<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> A nation state (or nation - state) in the most specific sense is a country where a distinct cultural or ethnic group (a "nation" or "people") inhabits a territory and have formed a state (often a sovereign state) that they predominantly govern . It is a more precise term than "country," but of the same general meaning, being that it is an ethnic nation with its own land (thus "homeland") and government . </P> <P> A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may include a diaspora or refugees who live outside the nation - state; some nations of this sense do not have a state where that ethnicity predominates . In a more general sense, a nation - state is simply a large, politically sovereign country or administrative territory . A nation - state may be contrasted with: </P>

When did the modern state system come into effect