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'{{rewrite|date=April 2014}} [[File:1887 Bettanier Der Schwarze Fleck anagoria.JPG|thumb|A painting from 1887 depicting a child being taught about the "lost" province of [[Alsace-Lorraine]] in the aftermath of the [[Franco-Prussian War]] that is depicted in the colour black on a map of France.]] '''Irredentism''' (from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''irredento'', "unredeemed") is any position of a state advocating [[annexation]] of territories administered by another [[State (polity)|state]] on the grounds of common [[ethnicity]] or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. It is often advocated by [[pan-nationalism|pan-nationalist]] movements and has been a feature of [[identity politics]], [[cultural geography|cultural]] and [[political geography]]. An area that may be subjected to a potential claim is sometimes called an '''''irredenta'''''. Not all irredentas are necessarily involved in irredentism.<ref>[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/irredenta "Irredenta"], ''Free Dictionary''</ref> ==Origins== {{Main|Italia irredenta}} The word was coined in [[Italy]] from the phrase ''Italia irredenta'' ("unredeemed Italy"). This originally referred to [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] rule over territories mostly or partly inhabited by ethnic Italians, such as [[Trentino]], [[Trieste]], [[Istria]] and [[Dalmatia]] during the 19th and early 20th centuries. A common way to express a claim to adjacent territories on the grounds of historical or ethnic association is by using the epithet "Greater" before the country name. This conveys the image of national territory at its maximum conceivable extent with the country "proper" at its core. The use of "Greater" does not always convey an irredentistic meaning. During the [[unification of Germany]], the term ''[[German question#Later influence|Großdeutschland]]'' (or greater Germany) referred to a possible German nation consisting of the states that later comprised the Second German Empire ''and'' Austria. The term ''lesser'' Germany, or small Germany, or ''[[Kleindeutschland]]'', referred to a possible German state without Austria. The term was also used by Germans referring to Greater Germany, a state consisting of pre-World War I Germany, Austria and the [[Sudetenland]]. ==Constitutional irredentism== Some states formalize their irredentist claims by including them in their constitutional documents. ===Afghanistan=== The [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] border with [[Pakistan]], known as the [[Durand Line]], was agreed to by Afghanistan and British India in 1893. The [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] tribes inhabiting the border areas were divided between what have become two nations; the tribes have never accepted the still-porous border, and clashes broke out in the 1950s and 1960s between Afghanistan and Pakistan over the issue. All Afghan governments of the past century have declared, with varying intensity, a long-term goal of re-uniting all Pashtun-dominated areas under Afghan rule.<ref name="Roashan">[http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/Contributions/Commentaries/DRRoashanArch/2001_08_11_unholy_durand_line.htm Dr. G. Rauf Roashan, "The Unholy Durand Line, Buffering the Buffer"]{{dead link|date=April 2014}}, Institute for Afghan Studies, August 11, 2001.</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/10/AR2009051001959.html Selig S. Harrison, "Pakistan's Ethnic Fault Line"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 11 May 2009</ref> ===Argentina=== {{see also|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute}} The Argentine government has maintained a claim over the Falkland Islands since 1833, and renewed it as recently as January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/03/world/europe/argentina-falklands-letter/index.html|title=Argentina presses claim to Falkland Islands, accusing UK of colonialism |publisher=CNN |accessdate=2012-01-08}}</ref> It considers the archipelago part of the [[Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina)|Tierra del Fuego Province]], along with [[South Georgia]] and the [[South Sandwich Islands]]. The Argentine claim is included in the transitional provisions of the [[Constitution of Argentina]] as [[1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution|amended in 1994]]:<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/cuerpo1.php |title = Constitución Nacional |language = Spanish |date = 22 August 1994 |accessdate = 17 June 2011}}{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.senado.gov.ar/web/interes/constitucion/english.php |title = Constitution of the Argentine Nation |date = 22 August 1994 |accessdate = 17 June 2011}}{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref> {{quote|The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and non-prescribing sovereignty over the Malvinas, Georgias del Sur and Sandwich del Sur Islands and over the corresponding maritime and insular zones, as they are an integral part of the National territory. The recovery of these territories and the full exercise of sovereignty, respecting the way of life for its inhabitants and according to the principles of international law, constitute a permanent and unwavering goal of the Argentine people.