How Did Joseph Stalin Become A Nation

Dispersed ethnic groups throughout history have experienced violence, repression, and have been denied human rights within the government they are residing. Due to the persecution, these groups search for ways to create their own nation and become independent. According to Joseph Stalin, for an ethnic group to become a nation they must be “a historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.” The world powers do not see the Kurds as a nation due to not meeting a majority of these characteristics. However, the Kurds believe themselves to be a nation. French philosopher, Ernest Renan believed that the “nation is a soul, …show more content…
In his essay The Nation, Stalin gives a clear definition of what establishes a nation: “A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture” Stalin believed that “it is when all of these characteristics are present together that we have a nation” In areas of disagreement Stalin and Renan would disagree on how to identify a nation based upon territory. The nation, according to Renan, does not have to consist of territory. The nation is comprised of those who believe that their nation exists, like the Kurds. Stalin believed the opposite of Renan; he believed that national people have to have a territory that they could call their own. The Kurds have been unable to claim their own territory. They are scattered among four nations and they are unable to unite due to mountainous geography, making them dispersed and not considered a united community. According to Stalin, “they did not constitute one nation, for being split into a number of disconnected principalities, they could not share a common economic life.” The Kurds have many different dialects in regards to their language, making it difficult to claim a national language. Although Stalin is referencing the Georgian people, this pertains to the Kurdish due to being ruled by different leaders. Due to the Kurdish having never created a focal point of government, land, or leadership they are not considered a nation. They have no focal city or place of consistent meeting for the people or would be citizen making Stalin’s ideas on territory valid. These are some of the reasons, based on nationalist theory, why there is no state of