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A nation by any other name: A failure to focus on function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Henry Cerbone Open the ORCID record for Henry Cerbone [Opens in a new window]  and
Isabella Turilli Open the ORCID record for Isabella Turilli [Opens in a new window]
Henry Cerbone*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, The John Krebs Field Station, Wytham, Oxford, UK henry.cerbone@biology.ox.ac.uk https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/people/henry-cerbone
Isabella Turilli
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University, Oxford, UK isabella.turilli@politics.ox.ac.uk https://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/person/isabella-turilli
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Moffett's interdisciplinary definition of society seeks to distinguish itself from the prevalent, political understanding of the term. Through engagement with international relations literature, we outline how Moffett's proposed “society” results in a recapitulation of the definition of a nation-state. We suggest that this tension could be addressed by adopting a functional, rather than identity-based, approach.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e59
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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