}} ===Bolivia=== The 2009 constitution of [[Bolivia]] states that the country has an unrenounceable right over the territory that gives it access to the [[Pacific Ocean]] and its maritime space.<ref>CAPÍTULO CUARTO, REIVINDICACIÓN MARÍTIMA. Artículo 267. I. El Estado boliviano declara su derecho irrenunciable e imprescriptible sobre el territorio que le dé acceso al océano Pacífico y su espacio marítimo. II. La solución efectiva al diferendo marítimo a través de medios pacíficos y el ejercicio pleno de la soberanía sobre dicho territorio constituyen objetivos permanentes e irrenunciables del Estado boliviano.[http://www.presidencia.gob.bo/documentos/publicaciones/constitucion.pdf Constitution of Bolivia]</ref> This is understood as territory that Bolivia and Peru ceded to Chile after the [[War of the Pacific]], which left Bolivia as a [[landlocked]] country. ===China=== {{main|Chinese reunification|Greater China}} The preamble to the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China]] states, "[[Taiwan]] is part of the sacred territory of the [[People's Republic of China]]. It is the lofty duty of the entire [[Chinese people]], including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of [[Chinese reunification|reunifying the motherland]]." The PRC claim to sovereignty over Taiwan is generally based on the [[Succession of states|successor state]] theory, with the PRC claiming that it is the successor state to the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]].<ref name = prc_wp>{{cite web | year=2005| title=The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Issue | work=PRC Taiwan Affairs Office and the Information Office of the State Council | url=http://www.gwytb.gov.cn:8088/detail.asp?table=WhitePaper&title=White%20Papers%20On%20Taiwan%20Issue&m_id=4 | accessdate=2006-03-06}}{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref> [[File:ROC Administrative and Claims.svg|thumb|right|Official territorial claims according to the Constitution of the [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan).]] The Taiwanese government is the Government of the Republic of China which used to administer both China ('Mainland China') and Taiwan; the government has been administering Taiwan only since its defeat in the [[Chinese Civil War]] by the armed forces of the [[Communist Party of China]]. While the official name of Taiwan remains 'Republic of China', the country is commonly called 'Taiwan', since the country is based in Taiwan. Article 4 of the [[Constitution of the Republic of China]] originally stated that "[t]he territory of the Republic of China within its existing national boundaries shall not be altered except by a resolution of the [[National Assembly of the Republic of China|National Assembly]]". Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Government of the Republic of China in Taiwan maintained itself to be the legitimate ruler of Mainland China as well. As part of its current policy continuing of the 'status quo', Taiwan has not renounced claims over the territories currently controlled by China, [[Mongolia]], [[Russia]], [[Burma]] and some [[Central Asia]]n states. However, Taiwan does not actively pursue these claims in practice; the remaining claims that Taiwan is actively seeking are the [[Senkaku Islands]], whose sovereignty is also asserted by [[Japan]] and China; Paracel Islands and the [[Spratly Islands]] in [[South China Sea]], with multiple claimants. ===Comoros=== Article 1 of the Constitution of the Union of the [[Comoros]] begins: "The Union of the Comoros is a republic, composed of the autonomous islands of [[Mohéli]], [[Mayotte]], [[Anjouan]], and [[Grande Comore]]." Mayotte, geographically a part of the Comoro Islands, was the only island of the four to vote against independence from France (independence losing 37%–63%) in the referendum held December 22, 1974. The total vote was 94%–5% in favor of independence. Mayotte is currently a department of the French Republic.<ref>UN General Assembly, [http://un.cti.depaul.edu/Countries/Comoros/1156245840.pdf Forty-ninth session: Agenda item 36]{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref><ref>Security Council S/PV. 1888 para 247 S/11967 [http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/veto/vetosubj.htm] [http://legal.un.org/repertory/art33/english/rep_supp5_vol2-art33_e.pdf] {{Wayback|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/veto/vetosubj.htm|date =20080317010910|bot=DASHBot}}</ref> ===India=== {{Main|Akhand Bharat|Greater India|Indo-Pak Confederation}} '''Akhand Bharat''', literally '''Undivided India''', is an irredentist call to reunite [[Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh]] with [[India]] to form an ''Undivided India'' as it existed before [[Partition of India|partition]] in 1947 (and before that, during other periods of political unity in [[South Asia]], such as during the [[Mauryan Empire]], the [[Gupta Empire]] or the [[Mughal Empire]]). The call for ''Akhand Bharat'' has often been raised by mainstream [[India]]n nationalistic cultural and political organizations such as the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS) and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP).