大象传媒

What is a nation? Is it the same as a country? Are a people, or a tribe, the same thing as a nation?

In this episode, Michael Goldfarb looks at the case of the Kurds, the world's largest ethnic group without a homeland of their own. He explains how they were promised a national state by the Great Powers after World War I and why that promise was unfulfilled.

In a series of five essays, American writer Michael Goldfarb looks for a definition of the "nation" for the 21st century. Goldfarb who spent most of the last two decades covering conflicts and conflict-resolution draws on his experiences in Bosnia, Iraq, and Northern Ireland to look at the question. These essays contain not just ideas but vivid anecdotes of real people caught up in the frequently violent confrontations sparked by unresolved questions of nationhood.

First broadcast in June 2012.