List of proposed state mergers
This is a list of proposed state mergers, including both current and historical proposals originating from sovereign states or organizations. The entities listed below differ from separatist movements in that they would form as a merger or union of two or more existing states, territories, colonies or other regions, becoming either a federation, confederation or other type of unified sovereign state.
Historic
Early modern period
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1569 | Yes (1569–1795) |
See Union of Lublin | ||
1574–1658 | No | |||
1580–1640 | Yes | Portugal became part of the realms of the Spanish Habsburg (Casa de Austria) following the death of Henry I of Portugal but resumed its independence 60 years later. | ||
1658–1659 | No | Treaty of Hadiach | ||
1707 | Yes | Though having been ruled since 1603 in Personal Union when James VI succeeded both the English and Scottish crowns both countries remained separate sovereign nations states until 1706 when the Treaty of Union unified them into a single entity. | ||
1777–1791 | Yes | |||
1786–1788 | Yes (1788–1861) |
United States Constitution is ratified by the Thirteen Original Colonies, replacing the Articles of Confederation and thereby forming a Federal government, ending the individual sovereignty of the US States. |
19th century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1800 | Yes (1801–1922) |
Created by the Acts of Union 1800. Most of Ireland left the union as the Irish Free State in 1922, while Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. | ||
1819–1830 | Yes (1819–1830) |
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1821 | Yes (1821–1823) |
Central America was annexed into the First Mexican Empire. After the dissolution of the Empire only Chiapas choose to remain part of Mexico, the rest became the Federal Republic of Central America.
Costa Rica in particular was split between inner factions in favor and against the annexation ending in a Civil War. The pro-Mexican provinces declared membership but was not recognized by the pro-independence provinces. | ||
1823 | Yes (1823–1839) |
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1824 | Yes | The old "Partido de Nicoya" currently encompasses most of the 21st-century Guanacaste Province. See Annexation of Nicoya. | ||
1829–1839 | Yes (1836–1839) |
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1845 | Yes | Texas annexation | ||
1848–1870 | Yes | Although the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, the Italian Unification is generally considered to have been incomplete until after the integration of Venetia in 1866 and the capture of Rome in 1870. See Italian Unification and Expedition of the Thousand. | ||
1852 | Yes | Second attempt at unification that lasted for less than a month. | ||
1854–1857 | Yes | Republic of Maryland was officially named Maryland in Liberia during its independence referendum on 29 May 1854. | ||
1861 | Yes (1861–1865) |
American Civil War | ||
1862 | Yes | Becomes Kingdom of Romania in 1881. | ||
1864 | Yes | Treaty of London (1864) | ||
Various other small principalities and free cities |
1866 | Yes (1867–1871) |
Following the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the annexation by Prussia of Austria's northern German ally states, Otto von Bismarck proposed to unify Prussia and its own German ally states into a single Federation. Consequently, the North German Constitution was adopted, with the provision that the southern German minor states could enter into the union when politically feasible. | |
1867 | Yes | Canadian Confederation | ||
1869–1870 | No | Proposed by Ramón Emeterio Betances. | ||
1871 | Partial (1871–1918) |
Unification of Germany (excluding Austria) after German victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian War. See also, the German Question regarding the competing ideas of "Greater Germany" and "Lesser Germany" (whether or not a united Germany should include the Austrian Empire). The matter was settled with the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, in which Prussia assumed leadership of the various minor German nation states. | ||
1878–1879 | No | Proposed personal union, German prince Alexander of Battenberg is elected instead.[1] | ||
1885–1886 | Yes | After Bulgaria crushed Serbia in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, Bulgaria nearly doubled in size when East Rumelia was incorporated within its borders. Bulgaria officially annexed it from the Ottoman Empire in 1885. | ||
1886–1887 | No | Proposed personal union, rejected by Carol I of Romania due to Russian pressure.[1] | ||
Considered joining: |
1895–1898 | Yes (1896–1898) |
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1898 | Yes | United States annexation of the Territory of Hawaii |
20th century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Also invited: |
1901 | Yes | Federation of Australia | |
1909 | Yes | Union of South Africa | ||
1910–1916 | No | |||
1918 | Yes (1918–1992) |
Creation of Yugoslavia | ||
1918 | Yes (1918) |
See Union of Bessarabia with Romania, Treaty of Bucharest | ||
1918 | Yes (1918–1947) |