<ref name=Ferguson>Yale H. Ferguson and R. J. Barry Jones, ''Political space: frontiers of change and governance in a globalizing world'', page 155, SUNY Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7914-5460-2</ref><ref name=Majumder>Sucheta Majumder, "Right Wing Mobilization in India", ''Feminist Review'', issue 49, page 17, Routledge, 1995, ISBN 978-0-415-12375-4</ref><ref name=Martensson>Ulrika Mårtensson and Jennifer Bailey, ''Fundamentalism in the Modern World'' (Volume 1), page 97, I.B.Tauris, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84885-330-0</ref> Other major Indian political parties such as the [[Indian National Congress]], while maintaining positions against the partition of India on religious grounds, do not necessarily subscribe to a call to reunite South Asia in the form of Akhand Bharat. The region of [[Kashmir]] in northwestern India has been the issue of a [[Kashmir Conflict|territorial dispute]] between India and Pakistan since 1947. Multiple wars have been fought over the issue, the first one immediately upon independence and partition in 1947 itself. To stave off a Pakistani and tribal invasion, [[Maharaja]] [[Hari Singh]] of the [[princely state]] of [[Kashmir and Jammu (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] signed the [[instrument of accession]] with India. Kashmir has remained divided in three parts, administered by India, Pakistan and the [[People's Republic of China]], since then. However, on the basis of the instrument of accession, India continues to claim the entire Kashmir region as its integral part. All modern Indian political parties support the return of the entirety of Kashmir to India, and all official maps of India show the entire [[Jammu and Kashmir]] state (including parts under Pakistani or Chinese administration after 1947) as an integral part of India. ===Indonesia=== {{Main|Greater Indonesia}} Indonesia claimed all territories of the former [[Dutch East Indies]], and previously viewed British plans to group the [[Straits Settlements]], the [[Federated Malay States]], the [[Unfederated Malay States]], [[Sarawak]] and [[British North Borneo]] into a new independent federation of [[Malaysia]] as a threat to its objective to create a united state called [[Greater Indonesia]]. The Indonesian opposition of Malaysian formation has led to [[Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation]] in early 1960s. It had also held [[History of Timor Leste|Portuguese Timor]] from 1975 to 2002, based on irredentist claims. The idea of uniting former British and Dutch colonial possessions in Southeast Asia actually has its roots in the early 20th century, as the concept of Greater Malay (''Melayu Raya'') was coined in [[British Malaya]] espoused by students and graduates of [[Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris|Sultan Idris Training College for Malay Teachers]] in the late 1920s.<ref name="McIntyre">{{cite journal |last=McIntyre |first=Angus |authorlink= |year=1973 |title=The 'Greater Indonesia' Idea of Nationalism in Malaysia and Indonesia. |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=75–83 |id= |url= |accessdate= 2008-02-16 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X0000439X}}</ref> Some of political figures in Indonesia including [[Muhammad Yamin]] and [[Sukarno]] revived the idea in the 1950s and named the political union concept as Greater Indonesia. ===Israel=== {{Main|Greater Israel}} The nation state of Israel was created by the United Nations in 1948. As a result of the Holocaust, there was a post-war feeling that the world's Jewish population needed a safe haven from chronic and violent discrimination in addition to the uninterrupted Jewish presence and historical ties to the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. Britain acquiesced to international pressure after finding itself in the middle of a guerilla war for control of the territory. Eventually it was achieved through the liquidation of the (former League of Nations mandate, and its successor UN-administered territory) British Palestine, and a war between the Jews in [[Mandatory Palestine]] and 5 Arab state armies. The Jewish claim for Palestine as the "Jewish homeland" can be seen as an example of irredentism, as the claim was based on ancient ancestral inhabitance, as well as theologically rooted in a Mosaic cosmogony. Proponents of the formation, expansion, or defense of Israel, who subscribe to these historical or theological justifications, are sometimes called [[Zionism |"Zionists"]]. The West Bank (known in Israel as Judea and Samaria) and Gaza areas, previously annexed by Jordan and occupied by Egypt respectively, were controlled by Israel from the 1967 war until August 2005, when Israel withdrew from Gaza. Israel never explicitly claimed any of the West Bank for its own state except the city of Jerusalem, which it unilaterally annexed in 1980. However, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have migrated to these disputed territories which incurs criticism even by some who otherwise support the Jewish state. Gaza, prior to its occupation by Israel from 1967 to 2005, was considered as an occupying power by the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, and some countries and international organizations. ''(See [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli-Occupied Territories]].)'' Article 3 of the Basic Law of