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'{{multiple issues| {{cleanup-rewrite|date=April 2014}} {{refimprove|date=May 2015}} {{Original research|date=May 2015}} }} [[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'' for "unredeemed") is any political or popular movement intended to reclaim and reoccupy a lost homeland. As such irredentism tries to justify its territorial claims on the basis of (real or imagined) historic or ethnic affiliations. It is often advocated by [[Nationalism|nationalist]] and [[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== {{Unreferenced section|date=May 2015}} {{Main|Italian irredentism}} The word was coined in [[Italy]] from the phrase ''Italia irredenta'' ("unredeemed Italy"). This originally referred to rule by [[Austria-Hungary]] over territories mostly or partly inhabited by [[Italians|ethnic Italians]], such as [[Trentino]], [[Trieste]], [[Gorizia]], [[Istria]], [[Rijeka]] 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. ==Formal irredentism== Some states formalize their irredentist claims by including them in their constitutional documents, or through other means of legal enshrinement. ===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; Afghanistan 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 Unification|Greater China}} The preamble to the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China]] states, "[[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]] is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the lofty duty of the entire [[Chinese people]], including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of [[Chinese Unification|reunifying the motherland]]." The PRC claim to sovereignty over Taiwan is generally based on the theory of the [[succession of states]], with the PRC claiming that it is the successor state to the [[Republic of China (1912–49)]].<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]]]] The Government of the Republic of China formerly administered both mainland China and Taiwan; the government has been administering only Taiwan since its defeat in the [[Chinese Civil War]] by the armed forces of the [[Communist Party of China]]. While the official name of the state remains 'Republic of China', the country is commonly called 'Taiwan', since Taiwan makes up 99% of the controlled territory of the ROC. 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 (Republic of China)|National Assembly]]". Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan maintained itself to be the legitimate ruler of Mainland China as well. As part of its current policy continuing of the 'status quo', the ROC has not renounced claims over the territories currently controlled by the People's Republic of 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 the PRC; 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}} All of the European colonies on the [[Indian subcontinent]] which were not part of the [[British Raj]] were annexed by the [[India]] since it gained its independence from the [[British Empire]]. An example of such territories was the 1961 [[Indian annexation of Goa]]. An example of annexation of a territory from the British Raj was the [[Indian integration of Junagadh]]. 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 [[Maurya Empire]], the [[Gupta Empire]], the [[Mughal Empire]] or the [[Maratha 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 territorial dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947, the [[Kashmir conflict]]. 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 [[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 [[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 the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] in the early 1960s. It also held [[History of East Timor|Portuguese Timor]] (modern [[East 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 [[Sultan Idris Education University|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 [[Mohammad 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 established in 1948. The UNGA passed a non-binding recommendation partitioning the British Mandate, however the UN Security Council declined to implement it, deciding to adopt a neutral policy "without prejudice to the rights, claims, and positions of either party". Eventually, Israeli independence was achieved following the liquidation of the former British-administered Mandate of Palestine, the departure of the British and a war between the Jews in [[Mandatory Palestine]] and five 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"]]. It should also be noted that [[Mandatory Palestine]] had sizable [[History of the Jews in Palestine|Jewish]] and [[Palestinians|Arab]] populations before the [[Second World War]]. The [[West Bank]] (designated the [[Judea and Samaria Area]] by the Israeli government) and the [[Gaza Strip]], previously annexed by Jordan and occupied by Egypt respectively, were conquered by Israel in