Unification of Greater Romania | ||
November or December 1918 | No | Also called "Intermarium". Suggested shortly after World War I to combat the influences of Germany and Russia. | ||
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic | 1918 | Yes (1918) |
A short-lived South Caucasian state that extended across what are now the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, plus parts of Eastern Turkey as well as Russian border areas. The state only lasted for a month before Georgia declared independence, followed shortly by Azerbaijan and Armenia. | |
1918–1919 | No | Following the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in the final days of World War I, the German-speaking territories of the former Austria-Hungary attempted to begin a process of integration into Weimar Germany. The Allies did not favor the idea, and forced the Austrian rump state to sign the Treaty of Saint Germain, which prohibited Austria from uniting with Germany. | ||
1919 | No | Federation between the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Hungary in personal union under the Romanian King, proposed by the Hungarian statesman István Bethlen.[2][3] | ||
1919 | Yes (1919) |
Act Zluky | ||
1922 | Yes (1922–1991) |
Treaty on the Creation of the USSR | ||
1938 | Yes (1938–1945) |
Anschluss | ||
1939 | Yes | On 2 September 1938 the Sanjak of Alexandretta declared thesmelves as separate from the French Mandate of Syria, becoming the Hatay State. On 29 June 1939, the legislature voted to merge with Turkey. | ||
1939–1948 | No | Proposed by Władysław Sikorski. | ||
Strictest definition: Loosest definition also includes: |
1942–1944 | No | ||
1946–1948 | No | Josip Broz Tito came extremely close to getting Albania into accepting integration into Yugoslavia, but relations cooled in 1948 over fears that Yugoslavia only intended to use Albania for raw materials, subsequently resulting in the expulsion of Yugoslav diplomats. Yugoslav/Bulgarian negotiations fell through when Moscow attempted to force both countries into accepting Soviet control over the merge, which caused Yugoslavia to withdraw from negotiations and precipitated the Tito–Stalin split. | ||
1947–1948 | Yes | Annexation of Junagadh | ||
1946–1949 | Yes (1949–1950) |
Following discussions between Dutch authorities and Indonesian nationalist leaders, the Linggadjati Agreement was signed on 15 November 1946, in which the unilaterally declared Republic of Indonesia agreed to the principle of a federal Indonesia including the territory controlled by the Republic and other territory in the region which the Dutch controlled at that point. The Dutch then organised the December 1946 Denpasar Conference, which led to the establishment of the State of East Indonesia, followed by a state in West Borneo. Further states were set up in former territory of the Republic after they were conquered by the Dutch in 1947. Further Dutch military action faced increasing resistance from governments of the states they had established, and this combined with international pressure caused the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference to take place in The Hague from August to November 1949. This Conference resulted in the Dutch agreeing to hand over sovereignty to a federal union of these states, which officially became the Republic of the United States of Indonesia. This federation lasted only a year, as its member states agreed to dissolve themselves into a unitary state, the last stage of which took place on 17 August 1950. | ||
1947–1950 | Yes | Instrument of Accession | ||
Princely states |
1947–1950 | Yes | Instrument of Accession | |
1948 | Yes | Annexation of Hyderabad | ||
1948–1949 | Yes | In two rounds of referendums in 1948, the Dominion of Newfoundland had the choice of becoming an independent state, merging with the Dominion of Canada, or remaining as a British dominion. The Newfoundland Act of 1949, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland on 23 March 1949. | ||
1950–1969 | Yes | Following Dutch recognition of Indonesian Indpendence, Indonesia continued to claim the remaining Dutch territory in the region, Netherlands New Guinea, as its rightful territory. The dispute escalated into low-level conflict in 1962 following Dutch moves in 1961 to establish a New Guinea Council. Facing diplomatic pressure from the United States, fading domestic support and continual Indonesian threats to invade the territory, the Netherlands decided to relinquish control of the disputed territory in August 1962. Following a short period of UN administration, the territory was transferred to Indonesia on 1 May 1963. | ||
1953 | Yes (1953–1963) |
A semi-independent state. | ||
1956 | No | See 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum. | ||
1956–1957 | Yes | In the 1956 British Togoland status plebiscite, 58% of voters supported a union with Ghana, whereas 42% voted in favor of remaining a United Nations Trust Territory under British control until neighbouring French Togoland had decided its future. | ||
1956–1960 | No | Sarawak and North Borneo merged with the independent Federation of Malaya several years later, forming Malaysia, while Brunei later became an independent state on its own. | ||