the [[Palestinian Authority]], which was ratified in 2002 by the [[Palestinian National Authority]] and serves as an interim constitution, states that "[[Jerusalem]] is the capital of Palestine." The Israeli annexing instrument, the [[Jerusalem Law]]—one of the [[Basic Laws of Israel]] that "serve in the place of a constitution"—declares Jerusalem, "complete and united", to be the capital of Israel, creating a conflict with Palestinian claims. ''De facto'', the Palestinian government administers the parts of the [[West Bank]] that Israel has granted it authority over from [[Ramallah]], while the [[Gaza Strip]] is administered by the Hamas movement from [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. The United States does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem and maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv. In Jerusalem, the United States maintains two Consulates General as a diplomatic representation to the city of Jerusalem alone, separate from the US's representation to the state of Israel. One of the Consulates General was established before the 1967 war, and one building, on what was the Israeli side, was just recently built. A minority of Israelis and Jews regard the [[Transjordan (region)|East Bank of the Jordan river]] (today, [[Jordan|Kingdom of Jordan]]) as the eastern parts of the [[Land of Israel]] (following the [[Revisionist Zionism|revisionist]] idea) because of the [[Transjordan (Bible)|historical settlement]] of the [[Tribes of Israel|Israelite tribes]] of [[Tribe of Manasseh|Menasseh]], [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]] and [[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]] on the east bank of the Jordan and because of that area being designated for a [[Homeland for the Jewish people|Jewish national home]] by the [[League of Nations]] in the [[Mandate for Palestine]]. ===Korea=== {{main|Korean reunification}} Since their founding, both Korean states have disputed the legitimacy of the other. [[South Korea]]'s constitution claims jurisdiction over the entire Korean peninsula. It acknowledges the [[division of Korea]] only indirectly by requiring the president to work for reunification. [[North Korea]]'s constitution also stresses the importance of reunification, but makes no similar claim to the entire peninsula. Other territories sometimes disputed to belong to Korea are [[Korean nationalism#Manchuria and Gando Disputes|Manchuria and Gando]]. ==Other irredentism== ===Europe=== ====Southeast Europe==== Some of the most violent irredentist conflicts of recent times in [[Europe]] flared up as a consequence of the break-up of the former [[Yugoslavia]] in the early 1990s.{{dubious|date=October 2011}}{{clarify|date=October 2011}} The conflict erupted further south with the ethnic Albanian majority in [[Kosovo]] seeking to switch allegiance to the adjoining state of [[Albania]].<ref>See [[Naomi Chazan]] 1991, ''Irredentism and international politics''</ref> =====Albania===== {{main|Greater Albania}} Greater Albania<ref>http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/csrc/document-listings/balkan/07%2811%29MD.pdf,"as Albanians continue mobilizing their ethnic presence in a cultural, geographic and economic sense, they further the process of creating a Greater Albania. "</ref> or ''Ethnic Albania'' as called by the Albanian nationalists themselves,<ref name="Bogdani2007">{{Cite book|title=Albania and the European Union: the tumultuous journey towards integration |last=Bogdani |first=Mirela |authorlink= |author2=John Loughlin |year=2007 |publisher=IB Taurus |location= |isbn= 978-1-84511-308-7|page=230 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/?id=32Wu8H7t8MwC&pg=PA230&dq=ethnic+albania&cd=4#v=onepage&q=ethnic%20albania |accessdate=2010-05-28}}</ref> is an [[irredentist]] concept of lands outside the borders of the [[Republic of Albania]] which are considered part of a greater national homeland by most Albanians,<ref name=Balkan-Insight>[http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/survey-greater-albania-remains-popular Poll Reveals Support for 'Greater Albania'], Balkan Insight, 17 Nov 2010</ref> based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in those areas. The term incorporates claims to [[Kosovo]], as well as territories in the neighbouring countries [[Montenegro]], [[Greece]] and the [[Republic of Macedonia]]. Albanians themselves mostly use the term ''ethnic Albania'' instead.<ref name="Bogdani2007" /> According to the ''Gallup Balkan Monitor'' 2010 report, the idea of a Greater Albania is supported by the majority of Albanians in Albania (63%), Kosovo (81%) and the Republic of Macedonia (53%).<ref>[http://www.balkan-monitor.eu/files/BalkanMonitor-2010_Summary_of_Findings.pdf Gallup Balkan Monitor], 2010</ref><ref name=Balkan-Insight/> In 2012, as part of the celebrations for [[100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania|Albania's 100th anniversary of independence]], Prime Minister Sali Berisha spoke of "Albanian lands" stretching from [[Preveza]] in Greece to [[Presevo]] in Serbia, and from the Macedonian capital of [[Skopje]] to the Montenegrin capital of [[Podgorica]], angering Albania's neighbors. The comments were also inscribed on a parchment that will be displayed at a museum in the city of Vlore, where the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared in 1912.