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Summary. The nation-state with clearly defined borders is the basic building block of political life. Today, there are around 200 nations globally, organized by ethnicity, ideology, nationalism or religion. But, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, globalization of the world economy has made political borders less important. Global and cultural interaction is, currently, at unprecedented levels and the developments in international trade, communications, air travel and the internet are challenging the pre-eminent position of the nation-state.
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