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Acivilization state, orcivilizational state,[1] is acountry that aims to represent not just a historical territory,ethnolinguistic group, orbody of governance, but a uniquecivilization in its own right.[2] It is distinguished from the concept of anation state by describing a country's dominantsociopolitical modes as constituting a category larger than a singlenation. When classifying states as civilization states, emphasis is often placed on a country's historical continuity and cultural unity across a large geographic region.
The term was first coined in the 1990s as a way to describeChina[3] and laterIndia, but has also been used to describe countries such asEgypt,Russia,Turkey,Iran[4] and theUnited States.[2][5][6]
The term has been popularized byBruno Maçães in a series of essays since 2018.[7]
The term "civilization-state" was first used by American political scientistLucian Pye in 1990 to categorize China as having a distinct sociopolitical character, as opposed to viewing it as a nation state in the European model. The use of this new term implies that China was and still is an "empire state" with a unique political tradition and governmental structure, and its proponents asserted that the nation state model fails to properly describe the evolution of theChinese state. Proponents of the label describe China as having a unique historical and cultural unity, derived from a continuous process ofcultural syncretism.[8] The term was further popularized by its use inWhen China Rules the World by British political scientistMartin Jacques.[9][10]
According toLi Xing andTimothy M. Shaw, the central feature of analyzing China as a civilization state is the view that the Chinese state derives itslegitimacy from the continuation of a sociopolitical order which posits that the state maintains natural authority over its subjects, and that it is the "guardian" of both its citizens and their society, a view of the state that is completely distinct from theWestphalian nation-state model.[8] Other scholars make the case that the key features of a civilization-state are the maintenance of an ethos of cultural unity despite displaying significant cultural diversity, across centuries of history and a large geographic space.[11] Some specifically draw attention to the longevity of theChinese writing system,[12] or describe China's existence as being uniquely and inexorably tied to the past.[13][14]
Guang Xia pushes back on the idea of the uniqueness of a Chinese civilization-state. Xia argues that civilization-state discourse inChina studies is an important and positive development, as it allows for characteristics of the modern Chinese state to be properly analyzed in the context of their history. However, Xia concludes that ultimately, all civilizations must reinvent themselves in the context of their history, and that it is a mistake to view China as a static entity or to portray it as being more tied to its past than the rest of the world.[9]
By creating a civilizational continuation betweenancient Egypt and contemporary Egypt with its Muslim characteristics, Egypt is another example of a civilization state that centers its continuous historical and cultural identity and tradition that contrast the West's global cultural dominance.[6]
India is another example of a civilization state, with political commentators arguing that a shared Indian identity predatesBritish colonization andIslamic invasions.[10][2][15][16] India as aHindumajority state, is perhaps the only nation that still follows a religion which dates back to the Bronze Age, i.e.Hinduism. It is suggested by some scholars, taking support of archaeological evidences together with analogy of later cult divinities and religious practices, that roots of Hinduism could be diagnosed in the Bronze Age civilization.[17][18]
Vladimir Putin's administration has at times embraced the rhetoric of portraying Russia as a distinctEurasian civilization-state.[2][5][19]
British journalistGideon Rachman argued in a 2019 article that the concept of a civilization state is at odds with modern conceptions of universalhuman rights and commondemocratic standards, and is inherently exclusive tominority groups who do not share the feature(s) that define a particular civilization state (for example, they may have a different religion).[2]
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