<ref>''Albania celebrates 100 years of independence, yet angers half its neighbors'' Associated Press, November 28, 2012.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/albania-celebrates-100-years-of-independence-yet-angers-half-its-neighbors/2012/11/28/a17de6d4-398a-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_print.html]{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref> =====Caucasus===== {{Expand section|date=January 2014}} Irredentism is acute in the Caucasus region, too. The [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] movement's original slogan of ''miatsum'' ('union') was explicitly oriented towards unification with Armenia, feeding an Azerbaijani understanding of the conflict as a bilateral one between itself and an irredentist Armenia.<ref>{{cite web|author=Author:&nbsp; Patrick Barron |url=http://www.c-r.org/resources/occasional-papers/resources-for-peace.php |title=Dr Laurence Broers, The resources for peace: comparing the Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia peace processes, Conciliation Resources, 2006 |publisher=C-r.org |date= |accessdate=2014-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=CRIA |url=http://cria-online.org/5_4.html |title=Fareed Shafee, Inspired from Abroad: The External Sources of Separatism in Azerbaijan, Caucasian Review of International Affairs, Vol. 2 (4) – Autumn 2008, pp. 200–211 |publisher=Cria-online.org |date= |accessdate=2014-05-21}}</ref><ref>[http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=224 What is Irredentism?] SEMP, Biot Report #224, USA, June 21, 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sneps.net/NNE/09NNNSaidemanAyres.pdf |title=Saideman, Stephen M. and R. William Ayres, For Kin and Country: Xenophobia, Nationalism and War, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 2008 |format=PDF |date= |accessdate=2014-05-21}}</ref><ref>[http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=17598&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=212 Irredentism enters Armenia's foreign policy], Jamestown Foundation Monitor Volume: 4 Issue: 77, Washington DC, April 22, 1998</ref> According to Prof. Thomas Ambrosio, "Armenia's successful irredentist project in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan" and "From 1992 to the cease-fire in 1994, Armenia encountered a highly permissive or tolerant international environment that allowed its annexation of some 15 percent of Azerbaijani territory".<ref>Prof. Thomas Ambrosio, [http://books.google.com/books?id=0hLzXEO-fAQC&pg=PA146 Irredentism: ethnic conflict and international politics], Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001</ref> In the view of Nadia Milanova, Nagorno-Karabakh represents a combination of separatism and irredentism.<ref>{{cite web|last=Milanova|first=Nadia|title=The Territory-Identity Nexus in the Conflict over Nagorno Karabakh|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots591=0c54e3b3-1e9c-be1e-2c24-a6a8c7060233&lng=en&id=115850|publisher=[[European Centre for Minority Issues]]|accessdate=12 July 2013|location=Flensburg, Germany|page=2|year=2003|quote=The conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, defined as an amalgam of separatism and irredentism&nbsp;...}}</ref> =====Macedonia===== {{main|United Macedonia}} [[File:Macedonia barbed wire.jpg|thumb|right|A map distributed by [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|ethnic Macedonian]] nationalists circa 1993. Shows the [[Macedonia (region)|geographical region of Macedonia]] split with [[barbed wire]] between the [[Republic of Macedonia]], [[Bulgaria]] and [[Greece]].]] The [[Republic of Macedonia]] promotes the irredentist concept of a [[United Macedonia]] ({{lang-mk|Обединета Македонија, ''Obedineta Makedonija''}}) among [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|ethnic Slav Macedonian]] [[nationalism|nationalists]] which involves territorial claims on the northern province of [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] in [[Greece]], but also in [[Pirin Macedonia]] in Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia. The United Macedonia concept aims to unify the transnational [[Macedonia (region)|region of Macedonia]] in the [[Balkans]] (which they claim as their homeland and which they assert was wrongfully divided under the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)|Treaty of Bucharest]] in 1913), into a single state under Slavic domination, with the [[Greece|Greek]] city of [[Thessaloniki]] (''Solun'' in the Slavic languages) as its capital.<ref name="Times">Greek Macedonia "not a problem", ''The Times'' (London), August 5, 1957</ref><ref>{{YouTube|t2GMihoOmF8|A large assembly of people during the inauguration of the Statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje}}, {{YouTube|Kh25jfXxY2w|the players of the national basketball team of the Republic of Macedonia during the European Basketball Championship in Lithuania}}, {{YouTube|97ucJP97Sto|and a little girl}}, singing a nationalistic tune called Izlezi Momče (Излези момче, "Get out boy"). Translation from Macedonian:<p>"Get out, boy, straight on the terrace<p> And salute [[Gotse Delchev|Goce's]] race<p> Raise your hands up high<p> Ours will be [[Thessaloniki]]'s area."