User blog comment:Kidtragic/Elder Scrolls Races and Cultures Compared to Real Life./@comment-72.51.224.8-20131006081916

So reading these pages and various arguments, I've come to the conclusion that the races of TES can't be directly linked to just one culture each, but are amalgamations of various cultures. Races like the Nords and Imperials have obvious dominant inspirations, but even they have other cultures blended in with them.

Remember that these are still fictional races, so they don't have to be perfect mirrors of the real world.