Stateless nation

Stateless nation is a political term for ethnic/national minority that does not possess its own state^[1] and is not the majority population in any nation state.^[2] The term implies that the group "should have" such a state.^[3] Members of stateless ethnic groups may be citizens/nationals of the country in which they live, or they may be denied citizenship by that country. Stateless nations are usually not represented as a nation in international sports such as FIFA, Olympics or in international communities such as the United Nations. Nations without state are classified as fourth world nations.^[4][5][6] Some of the stateless nations have a great heritage and a long tradition of statehood in the past and some were always a stateless nation, which was dominated by another nation for a large part of its history.

Stateless nations either are dispersed across a number of states (for example, the Yoruba people are found in the African states of Nigeria, Benin and Togo) or form the native population of a province within a larger state (such as the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 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 invaded 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 maintains that Tibet is an independent state under unlawful occupation.^[7][8] Some ethnic groups were once a stateless nation that later became a nation state (for example, the nations of the Balkan such as the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Kosovars and Macedonians were once part of a multinational state of Yugoslavia. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia many nation states were formed). The Romani people may be a special case, being distributed among numerous countries with no clear homeland; as a traditionally "nomadic" people, the Romani/Roma are a classical "stateless nation" without aspiration to sovereign territory. As not all states are nation states, there are a number of ethnic groups who live in a multinational state without being considered "stateless nations".

Nation-states and nations without states

The symbiotic relation 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 nation-state.^[3]

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. Of the 192 member states of the United Nations in 2006, fewer than 20 are nation-states. Thus nation-states are not as common as often assumed, and stateless nations are the overwhelming majority of nations in the world.^[3]

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism

During the imperial 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.^[9] 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).^[10] During decolonization, the colonial powers imposed a unified state structure irrespective of the ethnic differences and granted independence to their colonies as a multinational state. This led states with many minority ethnic groups in the successor states.^[11][12][13] Some of these minority groups have campaigned for self-determination. Because of the ethnic differences in some countries, problems such as discrimination, ethnic conflict, separatism, ethnic cleansing, genocide, forced assimilation, and partition have occurred.^[14][15]

Nationalism and stateless nations

Most peoples have their own history, language, culture, religion and customs, but the emergence of their own national consciousness makes them into nations.^[16] A nation can exist without a state, as is exemplified by the stateless nations. Citizenship is not always the nationality of a person.^[17] In a multinational state different national identities can coexist or compete: for example, in Britain both English nationalism and Scottish nationalism exist and are held together by British nationalism.^[18] Nationalism is often connected to separatism, because a nation achieves completeness through its independence.^[19] 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.^[20][21][22] Stateless nations often show solidarity with other stateless nations.^[23][24]

Not all peoples claim themselves to be nations or aspire for a state. Some identify themselves more as part of the multinational state and believe that their interests are well represented by it. This is also associated with Pan-nationalism. (Spanish nationalism, Indian nationalism or Chinese nationalism).^[25]

Claims of stateless nations

The following is a list of stateless nations that meet these criteria:

• has no sovereign state of its own
• does not form a majority in any sovereign state
• one or more autonomist or secessionist movements are known to exist
• not recognized by any UN members as a state (see also: partially recognized state)