</ref> ====Gibraltar==== {{main|Disputed status of Gibraltar}} [[Gibraltar]] is a [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]], near the southernmost tip of the [[Iberian Peninsula]], which is claimed by [[Spain]]. Gibraltar was [[Capture of Gibraltar|captured in 1704]], during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] (1701–1714). The [[Crown of Castile|Kingdom of Castile]] formally ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown in 1713, under [[:s:Peace and Friendship Treaty of Utrecht between Spain and Great Britain#ARTICLE X|Article X]] of the [[Treaty of Utrecht]]. The territorial claim was formally reasserted by the Spanish dictator [[Francisco Franco]] in the 1960s and has been continued by successive [[Government of Spain|Spanish governments]]. In 2002 an agreement in principle on joint sovereignty over Gibraltar between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain was decisively rejected in a [[Gibraltar sovereignty referendum, 2002|referendum]]. The British Government now refuses to discuss sovereignty without the consent of the Gibraltarians.<ref name="Answer to Q257 at the FAC hearing">{{cite web|author=The Committee Office, House of Commons |url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmfaff/147/8032602.htm |title=Answer to Q257 at the FAC hearing |publisher=Publications.parliament.uk |accessdate=2013-08-05}}</ref> ====Hungary==== {{Main|Greater Hungary (political concept)}} {{Empty section|date=January 2014}} ====Ireland==== {{main|United Ireland}} From 1937 until 1998, [[Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland|Articles 2 and 3]] of the [[Constitution of Ireland]] provided that "[t]he national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland". However, "[p]ending the re-integration of the national territory", the powers of the state were restricted to legislate only for the area that had ceded from the [[United Kingdom]]. Arising from the [[Northern Ireland peace process]], the matter was mutually resolved in 1998. The [[Republic of Ireland]]'s constitution was altered by [[referendum]] and its territorial claim to [[Northern Ireland]] was dropped. The amended constitution asserts that while it is the entitlement of "every person born in the island of Ireland&nbsp;... to be part of the Irish Nation" and to hold Irish citizenship, "a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island." Certain [[North/South Ministerial Council|joint policy and executive bodies]] were created between Northern Ireland, the part of the island that remained in the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, and these were given executive authority. The advisory and consultative role of the government of Ireland in the government of Northern Ireland granted by the United Kingdom, that had begun with the 1985 [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]], was maintained, although that Agreement itself was ended. The two states also settled the long-running [[Names of the Irish state|dispute concerning their respective names]]: ''Ireland'' and the ''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'', with both governments agreeing to use those names. ====Portugal==== {{main|Disputed status of Olivenza}} [[Portugal]] does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of [[Olivenza]], ceded under coercion to Spain during the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/eterna/disputa/Olivenza-Olivenca/elpepunac/20061204elpepinac_13/Tes |title=La eterna disputa de Olivenza-Olivença &#124; Edición impresa &#124; EL PAÍS |publisher=Elpais.com |accessdate=2014-04-20}}</ref> Since the [[Rexurdimento]] of the mid-nineteenth century, there has been an intellectual [[Reintegrationism|movement pleading for the reintegration]] between [[Portugal]] and the region of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], under Spanish sovereignty. Although this movement has become increasingly popular on both sides of the border, there is no consensus in regard to the nature of such ''reintegration'': whether political, socio-cultural or merely linguistic. ====Romania==== {{Main|Greater Romania (political concept)|Greater Romania|Unification of Romania and Moldova}} {{Empty section|date=January 2014}} ====Russia==== {{Main|All-Russian nation|Eurasianism|Greater Russia}} {{See also|Republic of Crimea|2014 Crimean crisis|Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation}} The Russian Federation has claimed the basis of the annexation of Crimean territory in 2014 which is to protect the ethnic Russians in these regions. The Crimea was part of Ukraine since 1991 to February 2014. Russia declared Crimea to be part of the Russian Federation in March 2014 and effective administration commenced. The Russian territorial status is not currently recognised by the United Nations General Assembly and by many countries. ====Serbia==== {{Main|Greater Serbia|Pan-Serbism}} {{Empty section|date=January 2014}} ====Spain==== [[Spain]] claims the [[British Overseas Territories|British overseas territory]] of [[Gibraltar]], ceded to Britain in perpetuity in 1713 under the [[Treaty of Utrecht]], and argues its case at the [[United Nations]] claiming its territorial integrity is affected. During World War II, the Spanish Falangist media agitated for irredentism claiming for Spain the French Navarre, French Basque Country and Roussillon (French Catalonia) as well. [[Morocco]] makes similar claims against Spain over the [[North Africa]]n enclaves of [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]]. ====United Kingdom==== A unique situation exists with that of [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]]. Part of the citizenry of the town support the transfer of Berwick to Scotland, although others would prefer it to remain as part of the English county of [[Northumberland]].