my ideas

NATION, : A geopolitical entity with an autonomous central government which has sovereign control over an area of land and that land's corresponding territorial waters extending 12 miles from shore, as defined by the 1982 United Nation's convention on the law of the sea. A nation must also possess a set of laws or legal codes, and borders distinguishing and separating it from from other nations. Nations usually, although not always (as in the case of the former USSR, Czechoslovakia, and United States) mainly consist of people with a common ethnicity or ethnic heritage, and usually (though exceptions do exist such as canada, and switzerland) have a main language. A nation may be, but does not necessarily have to be comprised of several states. In this case the national government usually shares power with that of the states, while maintaining supreme authority over them. A national government usually although not always (as in the first decade of the United State's existence) has the power to levy taxes on its residents, in exchange for its services providing for the common defense, civil service, and government welfare programs.
STATE: A semi autonomous sub-division of a nation, with its own government which is however, beneath in both power and size, the national government. National laws and penal codes may vary from state to state, however they usually maintain continuity with those of the national government, a state may or may not have the power to levy its own taxes, independently of those of the national government. The ethnicity and culture of individuals within states is usually more homogeneous then those of the nation as a whole (eg while Hong Kong is part of China, due to its century of British rule it has its own distinct culture, and language (While Hawaii is a state within the US, its people share their own distinct unique language and culture, which while now Americanized is distinctly Hawaiian, also see the "guido" culture in New Jersey.)
LIBERTY: Liberty is the ability or freedom, for individuals to make their own choices, and the freedom to live their lives as they see fit, without interference or obstruction from their government, or other people, (see the US bill of rights, a list of negative freedoms (ie: things the government can not do, and thus establishing liberty of that counties citizens. In this respect it is one of the most influential documents in the world with respect to liberty, and therefore a good example.)
JUSTICE: the most difficult word to describe on this list as it is perhaps the most subject to opinion, and the most abstract and least tangible. Justice is the concept of human morality; doing right, and making wrongs right through punishment of the offender. These concepts today known as wrong and right have been passed down through human evolution and today are referred to as natural law. This "natural law" and concept for human ethics and morality are the basis of justice which put most simply is both the mandate for all to follow this natural law, and the concept of punishment for those who do not.