A stateless nation is an
ethnic group or
nation that does not possess its own
state[''Dictionary Of Public Administration'', U.C. Mandal, Sarup & Sons 2007, 505 p.] and is not the majority population in any
nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
.
The term "stateless" implies that the group "should have" such a state (country).
Members of stateless nations may be citizens of the country in which they live, or they may be denied
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
by that country. Stateless nations are usually not represented in international sports or in international organisations such as the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
. Nations without state are classified as
fourth-world nations. Some of the stateless nations have a history of
statehood
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "st ...
, some were always a stateless nation, dominated by another nation.
The term was coined in 1983 by political scientist
Jacques Leruez in his book ''L'Écosse, une nation sans État'' about the peculiar position of
Scotland within the
British state. It was later adopted and popularized by
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
scholars such as
David McCrone,
Michael Keating Michael, Mike or Mickey Keating may refer to:
Politics
* Michael Keating (Irish politician) (born 1946), Fine Gael then Progressive Democrats TD from Dublin
* Michael Keating (Manitoba politician)
* Michael Keating (political scientist)
Mic ...
and
T. M. Devine
Sir Thomas Martin Devine (born 30 July 1945) is a Scottish academic and author, who specializes in the history of Scotland.
He is known for his overviews of modern Scottish history.
He is an advocate of the total history approach to the hi ...
.
Stateless nations either are dispersed across a number of states (for example, the
Yakthung Limbu People residing in east of
Nepal, includes (Sikkim and Darjeeling)
India and north-western part of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
as the Yakthung
Limbuwan
Limbuwan is an area of the Himalayan region historically made up of 10 Limbu kingdoms, now part of eastern Nepal. Limbuwan means "abode of the Limbus" or "Land of the Limbus".
In modern times, a political movement in Nepal has developed which ...
nation and
Yoruba people are found in the
African states of
Nigeria,
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
and
Togo) or form the
native population of a
province within a larger state (such as the
Uyghur people
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...
in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
within the
People's Republic of China). Some stateless nations historically had a state, which was absorbed by another; for example,
Tibet's declaration of independence in 1913 was not recognized, and it was reunited in 1951 by the
People's Republic of China which claims that
Tibet is an integral part of China, while the
Tibetan government-in-exile
The Central Tibetan Administration (, , ), often referred to as the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, is a non-profit political organization based in Dharamshala, India. Its organization is modeled after an elective parliamentary government, comp ...
maintains that Tibet is an independent state under an unlawful occupation. Some ethnic groups were once a stateless nation that later became a nation state (for example, the nations of the
Balkans such as the
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
,
Serbs,
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
,
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
,
Montenegrins
Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro.
Genetics
Accordi ...
and
Macedonians were once part of a multinational state of
Yugoslavia; since the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
many nation states were formed).
Stateless nations can have large populations; for example the
Kurds have an estimated population of over 30 million people, which make them one of the largest stateless nations. Multiple stateless nations can reside in the same geographical region or country; for example, the
Assamese,
Brahui,
Maithils
Maithils (Tirhuta: মৈথিল, Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the M ...
,
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
,
Sikhs,
Tamils and
Santhals
The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking
Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
in
South Asia, or
Chin
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be on ...
,
Kachin,
Karen
Karen may refer to:
* Karen (name), a given name and surname
* Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors
People
* Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand
** Karen languages or Karenic la ...
,
Mon
Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to:
Places
* Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar
* Mon, India, a town in Nagaland
* Mon district, Nagaland
* Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons
* A ...
,
Rakhine,
Rohingya and
Shan in
Myanmar, and
Amazighs
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
within
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
in
North Africa. However, not all peoples within multi-cultural states have the same awareness of being a stateless nation.
As not all states are nation states, there are ethnic groups who live in
multinational states without being considered "stateless nations".
Nation-states and nations without states
The symbiotic relationship between nations and states arose in early modern
Western Europe (18th century) and it was exported to the rest of the world through colonial rule. Whereas the Western European nation-states are at present relinquishing some of their powers to the European Union, many of the former colonies are now the zealous defenders of the concept of national-statehood.
[
Only a small fraction of the world's national groups have associated nation-states. The proportion was estimated to be 3 percent by Minahan. The rest are distributed in one or more states. While there are over 3000 estimated nations in the world, there were only 193 member states of the ]United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
as of 2011, of which fewer than 20 are considered to be ethnically homogeneous nation-states. Thus nation-states are not as common as often assumed, and stateless nations are the overwhelming majority of nations in the world.[
]
Consequences of colonialism and imperialism
During the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas
...
and colonial era, powerful nations extended their influence outside their homeland and this resulted in many colonized nations ceasing to be self-governing and have since been described as stateless nations. Some nations have been victims of "carve out" and their homeland was divided among several countries. Even today the colonial boundaries form modern national boundaries. These often differ from cultural boundaries. This results in situations where people of the same language or culture are divided by national borders, for example New Guinea splits as West Papua (former Dutch colony) and Papua New Guinea (former British colony
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
). During decolonization, the colonial powers imposed a unified state structure irrespective of the ethnic differences and granted independence to their colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
as a multinational state. This led to successor states
Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
with many minority ethnic groups in them, which increased the potential for ethnic conflicts. Some of these minority groups campaigned for self-determination. Stateless nations were not protected in all countries and become victims of atrocities such as discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of Racial discrimination, r ...
, ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
, genocide, forced assimilation, Exploitation of labour
Exploitation of labour (also known as labor) is a concept defined as, in its broadest sense, one agent taking unfair advantage of another agent. It denotes an unjust social relationship based on an asymmetry of power or unequal exchange of value be ...
and natural resources.
Nationalism and stateless nations
People with a common origin, history, language, culture, customs or religion can turn into a nation by awakening of national consciousness
National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
. A nation can exist without a state, as is exemplified by the stateless nations. Citizenship is not always the nationality of a person. In a multinational state different national identities can coexist or compete: for example, in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
English nationalism
English nationalism is a nationalism that asserts that the English are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of English people. In a general sense, it comprises political and social movements and sentiment inspired by a love for English ...
, Scottish nationalism and Welsh nationalism exist and are held together by British nationalism
British nationalism asserts that the British are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Britons,Guntram H. Herb, David H. Kaplan. Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview: A Global Historical Overview. Santa Barbara, Californ ...
. Nationalism is often connected to separatism, because a nation achieves completeness through its independence.
Throughout history, numerous nations declared their independence, but not all succeeded in establishing a state. Even today, there are active autonomy and independence movements around the world. The claim of the stateless nations to self-determination is often denied due to geopolitical interests and increasing globalization of the world. Stateless nations sometimes show solidarity with other stateless nations and maintain diplomatic relations.
Unionism vs Separatism
Not all ethnic group claim to be a nation or aspire to be a separate state. Some of them see themselves as part of the multinational state and they believe that their interests are well represented in it. The favoring of a united single state is also associated with unionism
Unionism may refer to:
Trades
*Community unionism, the ways trade unions work with community organizations
*Craft unionism, a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on a particular craft or trade
*Dual unionism, the developm ...
(Indian nationalism
Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, ...
, Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chin ...
, British nationalism
British nationalism asserts that the British are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Britons,Guntram H. Herb, David H. Kaplan. Nations and Nationalism: A Global Historical Overview: A Global Historical Overview. Santa Barbara, Californ ...
, Spanish nationalism
The creation of the tradition of the political community of Spaniards as common destiny over other communities has been argued to trace back to the Cortes of Cádiz. Revisiting the history of Spain, after 1812 Spanish liberalism tended to take fo ...
, Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early ...
). In many countries, unionism is also encouraged by governments and separatism is considered illegal.
Claims of stateless nations and ethnic groups with autonomous status
The following is a list of ethnic and national groups that has been described as ''stateless nations'' in reliable sources . States made bold under the "homeland" column are countries of the respective ethnic groups which are native to them and still host the majority (more than half) of their population.
Formerly stateless nations
Some stateless nations have achieved their own independent state. Examples include Greeks before the Greek War of Independence and Irish people before the Irish War of Independence and Bengalis
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of S ...
before the Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
.
Some would include the Jews until the 1948 Israeli declaration of independence, however others would point out that different groups of Jews have very different characteristics such as languages, cultures, and territories, rendering the idea that all Jews constitute a single nation questionable.
During the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, several ethnic groups gained their own sovereign state.
See also
* Diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...
* Ethnic nationalism
* European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, th ...
* Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
* List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
* List of federally recognized tribes
* List of First Nations peoples
The following is a partial list of First Nations peoples of Canada, organized by linguistic-cultural area. It only includes First Nations people, which by definition excludes Metis and Canadian Inuit groups. The areas used here are in accordance t ...
* List of unrecognized tribes in the United States
* Multinational state
* Non-FIFA international football
Non-FIFA international football is the segment of international football that is not overseen by FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of association football, overseeing football globally and with running international representative mat ...
* Self-determination
* Sovereignty
* Stateless person
Stateless may refer to:
Society
* Anarchism, a political philosophy opposed to the institution of the state
* Stateless communism, which Karl Marx predicted would be the final phase of communism
* Stateless nation, a group of people without a ...
* Stateless society
A stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state. In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power and are generally not permanently held ...
* Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Map of European Stateless Nations
published by the advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
Eurominority
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
{{Autonomous types of first-tier administration
Autonomy
Cultural geography
Human rights by issue
Independence movements
State
Political science terminology
Secession
Sovereignty