<ref>Katie Dawson, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/england/8640148.stm Berwick-upon-Tweed: English or Scottish?], BBC, 1 May 2010</ref> However, due to the nature of the political union between [[Scotland]] and [[England]] forming the [[UK]] the reunification of Berwick goes largely unpursued. Various debates have arisen surrounding the constitutional future of Berwick, or [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]] as it is known in England, but have been largely academic. ===Middle East=== ====Kurdistan==== {{main|Kurdish nationalism}} {{Empty section|date=January 2014}} ====Syria==== The [[Syrian Social Nationalist Party]], which operates in [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]], works for the unification of most modern states of the [[Levant]] and beyond in a single state referred to as [[Greater Syria]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} The proposed Syrian country includes [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]]; and southern [[Turkey]], northern [[Egypt]], and southwestern [[Iran]]. ====Yemen==== {{main|Greater Yemen}} {{Empty section|date=January 2014}} ===East Asia=== ====China==== {{main|Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong|Transfer of sovereignty of Macau}} Irredentism is one of the reasons China insisted on assuming sovereignty over [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]], as the physical land on which Hong Kong and Macau stand used to be part of China before the founding of the two territories by the British and the Portuguese, respectively. The territories as China used to claim were separated to foreign powers by [[unequal treaties]]. ====Japan==== Japan claims the Russian-administered [[Kuril Islands]], the four southernmost isles of the island chain north of [[Hokkaido]], annexed by the [[Soviet Union]] following World War II. ====Korea==== The 1909 [[Gando Convention]] addressed a territory dispute between China and [[Joseon Korea]] in China's favor. Both Korean states now accept the convention border as an administrative boundary. However, because the convention was made by the occupying [[Empire of Japan]], [[South Korea]] has disputed its legality and some Koreans claim that Korea extends into ''de facto'' PRC territory, viz. [[Dandong]] and [[Liaoning]]. The most ambitious claims include all parts of [[Manchuria]] that the [[Goguryeo]] kingdom controlled. South Korea [[Liancourt Rocks dispute|administers the Liancourt Rocks]], which Japan has claimed since the end of the Second World War. ===South Asia=== [[South Asia]] too is another region in which armed irredentist movements have been active for almost a century, due to the [[Balkanization]] of [[North-East India]], Burma and [[Bangladesh]] under [[British colonialism]]. {{dubious|date=January 2012}}{{clarify|date=January 2012}} Most prominent amongst them are the [[Naga (clan)|Naga]] fight for Greater [[Nagaland]], the [[Chin people|Chin]] struggle for a unified [[Chinland]] and other self-determinist movements by the [[ethnic]] [[indigenous peoples]] of the erstwhile [[Assam]] both under the British and post-British Assam under India.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} ====Bangladesh==== {{Main|Greater Bangladesh}} Greater Bangladesh is an assumption of several Indian intellectuals that the neighboring country of Bangladesh has an aspiration to unite all Bengali dominated regions under their flag. These include the states of [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]] and [[Assam]] as well as the [[Andaman Islands]] which are currently part of India and the Burmese [[Arakan Province]]. The theory is principally based on a widespread belief amongst Indian masses that a large number of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants reside in Indian territory. It is alleged that illegal immigration is actively encouraged by some political groups in Bangladesh as well as the state of Bangladesh to convert large parts of India's northeastern states and West Bengal into Muslim-majority areas that would subsequently seek to separate from India and join Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Scholars have reflected that under the guise of anti-Bangladeshi immigrant movement it is actually an anti-Muslim agenda pointed towards Bangladeshi Muslims by false propaganda and widely exaggerated claims on immigrant population. In a 1998, Lieutenant General S.K. Sinha, then the Governor of Assam claimed that massive illegal immigration from Bangladesh was directly linked with "the long-cherished design of Greater Bangladesh. ===Africa=== Irredentism is commonplace in [[Africa]] due to the political boundaries of former European colonial nation-states passing through tribal boundaries, and recent declarations of independence after civil war. For example, some