People	Flag	Language	Predominant religion	Population (approx.)	Continent	States	Homeland	Irredentist movement	Notes
Tamil people		Tamil language	Hinduism with significant Christian and Muslim minorities	78,000,000[26]	Asia	Sri Lanka, India	Tamilakam and Tamil Eelam	Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism, Tamil nationalism, LTTE, Sri Lankan Civil War, TNLA [27]	regional autonomy in Tamil Nadu (India). Demand autonomy in North Eastern Province or total secession from Sri Lanka.
Sindhi		Sindhi	Islam	40,000,000[28]	Asia	Pakistan	Sindhudesh	JSQM, JSMM, Sindhudesh Liberation Army
Kurds		Kurdish languages	Islam	32,000,000[29]	Asia	Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria	Kurdistan	Kurdish–Turkish conflict, Kurdish-Iranian conflict, Iraqi-Kurdish conflict, and Kurdish–Syrian conflict	regional autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan
Yoruba people		Yoruba language	Christianity	35,000,000[30][31]	Africa	Nigeria, Benin, Togo	Yorubaland	Oodua Peoples Congress
Igbo people		Igbo language	Christianity	30,000,000[32]	Africa	Nigeria	Biafra	Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Indigenous People of Biafra
Sikhs		Punjabi language	Sikhism	30,000,000[33]	Asia	India, Pakistan	Khalistan	Khalistan movement	Majority in Indian State of Punjab
Occitan people		Occitan, French	Christianity	16,000,000	Europe	France, Italy, Spain	Occitania	Occitan nationalism (Occitan Party, Partit de la Nacion Occitana, Libertat)
Uyghur people		Uyghur language	Islam	15,000,000[34]	Asia	China	East Turkestan	Irredentism is politically fragmented (East Turkestan Liberation Organization, East Turkestan independence movement)	limited autonomy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Baloch people		Balochi	Islam	10,000,000[35]	Asia	Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan	Balochistan	Balochistan conflict
Kabyle people		Kabyle language, Algerian Arabic	Islam	10,000,000[36]	Africa	Algeria	Kabylie	Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, Provisional Government of Kabylia
Andalusian people		Andalusian Spanish	Christianity	9,500,000	Europe	Spain	Andalucia	Andalusian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain
Catalan people		Catalan, Spanish, French, Aranese	Christianity	8,500,000[37]	Europe	Spain, France	Catalonia	Catalan independence movement, Catalan nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain
Circassians		Circassian language	Islam	8,000,000	Asia	Russia	Circassia	Russo-Circassian War, Circassian nationalism	regional autonomy in Circassia
Hong Kong people		Hong Kong Cantonese	Chinese folk religion	7,184,000	Asia	China	Hong Kong	Hong Kong Autonomy Movement, Hong Kong independence movement	Special Administrative Region
Tatars		Tatar language	Islam	7,000,000	Asia	Russia	Tatarstan	All-Tatar Public Center	regional autonomy in Tatarstan
Québécois		French language	Christianity	6,200,000	America	Canada	Quebec	Quebec sovereignty movement	The total population of the Province of Quebec is 7.9 million, of which 6.2 million are French speakers
African American people		African American Vernacular English, American English	Christianity , some Islam	45,000,000	North America	United States , Liberia , Canada	West Africa, British North America , United States	Black Nationalism, Communist Party USA, Black Panther Party , Black Liberation Army	Establishment of an autonomous African American state in North America
Riffian people		Riffian language	Islam	6,000,000[38]	Africa	Morocco, Spain	Rif	Rif War, Rif Republic	Controlled by Morocco (95%). Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla as autonomous cities.
Shan people		Shan language	Buddhism	6,000,000	Asia	Burma	Shan State	Declaration of independence in 2005; see also Hso Khan Pha
