Which of the following statements about nation states is NOT correct?

The correct answer is Option (3) → Nation states became the dominant political form as feudalism became the dominant economic system.

Option (1) A nation state pertains to a particular type of state, characteristic of the modern world. — True of nation states. A nation state is a particular type of state that belongs to the modern world. Earlier societies were not organised on these lines.

Option (2) In a nation state, a government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area. — True of nation states. In a nation state the government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area, and the people are citizens of a single nation.

Option (3) Nation states became the dominant political form as feudalism became the dominant economic system. — Not true of nation states. Nation states became the dominant political form when capitalism became the dominant economic system. Feudalism belongs to an earlier age, before the modern world, so the statement names the wrong economic system.

Option (4) Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism. — True of nation states. Nation states are closely associated with the rise of nationalism, the principle that any set of people have a right to be free and sovereign.