1958–1963 | No | The Equatoguinean independence leader Enrique Nvo and the first formal Equatoguinean political party, IPGE, advocated for independence from Spain and a political union between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.[4] The idea of a union was deemed unfeasible after the 1963 Equatorial Guinean autonomy referendum.[4] | ||
Also invited: |
1958 | Yes (1958–1962) |
The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state, however, before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts. | |
1958 | Yes (1958–1961) |
A short-lived Pan-Arab state. | ||
1958 | Yes (1958–1961) |
Loose confederation between the United Arab Republic and North Yemen. | ||
1958 | Yes (14 February – 2 August 1958) |
An attempt to unify the two Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan. While successful, the short-lived union was disestablished after a military coup deposed King Faisal II of Iraq. | ||
1960 | Yes (1960–1991) |
On 26 June 1960, the former British Somaliland protectorate briefly obtained independence as the State of Somaliland, with the Trust Territory of Somaliland following suit five days later.[5][6] The following day, on 27 June 1960, the newly convened Somaliland Legislative Assembly approved a bill that would formally allow for the union of the State of Somaliland with the Trust Territory of Somaliland on 1 July 1960.[7] Following the collapse of Barre's government in early 1991, local authorities, led by the SNM, unilaterally declared independence from Somalia on 18 May of the same year and reinstated the borders of the former short-lived independent State of Somaliland. | ||
1960–1964 | No | Proposed political union between the four territories (one colony, two protectorates and one League of Nations mandated territory) under British rule in East Africa in the 1960s. Tanganyika proposed to delay its imminent independence in 1960 so that the four territories might achieve independence together as one federation. In 1963 the leaders of all of the territories (some now independent) pledged to work towards a federation by 1964, but ultimately disputes over the nature of the federation and concerns about sharing power led to the collapse of effort to federate. Only Tanganyika and Zanzibar eventually united in 1964. | ||
1961 | Partial (Southern Cameroons) | In the 1961 British Cameroons referendum, the Christian-majority in the south of British Cameroon voted to integrate with Cameroon, whereas the Muslim-majority Northern areas voted to integrate with Nigeria. | ||
Partial (Northern Cameroons) | ||||
1961 | Yes | Annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Annexation of Goa | ||
1962 | Yes | Causes of the merger of the territories of French India with India | ||
Maphilindo | 1963 | No | Proposals to create a union of the people of the Malay race and deal with the continued decolonisation of Southeast Asia led to leaders of the three countries signing the Manila Accord on 5 August 1963. However, cooperation quickly broke down following the formation of Malaysia by Malaya and other former British colonies in the region, which was opposed by Indonesia and the Philippines.[8] | |
Also invited: |
1963 | Yes | Singapore was expelled from the federation on 9 August 1965. | |
1964 | Yes | |||
1964–1965 | No | In 1963, the Australian Government proposed that the citizens of Nauru, a United Nations trust territory under Australian administration, would move to Curtis Island and become Australian citizens.[9][10] By that time, Nauru had been extensively mined for phosphate by companies from Australia, Britain and New Zealand damaging the landscape so much that it was thought the island would be uninhabitable by the 1990s. The cost of resettling the Nauruans on Curtis Island was estimated to be £10 million, which included housing and infrastructure and the establishment of pastoral, agricultural, and fishing industries.[11] However, the Nauruan people did not wish to become Australian citizens and wanted to be given sovereignty over Curtis Island to establish themselves as an independent nation, which Australia would not agree to.[12] Nauru rejected the proposal to move to Curtis Island, instead choosing to become an independent nation operating their mines in Nauru.[13] Nauru became self-governing in January 1966, and following a two-year constitutional convention, it became independent in 1968 under founding president Hammer DeRoburt.[14] | ||
1969 | No | 1958 Saipan integration referendum 1961 Northern Mariana Islands status referendum 1963 Northern Mariana Islands integration referendum 1969 Guamanian Northern Mariana Islands union referendum 1969 Northern Mariana Islands status referendum | ||
Also invited: |
1971 | Yes | Six independent emirates formed the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971. Ras Al Khaimah later joined the federation. | |
Also invited: |
1972–1977 | Yes (1972–1977) |
An attempt by Muammar Gaddafi to build a Pan-Arab state. | |
1974 | No | Proposed by Muammar Gaddafi. | ||
