The nation is a territorial community of nativity. One is born into a nation. The significance attributed to this bio- logical fact of birth into the historically evolving, territorial structure of the cultural community of the nation is why the nation is one among a number of forms of kinship. It differs from other forms of kinship such as the family because of the centrality of territory. It differs from other territorial societies such as a tribe, city-state, or various ‘ethnic groups’ not merely by the greater extent of its territory, but also because of its relatively uniform culture that provides stability, that is, continuation over time.