Questions tagged [statehood]

Questions about the status of being an independent country or sub-national unit. If discussing a sub-national unit, the relevant country-specific tag should also be used.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
2 answers
296 views

Why are states formed by nations? [closed]

Why are states formed by nations, instead of people's "spectrum" (left or right, LGBT or not, and so on)? Even for states formed by immigrants (e.g. USA), spectra of folks have drastic ...
Mark Zhang's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
6k views

Can a US state opt to become a territory without leaving the nation as a whole?

This relates to an item legislated by the Texas republican party recently. Overlooking the more regressive and dangerous items, and the frivolous and inconsequential items, they are also throwing the ...
Michael Macha's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
781 views

Can the Federal Government Revoke Statehood?

Is this possible? Texas v. White says that states cannot unilaterally secede, but not that they cannot be kicked out. The Constitution (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union#Text) says ...
Richard Smith's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
461 views

Are all countries nation states?

Why are most countries nations, even when they have multiple ethnic groups with national aspirations ? For e.g. Russia. I believe as Pierre Elliot Trudeau did, the nation must not be the basis of the ...
Ash Rivers's user avatar
  • 1,493
6 votes
1 answer
300 views

The next steps for S.51 Washington Statehood bill

The proposed Washington, D.C. Admission Act (S.51) would, if I understand it correctly, pave the way for the immediate election of two senators from the new Douglass Commonwealth state. In all ...
Arno's user avatar
  • 11.8k
6 votes
1 answer
219 views

D C statehood timeline

Let's assume DC statehood passes Congress this summer. How soon after that could it have elections for House and Senate? How soon could those members be seated? Would they need a state constitution ...
Malik A. Rumi's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
303 views

What would it take for the District of Columbia to be made a state?

It seems the Biden administration supports the recognition of the District of Columbia as another US state. This raises the question of what will it take for this to happen? Obviously, such a state ...
einpoklum's user avatar
  • 7,491
29 votes
3 answers
7k views

What's the difference between declaring sovereignty and declaring independence?

What's the difference between declaring sovereignty and declaring independence? Aren't those the same thing? Please help me make sense of the following sentence (but keep in mind that my question is ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
585 views

What are the possible downsides for Puerto Ricans if Puerto Rico becomes a state?

My impression from reading about Puerto Rican views on statehood is that besides the pro-statehood and the pro-independence camp, there also is significant support for the status quo. Of course, some ...
Arno's user avatar
  • 11.8k
4 votes
1 answer
145 views

What are the arguments against absorbing DC into another state? [duplicate]

In this video here by Vox, it describes the case for DC statehood. DC’s delegate Holmes Norton has proposed making the District of Columbia a brand new state, and shrinking the neutral federal ...
Hamish Gibson's user avatar
21 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the minimum amount of votes needed in both Chambers of Congress to send an Admission to the Union resolution to the President?

Background Admission to the Union in the United States seems to be a vaguely laid out procedure as described in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution: New States may be admitted by ...
isakbob's user avatar
  • 5,380
5 votes
1 answer
326 views

Is there precedent for Puerto Rico being admitted as state with such high levels of internal disagreement?

In the most recent (nonbinding) 2020 referendum, Puerto Ricans voted for statehood by a 52.5% to 47.5% margin. Including abstentions, the margin was 50.8% to 49.2%. And of course, you have to account ...
TenthJustice's user avatar
  • 8,252
0 votes
0 answers
98 views

Could Vermont and New Hampshire be merged into one state? [duplicate]

I have read a proposal to merge Vermont and New Hampshire into a state called "Montana Verde", or "Green Mountain". (It is pronounced like the state of Montana plus VER-day.) The ...
Michael Mormon's user avatar
41 votes
1 answer
6k views

Is the creation of new states via partitioning really possible in the US? Are there any precedents to this?

Background: The Senate provides as much representation to Wyoming with a population of 580,000, as California with 39.5 million inhabitants. According to [1] State Rural Exurban Suburban Urban ...
Sudharsan Madhavan's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
528 views

Has there been any serious push to make New York City its own state?