the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967. Israel withdrew from Gaza in August 2005; the West Bank remains under military occupation. Israel has never explicitly claimed sovereignty over any part of the West Bank apart from [[East Jerusalem]], which it unilaterally annexed in 1980. However, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have [[Israeli settlements|migrated]] to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, incurring criticism even by some who otherwise support Israel. The United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, and some countries and international organizations continue to regard Israel as occupying Gaza. ''(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, [[Positions on Jerusalem|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 [[Hamas|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. However, Congress passed the [[Jerusalem Embassy Act]] in 1995, which says that the US shall move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but allows the [[President of the United States|president]] to delay the move every year if it is deemed contrary to national security interests. Since 1995, every president has delayed the move every year to date based on this clause. 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. The [[Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces]], established in 1949, is the South Korean authority charged with the administration of Korean territory north of the [[Military Demarcation Line]] (i.e., North Korea), and consists of the governors of the five provinces, who are appointed by the [[President of the Republic of Korea|President]]. However the body is purely symbolic and largely tasked with dealing with Northern defectors; if reunification were to actually occur the Committee would be dissolved and new administrators appointed by the [[Ministry of Unification]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/03/18/south-koreas-governors-in-theory-for-north-korea/|title=South Korea’s Governors-in-Theory for North Korea|date=March 18, 2014|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|accessdate=29 April 2014}}</ref> [[North Korea]]'s constitution also stresses the importance of reunification, but, while it makes no similar formal provision for administering the South, it effectively claims its territory as it does not [[Diplomatic recognition|diplomatically recognise]] the Republic of Korea, deeming it an "entity occupying the Korean territory". Other territories sometimes disputed to belong to Korea are [[Korean nationalism#Manchuria and Gando Disputes|Manchuria and Gando]]. ==Other irredentism== ===Europe=== ====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=https://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 [[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 name=Balkan-Insight/><ref>[http://www.balkan-monitor.eu/files/BalkanMonitor-2010_Summary_of_Findings.pdf Gallup Balkan Monitor], 2010</ref> In 2012, as part of the celebrations for the [[100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania]], Prime Minister [[Sali Berisha]] spoke of "Albanian lands" stretching from [[Preveza]] in Greece to [[Preševo]] 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> ====Azerbaijan==== {{main|Western Azerbaijan (political concept)|Whole Azerbaijan}} [[Whole Azerbaijan]] is a concept based on the political and historical union of territories currently and historically inhabited by [[Azerbaijanis]] or historically controlled by them.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diaspora agrees to reintegrate Iranian Azerbaijan in Republic of Azerbaijan|url=http://abc.az/eng/news_30_08_2012_67610.html|work=abc.az|accessdate=30 August 2012}}</ref> [[Western Azerbaijan (political concept)|Western Azerbaijan]] is an irredentist political concept that is used in [[Azerbaijan]] mostly to refer to [[Armenia]]. Azerbaijani statements claim that the territory of the modern Armenian republic were lands that once belonged to Azerbaijanis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Present-day Armenia located in ancient Azerbaijani lands - Ilham Aliyev |agency=News.Az |date=October 16, 2010 |url=http://www.news.az/articles/24723 |accessdate=}}</ref> ====France==== {{main|Natural borders of France}} The idea of the natural borders of France is a political theory conceptualized primarily in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that focused on widening the borders primarily based on either practical reasons or the territory that was thought to be the maximum extend that the ancient Gauls inhabited. This theory lays claim to portions of Belgium and Germany. ====Former Yugoslavia==== 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]]n federal state 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> ====Germany==== {{main|German Question|Pan-Germanism|Anschluss|Munich Agreement}} During the [[unification of Germany]], the term ''Großdeutschland'' "Greater Germany" referred