Compare And Contrast ‘State’ And ‘Nation’ The theories behind the nation and the state are key ideas involved in the academic discipline of international relations. The nation and state refer to different aspects of the international society we live in. However they are often confused and interchanged. The main confusion derives from them being wrongly defined. Although they are two separate ideas that do however promote some similar ideas. It is necessary to recognize their definitions and study their similarities and differences. The term nation refers to social collectively in which the members all have common interests. Th