Ethiopian nationalist circles still claim the former Ethiopian province of [[Eritrea]] (internationally recognized as the independent State of Eritrea in 1993 after a 30-year civil war). [[Ogaden]] in eastern Ethiopia has seen minor edita movement seeking to make it part of [[Somalia]]. ===North America=== {{See also|Reconquista (Mexico)}} Irredentism is also expressed by some [[Mexican-American]] activists in the [[Reconquista (Mexico)|Reconquista]] movement. They call for the return of formerly Mexican-dominated lands in the [[American Southwest|Southwestern United States]] to [[Mexico]]. These lands were annexed by the [[United States of America|US]] in the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] and became the present-day states of [[California]], [[Nevada]] and [[Utah]]; and parts of [[Colorado]], [[Arizona]], and [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Mexicano political experience in occupied Aztlán: struggles and change |last=Navarro |first=Armando |authorlink= |year=2005 |publisher=AltaMira Press |location=[[Walnut Creek, California]] |isbn=978-0-7591-0567-6 |page=753 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=on1DZMLNcZIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s |accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Congressional Record, V. 149, Pt. 9, May 14, 2003 to May 21, 2003 |last= |first= |authorlink= |publisher=[[Government Printing Office]] |location= |isbn= |page=11990 |pages= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=k7dKHW9trqIC&lpg=PA11990&dq=Aztlan%20return%20of%20Southwest%20United%20States&pg=PA11990#v=onepage&q=Aztlan%20return%20of%20Southwest%20United%20States&f=false |accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://isanet.ccit.arizona.edu/noarchive/price.html |title=Chapter Two:Border Clashes in Aztlán |author= |work=International Studies Association |publisher=[[University of Arizona]] |accessdate=28 February 2012 |quote=Some leaders, particularly during the early years of El Movimiento, were political nationalists who advocated the secession of the Southwest from the Anglo-republic of the United States of America, if not fully, at least locally with regard to Chicano self-determination in local governance, education, and means of production. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16971&security=1601&news_iv_ctrl=1821 |title= Chicano Nationalism, Revanchism and the Aztlan Myth |author= |date=January 2005 |work= |publisher=[[Federation for American Immigration Reform]] |accessdate=28 February 2012}}{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16245 |title=The Reconquista Movement: Mexico's Plan for the American Southwest |last1=Gilchrist |first1=Jim |last2=Corsi |first2=Jerome R. |date=27 July 2006 |work=[[Human Events]] |publisher=Eagle Publishing, Inc. |accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/learn/aztlan/atzlan_printable.html |title=Backgrounder: Nation of Aztlan |author= |year=2001 |work= |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref> There are Russian groups who want Russia to take back [[Alaska]] (which was formerly [[Russian America]]). A Russian Orthodox organization, the [[Pchyolki]], called for the return of Alaska in 2013, arguing first of all that the original sale was not legally valid (since the United States reportedly agreed to pay Russia in gold, but instead sent a check), and second of all that the legalization of [[gay marriage]] in the United States meant that the U. S. was not honoring its pledge to allow Alaskans to practice their religion.<ref name="pchyolki">{{cite web|url=http://www.vice.com/read/russian-orthodox-priests-want-alaska-back-because-of-gay-marriage|title=Russian Orthodox Priests Want to Take Back Alaska and Save Its Nongays}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/russian-orthodox-group-wants-alaska-back-its-all-barack-obamas-fault-1151367 |title=Russian Orthodox Group Wants Alaska Back – And It’s All Barack Obama’s Fault |publisher=Ibtimes.com |accessdate=2014-04-20}}</ref> Since the passage of [[Alaska Ballot Measure 2]] in 1998, however, same-sex marriage has been illegal in Alaska.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?16%20Alaska%20L.%20Rev.%20213 |title=The Alaska Marriage Amendment: The People's Choice On The Last Frontier |journal=[[Alaska Law Review]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=213–268 |last1=Clarkson |first1=Kevin |last2=Coolidge |first2=David |last3=Duncan |first3=William |year=1999 |publisher=[[Duke University School of Law]] |accessdate=5 October 2010}}</ref> ==See also== *[[List of irredentist claims or disputes]] *[[Annexationism]] *[[Ethnic nationalism]] *[[Expansionism]] *[[Lebensraum]] *[[Separatism]] *[[Secession]] *[[Manifest Destiny]] *[[Països Catalans]] *[[Revanchism]] *[[Status quo ante bellum]] *[[Territorial dispute]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *Willard, Charles Arthur 1996 — ''Liberalism and the Problem of Knowledge: A New Rhetoric for Modern Democracy," Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-89845-8, ISBN 978-0-226-89845-2; OCLC 260223405 ==External links== {{Wiktionary}} {{commons category|Irredentism}} {{Irredentism}} {{Nationalism}} [[Category:Divided regions]] [[Category:International relations theory]] [[Category:Irredentism| ]] [[Category:Pan-nationalism| ]]'