to a possible German nation consisting of the states that later comprised the [[German Empire]] and [[Austria]]. The term ''Kleindeutschland'' "Lesser Germany" 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]]. This issue was known as the [[German Question]]. A main point of [[Nazism|Nazi ideology]] was to reunify all Germans either born or living outside of German to create an "all-German [[Reich]]." These beliefs ultimately resulted in the Munich Agreement, which ceded to Germany areas of Czechoslovakia that were mainly inhabited by those of German descent and the Anschluss, which ceded the entire country of Austria to Germany; both events occurred in 1938. ====Greece==== {{Main|Megali Idea}} Following the [[Greek War of Independence]] in 1821-1832, [[Greece]] gradually annexed areas which were occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Such was the annexation of [[Thessaly]], a failed war against Turkey in 1897 and the [[Balkan Wars]]. After World War I, Greece launched an unsuccessful [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–22)|campaign]] to annex the Aegean coast of [[Asia Minor]] from [[Turkey]], basing her claim on the predominance there of [[Ionia]]n Greeks since antiquity, and by more recent Greek rule of Asia Minor by the [[Byzantine Empire]] for centuries before the arrival of Ottoman Turks. Another Greek irredentist claim includes North [[Epirus]] (currently a part of [[Albania]]), where a sizable Greek minority lives, predating the formation of independent [[Albania]]. Another important open issue for Greeks of the Mainland and of Cyprus is the annexation of [[Northern Cyprus]], which has been occupied since the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]] in 1974. ====Hungary==== {{Main|Hungarian irredentism}} {{Expand section|date=November 2014}} The restoration of the borders of [[Hungary]] to their state prior to World War I, in order to unite all ethnic Hungarians within the same country once again. ====Ireland==== {{main|United Ireland}} From 1937 until 1999, [[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 suspended. 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. ====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 Macedonian]] [[nationalism|nationalists]] which involves territorial claims on the northern province of [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] in [[Greece]], but also in [[Blagoevgrad Province]] ("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 Macedonian 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: <poem> Get out, boy, straight on the terrace And salute [[Gotse Delchev|Goce's]] race Raise your hands up high Ours will be [[Thessaloniki]]'s area.</poem></ref> ====Poland==== {{See also|Kresy}} [[Kresy]] ("Borderlands"), is a term that refers to the eastern lands that formerly belonged to [[Poland]]. These territories today lie in western [[Ukraine]], western [[Belarus]], as well as eastern [[Lithuania]], with such major cities, as [[Lviv]], [[Vilnius]], and [[Hrodna]]. Kresy was part of the [[Second Polish Republic]] until [[World War II]]. Even though ''Kresy'', or the ''Eastern Borderlands'', are no longer Polish territories, the area is still inhabited by a significant Polish minority, and the memory of a Polish ''Kresy'' is still cultivated. The attachment to the "myth of Kresy", the vision of the region as a peaceful, idyllic, rural land, has been criticized in Polish discourse.<ref>[http://wyborcza.pl/51,97863,7751751.html?i=0Czas odczarować mit Kresów Czas odczarować mit Kresów Marcin Wojciechowski, Gazeta Wyborcza 2010-04-12, ]</ref> In January, February and March 2012, the [[Centre for Public Opinion Research]] conducted a survey, asking Poles about their ties to the Kresy. It turned out that almost 15% of the population of Poland (4.3 - 4.6 million people) declared that they had either been born in the Kresy, or had a parent or a grandparent who came from that region. Numerous treasures of Polish culture remain and there are numerous Kresy-oriented organizations. There are Polish sports clubs ([[Pogoń Lwów]], [[FK Polonia Vilnius]]), newspapers ([[Gazeta Lwowska]], [[Kurier Wileński]]), radio stations (in Lviv and Vilnius), numerous theatres, schools, choirs and folk ensembles. Poles living in ''Kresy'' are helped by [[Fundacja Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie]], a Polish government-sponsored organization, as well as other organizations, such as The ''Association of Help of Poles in the East Kresy'' (see also [[Karta Polaka]]). Money is frequently collected to help those Poles who live in ''Kresy'', and there are several annual events, such as a ''Christmas Package for a Polish Veteran in Kresy'', and ''Summer with Poland'', sponsored by the [[Association "Polish Community"]], in which Polish children from ''Kresy'' are invited to visit Poland.