Tibetan people		Tibetan language	Buddhism	7,000,000[39]	Asia	China	Tibet	Tibetan independence movement	limited autonomy in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Kashmiri people		Kashmiri language	Islam	5,600,000	Asia	India, Pakistan, China	Kashmir	Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir	Administered by India (Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Ladakh), by Pakistan (Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan), by China (Aksai Chin).
Scottish people		English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic	Christianity	5,000,000 (only Scotland)[40]	Europe	United Kingdom	Scotland	Scottish independence	regional autonomy in Scotland
Walloons		French, Wallon, Picard, German	Christianity	5,200,000	Europe	Belgium	Wallonia	Partition of Belgium, Walloon Movement	regional autonomy in Wallonia; seeks independence from Belgium or reunion with France.
Lozi people		Lozi	Christianity	5,153,000	Africa	Zambia	Barotseland	Barotse Patriotic Front[41]
Valencian people		Valencian, Spanish	Christianity	5,000,000	Europe	Spain	Valencian Country	Valencian nationalism, Valencianism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain
Kuki people		Kukish languages	Christianity	5,000,000	Asia	Burma, India	Mizoram and Chin State	Mizo National Front, Chin National Front	Kuki people are known as Chin in Chin state and Mizo in Mizoram.
Acehnese people		Acehnese language	Islam	4,000,000	Asia	Indonesia	Aceh	Insurgency in Aceh	regional autonomy in Aceh
Hmong people		Hmong language	Buddhism with native	4,000,000	Asia	Laos, China, Vietnam, Thailand	Hmong ChaoFa Federated State	Insurgency in Laos
Puerto Rican people		Spanish, English	Christianity	9,000,000	America	United States	Puerto Rico	Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña, Boricua Popular Army, Puerto Rican Independence Party	Unincorporated territory of the United States
Rohingya people		Rohingya language	Islam	3,600,000	Asia	Burma	Rohang State	Rohingya conflict in Western Burma
Assyrian people		Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Turoyo, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic	Christianity	3,300,000[42]	Asia	Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey	Assyria	Assyrian nationalism, Assyrian independence
Breton people		French, Breton, Gallo	Christianity	3,120,288	Europe	France	Brittany	Breton nationalism
Iraqi Turkmen people		Turkish language, Azerbaijani language	Islam	3,000,000	Asia	Iraq	Turkmeneli	Iraqi Turkmen Front	Not to be confused with Syrian Turkmen of Latakia or Central Asian Turkmens of Turkmenistan who share only their ethnonym.[43]
Welsh people		English, Welsh language	Christianity	3,000,000	Europe	United Kingdom	Wales	Welsh independence	regional autonomy in Wales
Galician people		Galician language	Christianity	2,800,000	Europe	Spain	Galiza	Galician nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain
Basque people		Basque, Spanish, French	Christianity	3,000,000[44]	Europe	France, Spain	Basque Country	Basque nationalism
Naga people		Tibeto-Burman dialects / Nagamese creole	Christianity	2,000,000	Asia	India	Nagaland	Naga National Council, Insurgency in Northeast India	regional autonomy in Nagaland
Chechen people		Chechen language	Islam	2,000,000	Asia	Russia	Chechnya and Dagestan	Chechen insurgency, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	regional autonomy in Chechnya
Sardinian people[45][46][47][48]		Sardinian, Corso-Sardinian, Italian, Catalan, Ligurian	Christianity	1,661,521	Europe	Italy	Sardinia	The movement advocating independence is quite fragmented	Regional autonomy in Italy
