Although politically they have often been part of the Russian sphere, culturally they are in many ways closer to Central European countries. Political One cannot discuss current events or history in the Balkans without making great use of terms such as nation, ethnic group, state, and nation-state. A nation is a group of people who feel a common identity, based on a shared language and history, culture, and sometimes religion, and sense of mission or political purpose. National group is a synonym for nation. But strictly speaking, this word refers to a group of people who are actually, if distantly, related, or who perceive themselves to be related.
Ethnic distinctions are thus akin to racial distinctions rather than linguistic or cultural ones.
Thus, not all members of a nation might be members of the same ethnic group. To historians and scholars of international relations, the word state signifies a sovereign or independent government that administers a set territory. The word country is usually a synonym for state. Today we take the term nation-state for granted, because it is the standard model of territorial government today. People tend to think that the whole world is organized that way.