<ref>[http://www.dzienniklodzki.pl/wakacje/432777,dzieci-z-kresow-zwiedzaja-lodz-zdjecia,id,t.html Dzieci z Kresów zwiedzają Łódź]</ref> Polish language handbooks and films, as well as medicines and clothes are collected and sent to ''Kresy''. Books are most often sent to Polish schools which exist there&nbsp;— for example, in December 2010, The University of Wrocław organized an event called ''Become a Polish Santa Claus and Give a Book to a Polish Child in Kresy''.<ref>[http://www.ksiazka.net.pl/index.php?id=4&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=6825&cHash=0882d0da2f ''Zostań polskim świętym Mikołajem - podaruj książkę polskiemu dziecku na Kresach.'']</ref> Polish churches and cemeteries (such as [[Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów]]) are renovated with money from Poland. ====Portugal==== {{main|Olivenza#Claims of sovereignty}} {{main|Greater Portugal}} [[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==== {{Expand section|date=September 2014}} {{Main|Greater Romania|Unification of Romania and Moldova}} Romania lays claim to Greater Romania, which includes [[Moldova]] as [[Bessarabia]], since the latter has been part of the former and it is inhabited in majority by Romanians (same people as Moldavians). ====Russia==== {{Main|All-Russian nation|Eurasianism|Greater Russia}} {{See also|Republic of Crimea|Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation}} The [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]] in 2014 was based on a claim of protecting [[Ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states|ethnic Russians]] residing there. Crimea was part of the [[Russian Empire]] from 1783 to 1917, the [[USSR]] from 1918 to 1991 and [[Ukraine]] from 1991 to February 2014. Russia declared Crimea to be part of the Russian Federation in March 2014 and effective administration commenced. The Russian regional status is not currently recognised by the United Nations General Assembly and by many countries. Russian irredentism also includes southeastern and coastal Ukraine, known as ''Novorossiya'', a term from the Russian Empire. ====Ukraine==== {{Main|Greater Ukraine}} At certain periods, Ukrainians made up a majority of the population in regions of Russia such as the historical [[Kuban Oblast]]. Some Ukrainians believe in the incorporation of lands once controlled by Ukraine, including [[Kuban]], [[Transnistria]] and the [[Prešov Region]] of [[Slovakia]]. ====Serbia==== {{Main|Greater Serbia}} Pan-Serbism or [[Greater Serbia]] sees the creation of a Serb land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation, and regions outside of Serbia that are populated mostly by [[Serbs]]. This movement's main ideology is to unite all Serbs (or all [[List of Serb countries and regions|historically ruled or Serb populated lands]]) into one [[Sovereign state|state]], claiming, depending on the version, different areas of many surrounding countries. ====Spain==== {{further|Disputed status of Gibraltar}} Spain maintains a claim on [[Gibraltar]], a [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]], near the southernmost tip of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]; she has been British since the 17th Century. 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> 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]]. ===Western Asia=== ====Caucasus==== {{main|Armenian nationalism|Azerbaijani nationalism}} {{Expand section|date=January 2015}} 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, [https://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> ====Kurdistan==== {{main|Kurdish nationalism}} {{Expand section|date=January 2015}} Kurds have often used the ancient entity of [[Corduene]] as evidence that they should have a separate state from the countries they are now ruled by. ====Lebanon==== {{main|Lebanese nationalism}} The Lebanese nationalism goes even further and incorporates irredentist views going beyond the Lebanese borders, seeking to unify all the lands of ancient [[Phoenicia]] around present day Lebanon. This comes from the fact that present day Lebanon, the Mediterranean coast of Syria, and northern Israel is the area that roughly corresponds to ancient Phoenicia and as a result the majority of the Lebanese people identify with the ancient Phoenician population of that region.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kamal S. Salibi, "The Lebanese Identity" Journal of Contemporary History 6.1, Nationalism and Separatism (1971:76-86).