Canarian people		Spanish, Guanche language (extinct)	Christianity	1,600,000	Europe	Spain	Canary Islands	Canarian nationalism	National devolution, further autonomy or total secession from Mainland Spain.
Frisians		Frisian language	Christianity	1,500,000	Europe	Netherlands, Germany	Frisia	Frisian National Party, Groep fan Auwerk	the creation of a new Frisian state
Moravians		Czech, Moravian dialects	Irreligion	525,000[49][50]	Europe	Czech Republic, Slovakia	Moravia	Moravians
Bodo people		Bodo language	Hinduism	1,300,000	Asia	India	Bodoland	National Democratic Front of Bodoland
Tuareg people		Tuareg language	Islam	1,200,000	Africa	Mali, Niger	Azawad	Tuareg rebellion (2012)
Inuit		Inuit languages	Christianity with native	1,000,000	America	Canada, United States, Denmark	Siberia, Alaska, Northern Canada, Greenland	Greenland Referendum, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami	Semi-autonomous rule in Greenland, Autonomy in Canada
Mapuche		Mapudungun	Christianity	1,000,000	America	Argentina, Chile	Araucanía	Mapuche conflict
Ryukyuan people		Ryukyuan, Japanese	Buddhism	1,000,000	Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu independence movement
Silesians		Silesian, Polish, German, Czech	Christianity	900,000	Europe	Poland, Czech Republic, Germany	Silesia	Silesian Autonomy Movement	Divided into Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia
Māori people		Māori, English	Christianity with native	750,000	Oceania	New Zealand	New Zealand	Māori protest movement
Cornish people		Cornish English, Cornish	Christianity	534,300 (only Cornwall)	Europe	United Kingdom	Cornwall	Cornish nationalism, Mebyon Kernow, Cornish Nationalist Party	Cornwall demand a devolution or autonomy.
Australian Aborigines		Aboriginal languages	Christianity with native	680,000	Oceania	Australia	Australia	Movement is fragmented or focused on specific aboriginal groups
Hawaiian people		Hawaiian language	Christianity with native	527,000	Oceania	United States	Hawaii	Hawaiian sovereignty movement
Ogoni people		Ogoni language	Christianity with native	500,000	Africa	Nigeria	Ogoniland	Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
Corsican people		Corsican, French, Ligurian	Christianity	322,120	Europe	France	Corsica	Corsica Libera	Territorial collectivity in France
Sami people		Sami languages, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian	Christianity	163,400	Europe	Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia	Sapmi	Sámi politics	Have their own Parliaments in Norway, Sweden & Finland. Sami groups seeks more territorial autonomy.
Lakota people (Sioux)		Lakota, English	Christianity with native	103,255	America	United States	Lakotah	Sioux Wars, Lakota Freedom Movement	Native American reservation politics
Carpathian Rusyns		Rusyn language	Christianity	68,000 (official; the actual population may be 1.2 million)	Europe	Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania	Carpathian Ruthenia	World Congress of Rusyns	The Rusyn ethnicity is not recognised by Ukraine and does not appear in the Ukrainian census. Many speakers of the Lemko and Hutsul dialects identify primarily as Lemkos and Hutsuls, rather than Rusyns or Ukrainians. A separate population, the Pannonian Rusyns, are a minority in Serbia and Croatia.
Faroese people		Faroese language	Christianity	66,000	Europe	Denmark	Faroe Islands	Faroese independence movement	regional autonomy in Faroe Islands
Sorbs		Sorbian language	Christianity	60,000-70,000 (est.)	Europe	Germany, Czech Republic	Lusatia	Domowina	divided into Upper Sorbs and Lower Sorbs
Afrikaners		Afrikaans	Christianity	3,500,000	Africa	South Africa, Namibia	Volkstaat	Afrikaner Nationalism, Freedom Front	Demand autonomy or total secession from South Africa.

