UK Politics
- Thread starter CriedWhenBrucieLeft
- Start date
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Because the UK is the country that is a member of the EU?
Aren't England, Scotland and Wales distinct countries by definition of the UK's office for national statistics?
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
They are not separate members of the EU, they are not different countries in the UN...
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Never will be.
Cat Milk Supreme
Ancient Mariner
Paisley returns!
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
Meme Only Account
He's six-foot under Niall, so tbh I don't see that ever ever ever happening.
If we take the latter as a benchmark, the definition of a country becomes murky. By that definition, Taiwan, Somaliland, Transnistria, Northern Cyprus and some others aren't countries despite fully, or almost fully functioning as such. And if we took distinct UN membership as a criteria, Soviet Belarus and Ukraine were their own countries, as they retained their own seats ever since 1945 (Source).
But yeah, I'm mostly acting as a smartarse, so don't lose too much energy over this.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Don't worry, I am not going to.
Although I maintain it's an interesting bit of trivia, that there is no universal and official definition of what a country is, and that it's usually for some obscure historical reason.
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
What are UN members officially referred to as then? Member nations, member states?
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Absolutely. You can take the land of some of my ancestors - the Basque Country - as an example! Is it a country? Well, you can argue that the national identity in parts of France and Spain that are part of the Basque Country certainly supports this. Is it a state? Nope.
It's definitely not a state in terms of government or administration, but if you look at how strong the cultural and economical differences between the Spanish part of the Basque Country and the rest of Spain are, I'm pretty sure anyone would feel they're in a completely different country if they visit (never been there myself).
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
I do agree completely, but don't tell that to hardcore Spaniards! You might get lynched!
Oh, I know... I'm surrounded by Spaniards currently, I know how to keep my mouth shut.
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
Oh, I know... I'm surrounded by Spaniards currently, I know how to keep my mouth shut.
You can shout "Gora Euskadi" (Up the Basque Country!) one day just to see how they react!
Joking aside, it is not just the Basque Country they have problems with. Me criticising the brutal police repression in Catalonia the day of the referendum last year led to some heated debates with some of my relatives...
I like the word "nation" for a unique diaspora with a cultural identity that is separate to the dominant state. For example, Quebec is a unique nation within Canada.