"The modern nations came into being essentially by two roads. In one case, the state was, from the start of the process of national formation, already an established continuity, [most] often from the Middle Ages. These were states with their
own 'national elites' and mature written cultural traditions... For these states, the road to the modern nation was through an internal transformation. and the struggle to establish the modern nation was mainly a political struggle to define the
nation as a community of equal citizens. This first type of development toward the modern nation was absent in Central and Eastern Europe. There, a different
pattern was typical, [namely] that of multi-ethnic empires inhabited by many non-ruling ethnic groups. _acking not only statehood, but also written traditions in their own national language, these non-ruling ethnic groups in the multi- ethnic empires were in the most complicated situation. Their national movements had to pursue not only cultural and social emancipation and equality, but also political emancipation."


Identify ONE claim that the author makes in the passage regarding the "two roads" toward modem nation
building.