Is the United Kingdom a country?

[Bram Hengeveld]

Scandinavia is just geographical name, it has no official status so that example is not correct when compared to the UK The Iberian Peninsula (Portugal & Spain) is not an official entity either, neither is the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

 

[Lee Downham]

I guess its easiest to think of as:
England Scotland N.Ireland and Wales are all countries
UK is the nation to which they belong.

Neil and I are both British Citizens and herald from the UK, but we are not fellow countrymen, as he's a jock and I am just another piece of English scum

BTW ... in the Olympics we/they enter as: Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... and not as the UK ... this is because it was decided a long time ago that it would be this way and has remained so since, but also another little known fact is that Great Britain on its own is just the mainland regions of England, Scotland and Wales - it does not include the territories of Northern Ireland.

To clarify something else, I believe I am correct in saying that The British Isles is the whole group of islands over that way including Northern Ireland and Eire (which is more like saying Scandinavia, Iberian Peninsula or Benelux).

Its all very historical and complex, but this is how things are, and I guess it depends on the rules or entry requirements or personal taste as to what you call yourself or whether we are from the UK, an Englishman, Welsh, Cornish or a simple Lancastrian like myself

(EDIT: Lancashire is a county not a country, kind of a region ... you have something like this in Spain:

we have something like this too (sorry no NI but you get the idea):

 

[Stefan Werner]

The UK is a Country or Nation (whichever term you prefer). England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not countries! As it stands they are territories or states. Unless they break away from the UK, they aren't recognized as countries.

Similar examples can be found in other places of the world, where states view themselves as countries. Bavaria in Germany or Texas in the United States are good examples of these, despite not being as extreme.

 

[Brian Duddy]

It all depends on what you call a "country", of course; one person's country might be another's "state", or "nation", whatever. By my definition of a "country", Britain, Scotland, Wales, and NI are not; they do not have distinct international relations, absolute law-making power over their own territory, they are not by themselves members of the UN, NATO, etc. Sports, flags, all that stuff don't affect what I think of as a "country". Other people-most UK residents, for one thing-probably define "country" in a way that includes England etc, but not me. It's sort of like the old debate, is racing a "sport"? It's all semantics and, IMO, doesn't really matter that much anyway...

 

[James Chesters]

As a French/British citizen (ie. son of English parents who always lived in France), I have a very "French" or "External" POV , but my opinion is simple : Scotland is not a sovereign country, neither is England... and UK is ! There are some cases it is difficult to say whether a country is sovereign, but for Scotland's case (for example, but I think, the most notable one), it is quite obvious since it does not have international relations... I would rather compare Scotland or Wales to an US state or a German lander, where the "regions" (as we call them in France) have a certain autonomy regarding education or transport for example, but still belong to a sovereign country (in France, it is very clear, since everything is decided by Government and Parliament in Paris).

England, Scotland, Wales and NI are maybe considered as "countries" inside the UK, but UK is a "country", ie. the territory of a sovereign state. Don't forget that in the English language, country has several definitions, and it also refers to the countryside.

 

[Keith Peppiatt]

what an interesting thread.....

Welcome to British Political History. Fun hey?

UK is the Country from a Global Politics stand point. I carry a British Passport. If asked I would say I was British.

I would say England is a Nation, Scotland is a Nation, Wales is a Principality and Northern Ireland is a State.

Scotland has its own laws compared to the rest of the UK, just to throw another curve ball into the mix.

"While the terms country, state, and nation are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. A State (note the capital "S") is a self-governing political entity. The term State can be used interchangeably with country.
A nation, however, is a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture. A nation-state is a nation which has the same borders as a State."

 

[Steven Palmer]

Forgive me for asking, but what is the point, other than healthy discussion, of this question.

Is it purely educational or is to effect RD in anyway?

 

[Lee Downham]

^^ my guess ... probably started with NGP cos there is England Scotland, Wales and Ireland ;-)

 

[Steven Palmer]

^^ my guess ... probably started with NGP cos there is England Scotland, Wales and Ireland ;-)

The more the merrier then, I reckon Lee Northern Ireland needs to be added

 

[Chris Butcher]

UK is a Commonwealth Realm. England, Sotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all countries.

 

[Adam Eggbeer]

I consider England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to all be countries and the UK is the collection of those countries. However, one thing that has not been mentioned here is that all 4 countries have a United Kingdom passport and people can move freely between these countries without needing one. Most people in the UK associate themselves to their own countries and would like to be considered seperate to the others but we are mainly ruled as one (with each country having their own laws as well). When we get official forms to fill in, we do get the option to call ourselves Scottish, English, Welsh, Northern Irish, or British.

So I think that England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom are all countries, it just depends on what the subject is.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

So I think that England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom are all countries, it just depends on what the subject is.

Why did they all operate as GB then during the last Olympics?

 

[Senad Subasic]

Bram the necromancer

Well, UK is a sovereign state, and its constituents are not. They are countries, even though country is a pretty ambiguous term, obviously. It's just a blob on a map.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

Has sovereignty. No other State should have power over the country's territory.
No. The United Kingdom Parliament definitely has power over Scotland's territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states

Except if UK founded sports, were they have an exceptions because were their regional federations creating them (thanks by the way for te beautiful game ), only sovereign countries can participate in international sports.

That's why Scotland is voting next year, to see if they want to be a sovereign country again and not a "region" of the UK.

Almost every country has regional parlaments and laws, in there are different "nationalities" as well but it's the Spanish government who helds the sovereignty, same as UK for Wales or England.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

UK is not a country, it´s a United Kingdom
It´s a selection of united countries, like England.

 

[Xosé Estrada]

UK is not a country, it´s a United Kingdom
It´s a selection of united countries, like England.

Culturally, yeah, but its the sovereign state.

Germany is a union of principalities, Spain is a union of kingdoms, etc... What's the difference then?

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I had to check wikipedia on this and it turned out i was wrong.
It is actually considered a country, what really isn´t countries is England, Scotland, Wales.
It´s really just different parts of UK the country.

The United Kingdom, a sovereign state under international law, is a member of intergovernmental organisations, the European Union and the United Nations. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed on theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) list of countries. However the ISO list of the subdivisions of the UK is supplied by British Standards and the Office of National Statistics and so uses "country" to describe England, Scotland and Wales.[4] Northern Ireland, in contrast, is officially described as a "province" by the same lists.

 

[GAIAjohan]

As i remember, in 2000 - 2001 or earlier years, Coulthard's flag was scottish. What is changed ? Why is he using UK now ?

AFAIK not.. He has always used the British flag, just like Irvine..

 

[GAIAjohan]

I'm wondering whether all EU-countries can still be called countries since the EU has power on the territory and laws of all EU-countries..

However I would never say I'm European. I'm not from Holland as well.
Holland is just two provinces (Noord- and Zuid-Holland) in the west of The Netherlands and I don't live in Holland. I'm from Groningen which is in The Netherlands.
I do always get a sick feeling when someone says I'm from Holland.. I would even prefer Great-Frisia above Holland..

 

[Joel Wraith]

The UK is not a country, It's a country of country's, All nations have an independent government that is overlooked by one man; The Prime Minister.