See also

• Ethnic nationalism
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• 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
• List of unrecognized tribes in the United States
• Multinational state
• Non-FIFA international football
• Self-determination
• Sovereignty
• Stateless person
• Stateless society
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

References

• Keating, Michael (2001), Nations Against the State: The New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia and Scotland (Second ed.), Palgrave
• Levinson, David, ed. (1998), Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, Phoenix, AZ: The Oryx Press, ISBN 1-57356-019-7
• Minahan, James, ed. (2002), Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World, Westport: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-31617-1
• Bodlore-Penlaez, Mikael, ed. (2011), Atlas of Stateless Nations in Europe, minority peoples in search of recognition, Ceredigion: Y Lolfa, ISBN 978-1-84771-379-7

Notes

1. Dictionary Of Public Administration, U.C. Mandal, Sarup & Sons 2007, 505 p.
2. Frank L. Kidner; Maria Bucur; Ralph Mathisen; Sally McKee; Theodore R. Weeks (2013), Making Europe: The Story of the West, Volume II: Since 1550, Cengage Learning, pp. 668–, ISBN 1-285-50027-X
3. Chouinard, Stéphanie (2016), "Stateless nations", in Karl Cordell; Stefan Wolff, The Routledge Handbook of Ethnic Conflict, Routledge, pp. 54–66, ISBN 9781317518921
4. David Newman, Boundaries, Territory and Postmodernity
5. Ethnic Minority Media: An International Perspective, Stephen Harold Riggins, 217p.
6. Language in Geographic Context, Colin H. Williams, 39p.
7. Clark, Gregory, In fear of China, 1969, saying: "Tibet, although enjoying independence at certain periods of its history, had never been recognised by any single foreign power as an independent state. The closest it has ever come to such recognition was the British formula of 1943: suzerainty, combined with autonomy and the right to enter into diplomatic relations."
8. "The Legal Status of Tibet". Cultural Survival.
9. Redie Bereketeab, Self-Determination and Secession in Africa: The Post-Colonial State
10. Richard Devetak, Christopher W. Hughes, Routledge, 2007-12-18, The Globalization of Political Violence: Globalization's Shadow
11. Cultural Analysis: Towards Cross-cultural Understanding (2006), Hans Gullestrup, 130p.
12. Ethnicity and Christian leadership in west African sub-region: proceedings of the conference of the fifteenth CIWA Theology Week held at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (2004), Port Harcourt, p.272
13. Mussolini Warlord: Failed Dreams of Empire, 1940-1943 (2013), H. James Burgwyn, Chapter V
14. Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict
15. Ethnic Groups in Conflict (2009), Karl Cordell, Stefan Wolff
16. George W. White, Nationalism and Territory: Constructing Group Identity in Southeastern Europe
17. Understanding National Identity by David McCrone,Frank Bechhofer, p.22
18. Unionist-Nationalism: Governing Urban Scotland, 1830-1860 by Graeme Morton, 1999
19. James Minahan, Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C
20. Nationalism and Globalisation (2015), Stephen Tierney
21. The Tamil Genocide by Sri Lanka: The Global Failure to Protect Tamil Rights Under International Law, Francis Boyle, chapter self determination.
22. Turmoil in the Middle East: Imperialism, War, and Political Instability (1999), Berch Berberoglu, 69p.
23. The delegates were linked with the Scottish group ‘SNP Friends of Catalonia’, which itself had members recently visit the Catalan parliament in Barcelona in a show of solidarity to the country’s hopes of self-determination."Catalan delegates in solidarity visit to Scotland's independence movement". commonspace.scot.
24. While there has been informal solidarity between Tamils and Kurds in the past, the present conditions of both struggles suggest that a more concrete Tamil-Kurdish alliance is politically and morally necessary."Stateless nations: Tamil solidarity with Kurds". greenleft.org.
25. Ian Adams, Political Ideology Today p.73
26. Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia by James Minahan (2012), p.315
27. Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World A-Z (2002), James Minahan
28. Carl Skutsch, Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities (2013), p.1104
29. Lokman I. Meho, The Kurds and Kurdistan: A Selective and Annotated Bibliography 1997 p.1
30. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Benue-Congo-languages
31. John A. Shoup III, Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia 2011 p.237
32. James Minahan, Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World 2016 p.178
33. James Minahan, Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World 2016 p.385
34. "About Uyghurs".
35. Syed Farooq Hasnat, Pakistan 2011 p.82
36. "The Kabyle People". Retrieved 2 August 2016.
37. James Minahan, Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World A-Z 2002 p.402
38. James B. Minahan, Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World 2016 p.352
39. James B. Minahan, Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World 2016 p.422
40. Jeffrey Cole, Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia 2011 p.235
41. "Assessment for Lozi in Zambia". Minorities at Risk. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
42. "UNPO: Assyria". Retrieved 2 August 2016.
43. Larry Clark. Turkmen Reference Grammar. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998; p. 11. ISBN 9783447040198
44. Jeffrey Cole, Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia 2011 p.38
45. Map of stateless nations in Europe - Eurominority
46. Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations, James Minahan, pg. 1661
47. Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez (2011). Atlas of Stateless Nations in Europe : Minority People in Search of Recognition. Y Lolfa Cyf. p. 70. ISBN 1847713793.
48. "La Sardegna nel club delle nazioni: un capitolo nella Bibbia dell'etnie del mondo - Cronaca - L'Unione Sarda.it". 11 January 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
49. Census 2011 - final results
50. http://portal.statistics.sk/files/tab.11.pdf

External links

• Map of European Stateless Nations, published by the advocacy group Eurominority
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities