Nation-Building

While nation-building is a concept widely used by academics, journalists, and decision makers, it lacks a precise definition. In a 2008 report produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, nation-building is defined as “the process of building a sense of a common national identity, whether defined in an ethnic, cultural or political sense.” An oft-cited study maintains that nation-building “involves the use of armed force as part of a broader effort to promote political and economic reforms with the objective of transforming a society emerging from conflict into one at peace with itself and its neighbors” (Dobbins, Jones, Crane, & DeGrasse, 2007, p. xvii). These two definitions see nation-building as a social process, but the first considers it as driven by domestic actors ...