERI

2560-451: The gradual shift to nation building put the US "far beyond the scope" of their original mission to disrupt Al Qaeda. National identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations . It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity comprises both political and cultural elements. As

2624-477: The group and leads to a tendency to act on behalf of that group, even when the other group members are sometimes personally unknown. National identity requires the process of self-categorization, and it involves both the identification of in-group (identifying with one's nation) and the differentiation of out-groups (other nations). People identify with a nation and form an in-group by recognizing commonalities such as having common descent and common destiny. At

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2688-511: The highest permanent immigration rates in the world. The Canadian government encourages immigrants to build a sense of belonging to Canada. It has fostered a more inclusive concept of national identity, which includes both people born in Canada and immigrants. Some countries are less inclusive. For example, Russia has experienced two major waves of immigration influx, one in the 1990s, and the other one after 1998. Immigrants were perceived negatively by

2752-511: The identity-building process. Some found that contemporary music genres can strengthen ethnic identity by increasing the feeling of ethnic pride. Political scientist Rupert Emerson defined national identity as "a body of people who feel that they are a nation". This definition of national identity was endorsed by social psychologist, Henri Tajfel , who formulated social identity theory together with John Turner. Social identity theory adopts this definition of national identity and suggests that

2816-807: The imports because buying them assists the nation's economy and domestic employment. In some cases, national identity collides with a person's civil identity. For example, many Israeli Arabs associate themselves with the Arab or Palestinian nationality . At the same time, they are citizens of the state of Israel, which conflicts with the Palestinian nationality. Taiwanese also face a conflict of national identity with civil identity as there have been movements advocating formal "Taiwan Independence" and renaming " Republic of China " to "Republic of Taiwan. " Residents in Taiwan are issued national identification cards and passports under

2880-553: The increase in globalization is associated with less loyalty and less willingness to fight for one's own country. However, even a nation like Turkey which occupies an important geographic trade crossroads and international marketplace with a tradition of liberal economic activity with an ingrained entrepreneurial and foreign trade has degrees of ethnocentrism as Turkish consumers may be basically rational buyers by not discriminating against imported products. Nevertheless, they exhibit preferences for local goods that are of equal quality to

2944-802: The long-run: "the early development of civil-society organisations, the rise of a state capable of providing public goods evenly across a territory, and the emergence of a shared medium of communication." In the modern era, nation-building referred to the efforts of newly independent nations, to establish trusted institutions of national government, education , military defence , elections , land registry , import customs , foreign trade , foreign diplomacy , banking , finance , taxation , company registration , police , law , courts , healthcare , citizenship , citizen rights and liberties , marriage registry , birth registry , immigration , transport infrastructure and/or municipal governance charters . Nation-building can also include attempts to redefine

3008-471: The lowest life expectancy, and much of the population were hungry. Many foreign donors —51 in all—started providing aid and assistance to rebuild the war-torn country . For example, Norway's had charge of the province of Faryab . The Norwegian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team had the mission of effecting security, good governance, and economic development, 2005–2012. The initial invasion of Afghanistan, intended to disrupt Al Qaeda 's networks ballooned into

3072-480: The media) portrays state-building as an interventionist action by foreign countries. The second (more academic in origin and increasingly accepted by international institutions) sees state-building as an indigenous process. For a discussion of the definitional issues, see state-building , Carolyn Stephenson's essay, and the papers by Whaites, CPC/IPA or ODI cited below. The confusion over terminology has meant that more recently, nation-building has come to be used in

3136-407: The nation confronts external or internal enemies and natural disasters. An example of this phenomenon is the rise in patriotism and national identity in the United States after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 . The identity of being an American is salient after the terrorist attacks and American national identity is evoked. Having a common threat or a common goal unites people in

3200-438: The nation's history. Depending on how much the individual is exposed to the socialization of this system, people incorporate national identity into their identity to different degrees and in different ways, and the collective elements of national identity may become important parts of an individual's definition of the self and how they view the world and their place in it. Nations, to Benedict Anderson , are imagined. The idea of

3264-553: The nation). This sometimes resulted in their near-disintegration, such as the attempt by Biafra to secede from Nigeria in 1970, or the continuing demand of the Somali people in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia for complete independence. The Rwandan genocide , as well as the recurrent problems experienced by the Sudan , can also be related to a lack of ethnic, religious, or racial cohesion within