1975 | Yes | After independence in 1947, joining the new Indian Union was rejected by popular vote. Sikkim grew closer to India over time, becoming a protectorate and later a suzerainty of India. With Indian pressure and support, Sikkim voted to join India in 1975.[15][16] | ||
Guinea and Cape Verde | 1975 | No | The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) advocated for the independence of the colonies of Portuguese Guinea and Portuguese Cape Verde, and governed both countries immediately after independence (1974 for Guinea-Bissau, and 1975 for Cape Verde) with the goal of unifying the two. However, following a 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, the Cape Verde branch of the party separated to form the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), ending plans for a union.[17] | |
1975–1976 | Yes (1976–1999) |
Indonesian invasion of East Timor | ||
1976 | Yes | Unified due to military conquest. See Reunification Day and the Fall of Saigon. | ||
1982–1989 | Yes (1982–1989) |
A loose confederation was formed, but ended due to the Gambia's lack of interest in integration. | ||
1990 | Yes | Yemeni unification | ||
1990 | Yes | German reunification | ||
1990–1991 | No | An attempt by Mikhail Gorbachev to avert the collapse of the Soviet Union and reorganize the union into a new confederated entity. | ||
1991 | No | Zulfikarpašić–Karadžić agreement | ||
1994 | Yes | During apartheid, the South African Government granted nominal independence to four autonomous bantustans within it. While no external country recognized these states, South Africa strongly promoted their independence, and the four mutually recognized each other. As South Africa moved to end apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) party advocated reintegration of all bantustans, including the nominally independent ones, into a unitary South African state. Resistance to integration by leaders of some bantustans led to violence, such as in the Bisho massacre and the Bophuthatswana crisis. Nonetheless, inhabitants of all four independent bantustans participated in the 1994 South African general election, during which a new constitution came into effect which reintegrated all bantustans into South Africa. |
21st century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | No | A referendum was held in Cyprus on 24 April 2004.[18] The two communities were asked whether they approved of the fifth revision of the United Nations proposal for reuniting the island, which had been divided since 1974. While it was approved by 65% of Turkish Cypriots, it was rejected by 76% of Greek Cypriots.[19] | ||
2011 | No | President Ollanta Humala of Peru proposed Bolivian president Evo Morales to reunite the countries in a confederation.[20][21] The Cabinets of the two countries have held joint meetings.[22] | ||
2014 | Yes | Crimea seceded from Ukraine and later conducted a referendum to join the Russian Federation and was later annexed by Russia. The referendum was extremely controversial and most countries continue to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine. | ||
2014 | No | Novorossiya (Full name: Federal State of Novorossiya) was a proposed confederation between the two self-declared nations of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. The Confederation was declared on 22 May 2014. On 20 May 2015 the constituant members announced the freezing of the Novorossiya project. | ||
2017 | No | On 18 July 2017 the Donetsk People's Republic announced a new project which included all of Ukraine, though with the name changed to "Malorossiya" (Little Russia). The Luhansk People's Republic stated, however, that they would not be involved in the project. The project was widely condemned by other nations, including Russia, who pointed to the Minsk II protocol. |
Current proposals
Proposed state | Components | First proposed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1867 | The idea for the United States to buy Greenland was first proposed during the administration of Andrew Johnson, when, in 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward unsuccessfully proposed buying Greenland and Iceland from the Danish Kingdom. A post-World War II bid was also declined by Denmark.[23] In 2018 and 2019, Donald Trump spoke to aides about acquiring the island; Greenlandic and Danish officials firmly rebuffed the suggestion that the island could be sold.[24][25] | ||
1917 | The proposed Canadian annexation of the Turks and Caicos Islands has been an ongoing political discussion between the two nations since Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden first supported the idea in 1917.[26] | ||
1953 | Since the Partition of India, there have been multiple calls to reunite country by remerger of successor states.[27] | ||
1953 | Korean reunification has been a goal for both Koreas since the 1953 armistice agreement. However, proposed strategies vary between the two Koreas, with both proposing unification under one sociopolitical system while abandoning the other, similar to German reunification.[28] | ||
