nation-building

Noun

nation-building (uncountable)

1. Unifying the people or peoples within a state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run.
   • Although uniquely favored by relatively viable political institutions, India yet shares this uncertainty with a large number of countries for which independence is but a first step on the road to nation-building.1977, Reinhard Bendix, Nation-building and Citizenship: Studies of Our Changing Social Order, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 357
   • The state hierarchizes sexuality by defining homosexuality as an influence that corrupts minors. Such a discourse produces a notion of the correct sexual behavior that transcends into the political realm, reinforcing the heteronationalistic nature of the nation-building.2018 January, Nikita Sleptcov, “Political Homophobia as a State Strategy in Russia”, in Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective, volume 12, number 1, page 146