The Problems with Westphalian Nation-State System

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We all associate ourselves with various identities such as Indians, Chinese, Pakistani, Americans, Canadians, French, British and much more. Why do you think we all associate with all these more? Are there any other identities which people associate with?  The identities which I mentioned before are relatively new compared to other identities such as religion, language, caste, and various other identities. It is not to say that people never had such feelings towards nations or the state. But the idea of loyalty and love for the motherland was very important which offset various other identities. The question we are arriving at is what is the motherland, who made and how it formed.  What we refer to today as a Nation or Country refers to what we know in political science as a Nation-State. Today almost all the countries we know are categorised Nation-States and some even as State-Nations. International Relations and Political Science suggest that states are the most important a...
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News capsule for the fortnight December (16-31)

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Following are the top news for the fortnight (16-31).  If you wish to follow and get notifications of future articles, you can signup using the email on the left sidebar. 

Credits-Newslaundry 

Kerala 

  • 55,000 people can have darshan at Sabarimala per day for mandalam. 
  • E Sreedharan quits active politics. Asks BJP to shun Hindutva politics. 
  • CM's pilot vehicle misses the convoy. 
  • CPM looks to revamp its approach in Ernakulam following the election defeat in the district. 
  • School in Balussery, Kozhikode implements gender-neutral uniforms. MSF is under fire for opposing it.
  • Lulu Mall, India's largest mall inaugurated in Trivandrum, state's capital. Promises 600 jobs. 
  • District administration publishes route map of Omicron confirmed patient in Ernakulam, Kochi. 
  • Shashi Tharoor MP lands in soup to support Kerala CM P. Vijayan on Silver Line project during Lulu mall speech. KPCC criticises his move, will have to justify his stance. 
  • Kanam Rajendran slams minister R Bindu for recommending Kannur University VC's reappointment.
  • Two political murders in 12 hours in Alappuzha. One from SDPI and BJP each. Collector imposes 144 in the district for two days. 
  • KPCC President K Sudhakaran attacked Pinarayi Vijayan, called him a scavenger.
  • Kerala CPM opposes a nationwide alliance with the Congress party. 
  • Thrikkakara MLA P T Thomas passed away. 
  • Kerala HC serves notice to Kochi Lulu Mall, state govt over illegal parking fees.
  • KS Sethumadhavan passed away. 
  • Kerala implements night curfew for the new year. 
  • Liquor worth Rs 215 crore sold in Kerala during Christmas. 
  • Kerala man mistakes daughter's friend for thief stabs him to death.



  • Cabinet raised the marriage age of women from 18 to 21.
  • Durga Puja gets UNESCO heritage tag. 
  • Amarinder Singh announces alliance with BJP for elections. 
  • PM Modi inaugrates Ganga Expressway. 
  • CUCET Approved for Delhi University Undergraduate Admissions Through Entrance Test From 2022.
  • Govt. issues notice to Election Commission, gets criticised by Opposition and ex. CECs. 
  • I-T department raids SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's aides.
  • Two cases of lynchings were reported in Punjab in two days over sacrilege 
  • Lok Sabha Passes Election Laws Amendment Bill To Link Voter ID With Aadhaar.
  • Several states impose New Year restrictions and Night curfew. 
  • Election Laws (Amendment) Bill passed in Rajya Sabha amid din. 
  • Derek O Brien was suspended from parliament for unparliamentary behaviour. 
  • Karnataka passes the anti-conversion bill in the assembly. 
  • NCRB stopped collecting data on lynching, hate crime as it was ‘unreliable’, govt tells LS. 
  • Hindutva leaders in Haridwar call for Muslim genocide. 
  • Karnataka School's Christmas Celebrations Stopped By Right-Wing Group in Mandya. 
  • RSS begins work for its roadmap for next 25 years.
  • MIG-21 crashes in Rajasthan. 
  • TMC wins landslide in Kolkata municipal elections. 
  • Farmers' Protest Spawns A Political Party, Will Contest Punjab Elections.
  • 'Help Make BJP And India Strong': PM Donates Rs 1,000 To Party Fund.
  • PM Modi, VP Naidu and others pay tributes to Vajpayee on his birth anniversary.
  • Scuffle in Kizhakambalam after migrant labourers put police jeeps on fire close to KiTeX factory. Massive arrests took place. Company calls it a witch-hunt, while political parties call it a KiTeX plot. 156 people arrested. 
  • India to start vaccination of teens above 15. Only COVAXIN is approved for the same. 
  • NITI Aayog report for last year released, Kerala on the top and UP on the bottom.
  • Bank Account of Mother Teresa mission frozen by central govt. 
  • AICC meet in Delhi saw Congress flag raised fall down.
  • Congress party secures maximum seats in Karnataka local body polls. 
  • Resident doctors across India threaten shutdown of services after police ‘crackdown’ in Delhi post lathicharge by police. 
  • Centre approved two indigenously developed COVID vaccines, one anti-viral drug. 
World/International

