By Karen Sternheimer
Recently, I took a hiking trip to the Alps, spending time in Chamonix, France, and Courmayeur, Italy. These two alpine towns are connected by a tunnel through Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. The tunnel is just over 7 miles, and it took us less than an hour to get from town to town by bus.
And yet, when some acquaintances heard that we were in Italy and France, they asked if we went to Rome (about 500 miles from Courmayeur) or Paris (about 425 miles from Chamonix) and were perplexed when we said no.
“You mean you went to Italy, and you didn’t go to Rome?!?” and “You went to France, and you didn’t go to Paris!?!” were common reactions. That Italy conjures thoughts of Rome is no surprise, since we tend to think about countries as unitary spaces, separate and distinct from other countries.
Understanding what’s behind these questions teaches us about the concept of social construction. To say that something is socially constructed means that the meanings we ascribe are created collectively. When people hear of this concept for the first time, they often misinterpret social construction to mean an illusion, or something that doesn’t exist. Hearing that race or gender are socially constructed can yield much resistance from those who might think social construction means something is fake or nonexistent.
As I have written about before, we socially construct social problems, time, art, our possessions, and even our identities. All these things are real—but their meanings are created through interactions that are shaped by time, place, and economic realities. Symbolic interactionism is a sociological approach that explores how these meanings are created through language and connections with others.
Countries are also social constructions. Yes, they are real places with physical properties, but what defines a country is collectively negotiated. In fact, there is less agreement on what constitutes a country than you might think. In 1933, a convention was held to attempt to answer this question, and the negotiating parties determined that to be defined as a country, four conditions must be met:
- A permanent population must live there.
- The territory is clearly defined.
- A government has been formed.
- It has ability to have relations with other countries.
As this video humorously explores, some countries do not recognize the existence of countries which others recognize, especially those that are hostile to one another.
Some groups might meet all four of the above criteria and view themselves as a separate country, like Catalonia, which is technically part of Spain, as is the Basque region which is in both Spain and France.
Tyrol is a region in southern Austria that shares connections with South Tyrol in northern Italy. When I visited Zugspitze, a mountain peak where Germany meets Austria, I found it interesting that when you cross the border from Germany a sign welcomes you—to Tyrol. When you cross back, another sign welcomes you to Bavaria, which was once a separate country.
What makes a country a country? Is it a shared language? This partly explains why Italy went from a collection of city-states to a unified country. Around the same time, in the mid nineteenth century, what we now know as Germany was formed as well.
Does shared culture make a country? Religion (as seen with the Balkanization of the former Yugoslavia)? Food? Currency?
Of course, not all people within a recognized country share religious beliefs and practices, culture, or even language. And many countries might share language, culture, and religious practices, and even currency (some non-U.S. countries use the U.S. dollar and 20 countries use the Euro).
Countries are relatively new in human history, a reflection our contemporary political and economic needs to form nation-states. A stateless person, someone who is not a citizen of any country, lacks many basic rights. As the United Nations Refugee Agency details:
When they are born, their parents may not be able to register their birth, obtain a birth certificate or other legal identity documents. Without this, they often cannot be enrolled in school. If they do manage to enter school and receive an education, they may be barred from sitting formal exams to progress or enter university, unless they can prove their legal identity.
As an adult, they may not be allowed to work legally, leaving them at an increased risk of exploitation and abuse as they take low-paying and informal jobs. They often cannot access public services, like health care and must rely on costly private clinics. They also frequently cannot open a bank account, vote, get a passport to travel, buy a home or even get married.
Battles over the right to become a citizen reflect the socially constructed nature of countries. Even if we don’t define our identities through our nationality, others do, which can lead to very tangible consequences. Even though countries are social constructions—with borders negotiated and fought over—the consequences of these constructions are profound.