A civilization is an umbrella of common behavioural traits that are subscribed to by a population. There is a difference between civilization and culture. Culture is applicable more to a local context, where people follow a common way of life, while civilization is a blanket over culture, making it a higher and wider concept.
Civilization is the largest entity made out of human beings determined by a common or highly identical identity. In other words, everyone who belongs to a civilization subscribe to a common identity.
The civilization will develop certain traits that might surface within the population in political contexts. Over time, these traits will be internalized and viewed as defining characteristics of the civilization.
This website believes that the world is made up of many civilizations that are distinct in terms of the cultures that they practice.
Civilizations have no clear cut boundaries and no precise beginnings and endings. Civilizations are nonetheless meaningful entities and while the lines between them are seldom sharp, they are real. (Huntington, 1996)
Hence, civilizations are normally not confined by political boundaries, unless one particular country practices a unique civilization that can be considered to have no parallels in the rest of the world. One example would be the Japanese civilization.
Every nation in this world is part of one particular civilization. Stable countries have one very dominant identity and are clear as to which civilization they belong to. There are however, some countries that have multiple cultures and ethnicities, hence making the identity of the country harder to determine; but normally there is still one dominant culture that is in control of that particular country since the country would be torn apart if two or more cultures are fighting for control over the nation. The civilization that has the greatest influence in the country would be the country's civilization.