Country (politics)

A country is a territorial political unit with a population, governing institutions, and boundaries. Its sovereignty and international recognition can vary.

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State (polity): A political organization exercising authority over a population and territory. Countries are commonly treated as states, though the terms are not always interchangeable.
Nation: A community whose members identify with a shared history, culture, or political project. A nation can span several countries, while a country can contain several nations.
Constitution: A body of fundamental rules establishing a political system and limiting or organizing public power. A constitution defines offices and authority within many countries.
Kosovo: A territory in the Balkans that declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and is recognized by many states. Its partial recognition illustrates disagreement over sovereign status.
Sovereignty: The authority of a political entity to govern itself without subordination to another power. Sovereignty helps distinguish independent countries from dependent territories.
Nation-state: A sovereign state whose political boundaries substantially coincide with a national community. It is a particular alignment of country, state, and nation, not a synonym for every country.
Citizenship: A legal status granting membership in a political community and associated rights and duties. Citizenship specifies formal membership in a country’s political community.
Taiwan: An island polity governed by the Republic of China, with extensive self-government and contested international status. Its effective autonomy and limited diplomatic recognition pull countryhood criteria apart.
Territoriality: The organization of political or social authority through control of geographic space. A country’s political authority is tied to a bounded area.
Recognition of states: The practice by which states acknowledge another entity as a state under international law. Recognition affects diplomatic relations but does not settle every dispute over countryhood.