</ref> The proposed Greater Lebanese country includes [[Lebanon]], Mediterranean coast of [[Syria]], and northern [[Israel]]. ====Syria==== {{main|Syrian nationalism}} {{Expand section|date=January 2015}} 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=January 2015}} The proposed Syrian country includes [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]]; and southern [[Turkey]], northern [[Egypt]], and southwestern [[Iran]]. ====Yemen==== {{main|Greater Yemen}} Greater Yemen is a theory giving Yemen claim to former territories that were held by various predecessor states that existed between the 13th and 18th centuries. The areas claimed include parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman. ===East Asia=== ====China==== {{main|Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|Transfer of sovereignty over Macau}} When [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] were [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] territories, respectively, China considered these two territories to be Chinese territories under British and Portuguese administration, respectively. Therefore, [[Hong Kong people]] and [[Macanese people]] descended from Chinese immigrants were entitled to [[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport|Hong Kong]]s or [[Macao Special Administrative Region passport]]s after the two territories became the [[special administrative region]]s. ====Japan==== Japan claims the two southernmost islands of the Russian-administered [[Kuril Islands]], the island chain north of [[Hokkaido]], annexed by the [[Soviet Union]] following World War II. Japan also claims the South Korean-administered [[Liancourt Rocks dispute|Liancourt Rocks]], which are known as Takeshima in Japan and have been claimed since the end of the Second World War. ====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. ====Mongolia==== {{main|Pan-Mongolism}} The irredentist idea that advocates cultural and political solidarity of [[Mongols]]. The proposed territory usually includes the independent state of [[Mongolia]], the Chinese regions of [[Inner Mongolia]] (Southern Mongolia) and [[Dzungaria]] (in [[Xinjiang]]), and the Russian subjects of [[Buryatia]]. Sometimes [[Tuva]] and the [[Altai Republic]] are included as well. ===South Asia=== [[South Asia]] too is another region in which armed irredentist movements have been active for almost a century, in [[North-East India]], Burma and [[Bangladesh]]. {{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 ethnic 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). ====Somalia==== [[Ogaden]] in eastern Ethiopia has seen military and civic movements seeking to make it part of [[Somalia]]. Some sources say that Somalia also laid a claim to the [[Socotra]] archipelago, which is currently governed by [[Yemen]]. ===North America=== ====Mexico==== {{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]], [[Texas]], [[Nevada]] and [[Utah]]; and parts of [[Colorado]], [[Arizona]], [[Wyoming]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], 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=https://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=[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] |location= |isbn= |page=11990 |pages= |url=https://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> ====Russia==== 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 cheque), and second that the legalization of [[gay marriage]] in the United States meant that the U. S. was not honouring 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> Under [[Alaska Measure 2 (1998)|Alaska Ballot Measure 2]] in 1998, however, same-sex marriage was illegal in Alaska<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.law.duke.edu/shell 2014/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> at that time. Same-sex marriage was, however, [[Same-sex marriage in Alaska|authorised by the courts]] on 12 October 2014. Following the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, several Russian groups and individuals began advocating for the reclamation of [[Alaska]]. A petition appeared on the official White House website demanding the return of Alaska to Russia, receiving around 42,000 signatures. Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] was even asked a question on the subject by a woman during an annual question and answer television segment; Putin dismissed the idea saying Alaska was "too cold" and Russia already had enough cold places. However, in October of that year, Putin's Deputy Prime Minister [[Dmitry Rogozin]] wrote a foreword for a book called ''Alaska Betrayed and Sold: The History of a Palace Conspiracy''. The book alleges that the original sale of Alaska was filled with "outright lies". Rogozin himself claimed that the sale was a "betrayal of Russian power status". He further stated that Russia had a "right to reclaim our lost colonies". Rogozin is the highest-ranking member of the Russian government to make such a claim. ==See also== *[[List of irredentist claims or disputes]] *[[Annexationism]] *[[Ethnic nationalism]] *[[Expansionism]] *[[Lebensraum]] *[[Separatism]] *[[Secession]] *[[Manifest Destiny]] *[[Pan-nationalism]] *[[Revanchism]] *[[Rump State]] *[[Status quo ante bellum]] *[[Territorial dispute]] ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==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}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Divided regions]] [[Category:International relations theory]] [[Category:Irredentism| ]] [[Category:Pan-nationalism| ]]'