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3328-570: The nation. It has often proved difficult to unite states with similar ethnic but different colonial backgrounds. Differences in language may be particularly hard to overcome in the process of nation-building. Whereas some consider Cameroon to be an example of success, fractures are emerging in the form of the Anglophone problem . Failures like Senegambia Confederation demonstrate the problems of uniting Francophone and Anglophone territories. Traditionally, there has been some confusion between

3392-424: The national culture or cultural identity, and under International Law, any external interference with the cultural identity or cultural beliefs and traditions appear to be inadmissible. Any deprivation or external modification of the cultural national identity violates basic collective human rights. The expression of one's national identity seen in a positive light is patriotism characterized by national pride and

3456-561: The organization needed for a nation while keeping it free of traditional religious pressures. Unlike Benedict Anderson, Gellner thought nations were not "imagined communities". In his book, Ernest Gellner explained how he thought nations originated. In his eyes, nations are entirely modern constructs and products of nationalism. Gellner believed nations to be a result of the Industrial Revolution . Since large numbers of people from different backgrounds were coming together in cities,

3520-609: The populace of territories that had been carved out by colonial powers or empires without regard to ethnic, religious, or other boundaries, as in Africa and the Balkans . These reformed states could then become viable and coherent national entities. Nation-building also includes the creation of national paraphernalia such as national flags , national coats of arms , national anthems , national days , national stadiums , national airlines , national languages , and national myths . At

3584-416: The positive emotion of love for one's country. The extreme expression of national identity is chauvinism , which refers to the firm belief in the country's superiority and extreme loyalty toward one's country. National identity is not an inborn trait, it is essentially socially constructed. There is no agreed definition of what constitutes national identity. It can result from the presence of elements from

3648-406: The same language. Axiological: Group of people who have the same distinctive values. Destination: Group of people who have a common history and a common mission. In countries that have multiple ethnic groups, ethnic and national identity may be in conflict. These conflicts are usually referred to as ethnonational conflicts. One of the famous ethnonational conflicts is the struggle between

3712-451: The same only if they were from the same culture. In this case, culture is "a system of ideas, signs, associations, and ways of communicating." Two men are of the same nation only if they recognize each other as being a part of the same nation. It was men's recognition of each other as people of the same kind that made them a nation and not their common attributes. In "The Philosophy of Nationalism", Paul Gilbert breaks down what he thinks

3776-666: The same time they view people that identify with a different nation as out-groups. Social identity theory suggests a positive relationship between the identification of a nation and the derogation of other nations. People are involved in intergroup comparisons by identifying with one's nation and tend to derogate out-groups. However, several studies have investigated this relationship between national identity and derogating their countries and found that identifying with national identity does not necessarily result in out-group derogation. National identity, like other social identities, engenders emotions such as pride and love for one's nation and

3840-491: The stereotype of a cultural group. The people are the basic concept for a national identity. But people can be identified and constructed through different logics of nationalism. Examples range from the Völkisch movement to people's republics . A national consciousness is a shared sense of national identity and a shared understanding that a people group shares a common ethnic/linguistic/cultural background. Historically,

3904-504: The use of the term nation-building and that of state-building (the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in North America). Both have fairly narrow and different definitions in political science, the former referring to national identity, the latter to infrastructure, and the institutions of the state. The debate has been clouded further by the existence of two very different schools of thought on state-building. The first (prevalent in

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3968-513: The world as well, in both non-democratic and democratic contexts. Reports on schools in the Soviet Union illustrate the fact that government-sponsored education programs emphasized not just academic content and skills but also taught "a love of country and mercilessness to the enemy, stubbornness in the overcoming of difficulties, an iron discipline, and love of oppressed peoples, the spirit of adventure and constant striving". After World War II,

4032-448: Was related to politics during the 2016 United States presidential election of Donald Trump. A study found that students would disengage, distance, avoid, assimilate, or challenge their identity or host culture in response to the interactions they faced. These preconceived ideas by the host culture, and even by Americans, affect the ability of people from different backgrounds to understand and accept one another as individuals, rather than

4096-653: Was the target for Soviet-style nation-building during the Soviet–Afghan War . However, Soviet efforts bogged down due to Afghan resistance, in which foreign nations (primarily the United States ) supported the mujahideen due to the geopolitics of the Cold War . The Soviet Union ultimately withdrew in 1988, ending the conflict. After the Soviets left, the Taliban established de facto control of much of Afghanistan. It tolerated

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