Unified China | 1979 | Unification of the territories of China and Taiwan is the nominal goal of both governments, who both operate under the One-China policy. However, within Taiwan, there is a large movement to formally declare a Taiwanese state, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, which is currently in government.[29] | |
1991 | Due to the revolutions of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia Governorate declared secession in 1917 as the Moldavian Democratic Republic and united unconditionally with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918, before the Soviet occupation in 1940. After Moldova gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, unification with Romania has been proposed which is supported by the Moldovan minorities according to polls and the Romanian Government. In 2018, Moldovan PM Pavel Filip ruled out reunification with Romania, despite growing calls from Moldovans for unification.[30] See also Greater Romania. | ||
1999 | Belarus and Russia signed an agreement to form the Union State in 1999, aiming to continue deeper integration, possibly until unification.[31][32] | ||
2004 | Proposed political union between the six member states of the East African Community.[33] Federation was proposed in 2004, but in 2016 it was decided that confederation would be the short-term goal. South Sudan is not as integrated as the other five members, having only gained independence from Sudan in 2011.[34] |
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See also
References
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- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Weatherbee, Donald E; Emmers, Ralf; Pangestu, Mari; Sebastian, Leonard C (2005). International relations in Southeast Asia. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 68–69. ISBN 0-7425-2842-1. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
- "Island Purchase For Nauruans". The Canberra Times. 38 (10, 840). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 May 1964. p. 5. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Nauruans Likely To Settle Curtis Island". The Canberra Times. 37 (10, 549). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 May 1963. p. 9. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- McAdam, Jane (15 August 2016). "How the entire nation of Nauru almost moved to Queensland". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- "Lack of Sovereignty 'Disappoints' Nauruans". The Canberra Times. 37 (10, 554). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 June 1963. p. 45. Retrieved 1 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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- Davidson, JW (January 1968). "The Republic of Nauru". The Journal of Pacific History. 3 (1): 145–150. doi:10.1080/00223346808572131.
- "The Forgotten Kingdom". FP. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- "25 years after SIKKIM". Nepali Times. 23 March 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- MacQueen, Norrie (1 February 2006). "Widening trajectories: Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde since independence". Relações Internacionais. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- Election profile IFES Election Guide
- "Humala Invites Morales to Consider the Re-Unification of Peru and Bolivia". MercoPress. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- "Humala Says Dreams of Peru-Bolivia Reunification". Buenos Aires Herald. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- "Peru and Bolivia reach gas deal at 'bi-national cabinet'". perureports.com. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- Paul Musgrave (16 August 2019). "American Imperialists Have Always Dreamed of Greenland". Foreign Policy.
- Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman (21 August 2019). "Trump's Interest in Buying Greenland Seemed Like a Joke. Then It Got Ugly". New York Times.
- Katie Rogers (16 August 2019). "Eyeing Greenland, Trump Again Mixes Real Estate With Diplomacy". New York Times.
- "The 11th province?". Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Burke, S. M. (1974). Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Policies. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 57–59, 66–67, 73. ISBN 9781452910710.
- Babones, Salvatore (17 October 2014). "2015: The Year of Korean Reunification?". The National Interest. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- Yimou Lee (10 October 2019). "Taiwan leader rejects China's 'one country, two systems' offer". Reuters. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- Rankin, Jennifer (11 May 2018). "Moldova PM rules out reunification with Romania". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- Brennan, David (16 February 2019). "Russia May Absorb Belarus: 'We're Ready to Unite,' President Says". Newsweek. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- Snegovaya, Maria (4 April 2019). "Russia Is Eyeing Belarus—and It Might Spark a Conflict With the West Far Sooner Than Ukraine". Newsweek. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- LAMU (3 September 2009). "An East African Federation: Big ambitions, big question-marks". The Economist. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
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