  • Omicron is spreading faster than any other coronavirus variant.
  • Super Typhoon Rai makes landfall in the Philippines. 
  • Biden travels to typhoon-ravaged Kentucky.
  • TTP rivals Pak-military by withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement.
  • A booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine can cut mortality from the Delta variant by 90%, says an Israeli study.
  • 50th anniversary of Bangladesh liberation war commemorated. 
  • North Koreans were banned from laughing for 10 days to mark Kim Jong Il's 10th death anniversary.
  • Miss World 2021 was temporarily postponed as several contestants including India's Manasa test Covid +ve
  • US congress raises debt ceiling till 2023. 
  • Turkey raises minimum wages, reduces the bank rates. 
  • US releases report on ISIS terrorists. The list includes people from India.
  • UK Conservative party faces backlash in its stronghold of Northern Shropshire. 
  • The US hosts Summit for Democracy virtually. 
  • Russia was warned by the EU and G7 on Ukraine. 
  • Booster doses are released across the globe due to Omicron fears. 
  • NYC reports the highest covid tally since its outbreak. New York Broadway shows were cancelled due to rising cases. The US reports the highest children hospitalisation in years. 
  • UK experiences its highest COVID tally followed by the world tally. 
  • Gabriel Boric, 35, wins Chile's presidential election. 
  • The ruler of Dubai was forced to pay half a Billion euros for divorce, which is the highest. 
  • Christmas tree removed from a mall in Kuwait for being unIslamic.
  • Crowd boos Trump after he reveals he took Covid booster, later in his interview for The Daily Wire, asked everyone to take vaccines to protect from getting the severe disease. 
  • Doctors Without Borders Marks 50th Anniversary. 
  • Bomb blast in Ludhiana court complex kills two. 
  • Putin: Insulting Prophet Muhammad is not freedom of expression.
  • Queen's Christmas message pays tribute to 'beloved' Philip
  • Pakistan troops, Taliban exchange fire along Durand Line as fencing continues.
  • Biden tells in an interview with ABC's John Muir, that he will contest in 2024. 
  • Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden meet virtually. 
Technology, Business and Finance

  • Linking of Aadhar and Voter ID card to begin. 
  • NASA Parker probe touches the sun by crossing Corona boundaries. 
  • Spotify unveils, rating for podcasts to support creators. 
  • CCI clears the way for the Amazon-Future deal. 
  • Tesla owner blows 2013 Model S sedan with 30 kg of dynamite.
  • Razorpay is now the most valued fintech startup in India.
  • Saudi Arabia Sentences Man To 15 Years For "Promoting Atheism" In Tweets.
  • Twenty Youtube Channels took down for anti-India content. 
  • Indian Rupee is the worst-performing currency. 
  • India ordered 6,04,44,000 biryanis via Swiggy in 2021 becomes the top dish. 
  • Madras High Court Quashes FIR Against YouTuber Maridhas.
  • Jubilant FoodWorks, Dominos India's offset partner to increase the price of Dominos. 
  •  After Jim Parsons, Simon Helberg Returns As Howard in Young Sheldon. 
  • James Webb Space Telescope lifts off on a historic mission. 
  • India's first superhero movie, Minnal Murali released on Netflix. Goes on trending. 
  • Entrepreneur Pankhuri Srivastava passes away, startup ecosystem faces a big loss.
  • Apple closes its NYC based retail stores because of increasing COVID cases. 
  • Govt extends FY'21 GST annual return filing deadline till February 28. RBI extends the deadline for periodic KYC updates till March 31. 
  • No change in IT returns deadline. 

Sports 



  • Kidambi Srikanth wins historical silver in a nail-biting final in BWF finals. 
  • Kerala blasters secure consecutive victories in ISL reaches the third position. 
  • Australia retains Ashes with a win over England.

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