By David R Arnott, NBC NewsWhat makes a nation, other than its people? Is it the flag, the passport, the currency, the anthem? Or is it something more complex and harder to pin down?
In seeking to illustrate the latest in a series of Reuters special reports on the growing pains of South Sudan (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50044675), photographer Adriane Ohanesian gathered a selection of objects. (http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/combo-ssudan3.photoblog900.jpg)Adriane Ohanesian / ReutersPhoto illustrations, clockwise from top left: A South Sudanese passport; A South Sudanese five pound note; A motorcycle license plate from the new nation's Eastern Equatoria State; A copy of South Sudan's national anthem handwritten by Gabriel Arnest, one of its three composers.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/combo-ssudan2.photoblog900.jpg)Adriane Ohanesian / ReutersPhoto illustrations, clockwise from top left: The South Sudan national soccer team's jersey; A bottle of White Bull beer, produced in Juba; A tote bag with the slogan 'I heart Juba'; A car air freshener showing the seal of South Sudan.Reuters reports — Not all new countries are really new. Some are born almost fully formed; others have to start from nothing.(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/pb-121202-ssudan-flag.380;380;7;70;0.jpg)Adriane Ohanesian / ReutersThe flag of South Sudan.That difference is crucial to a new nation's chances of success.
More than half the youngest nations in the world were born or reborn after the collapse of communism in Europe and had existed as independent states as far back as the Middle Ages. Most regained independence with established institutions — courts, banks, police forces, schools — and skilled people to run them.
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