Seeing as it has a population larger than many states and an area larger than a few depending what you include, has there ever been a serious push to make New York City (and possibly Long Island) it's ...
Hatman's user avatar
  • 325
11 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why does DC want to become a new state rather than merging into Maryland?

According to the list of US states and territories by area, DC is 22 times smaller than the smallest state (Rhode Island). Despite this fact, there is currently a push to turn DC into an independent ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
  • 51.4k
16 votes
1 answer
4k views

If D.C. were to be granted statehood, what would it be called?

If the District of Columbia would be granted statehood, what would become its name as a state? Its official name does not include "Washington", that's the city's name. And one of the United ...
SQB's user avatar
  • 2,428
2 votes
2 answers
174 views

How can the federal government "own" states? [closed]

Nevada's borders look like this: However, most of this "state" map is actually property belonging to the federal government. How does this ownership work? Namely: Does the federal ...
Paul Draper's user avatar
  • 2,264
4 votes
3 answers
556 views

Could the US federal government turn a state into a territory like India has with Jammu and Kashmir

India has recently begun the process of turning one of the states of India into 2 territories with the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Disregarding the rights and wrongs of this, it seems ...
dibs487's user avatar
  • 475
9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Would it take any sort of amendment to make DC a state?

To achieve statehood for DC, would an amendment to the Constitution need to be passed, or would it just work like a regular territory, i.e. only needing Congress to pass a law?
Stormblessed's user avatar
  • 4,701
19 votes
5 answers
3k views

Is the concept of nation explicitly ethnic?

Is the concept of nation explicitly ethnic? I always thought that a “nation-state” was a synonym for a sovereign country, but the Wikipedia article on the subject reads a little ambiguous. It is a ...
52d6c6af's user avatar
  • 10.4k
2 votes
2 answers
480 views

What stops countries from acting unilateraly

There is a kind of similar question at Why not leave UN. Let's suppose, that leaving UN and other treaties signed by the country is perceived an extremely negative option. But what, if a country ...
dEmigOd's user avatar
  • 333
1 vote
1 answer
174 views

Would it be reasonable to see each US "state" as a country in their own, nowadays? [closed]

IF there are any difference between an individual US state and an individual country, what are they?
user930067's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
1k views

What gave Theodore Roosevelt the authority to merge two requests for statehood into one?

According to the Wikipedia article for the Oklahoma Territory, Theodore Roosevelt chose to merge the requests for statehood of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories. The [Sequoyah Constitutional ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
  • 7,637
12 votes
4 answers
8k views

At what point can a micronation establish its own laws?

If I were to buy a plot of land here in Britain and managed to bring in enough citizens to start our micronation, and we then built enough buildings, and had a supply of food and water, would we able ...
Charlie's user avatar
  • 3,006
10 votes
2 answers
821 views

What stops any nation/country from leaving the UN?

Reading on the topic a little and I have learned that there is no provision in the United Nations for a member state to leave. Indonesia supposedly left the UN back in 1965, and a year later it was ...
KingsInnerSoul's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
249 views

can a nation encompassing a diaspora with no geographical delineation also be or have its own state

Nation is often considered a synonym for state. But a nation may exist with no border. The Welsh are a nation. Can a nation with no geographical connection be or own a state?
Sentinel's user avatar
  • 436
0 votes
3 answers
616 views

What are the international and country-based court decisions that make Northern Cyprus legal, and what is the reasoning behind them?

European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) made various decisions on Northern Cyprus. These decisions included "validity of laws of Northern Cyprus in the north of Cyprus island" and "the independence/...
user12034's user avatar
  • 411
12 votes
1 answer
1k views

If Puerto Rico votes to become USA's 51st state, what effect would it have on Spanish being the primary official language?

Currently, Spanish is the main official language of Puerto Rico: P. Rico Senate declares Spanish over English as first official language The Puerto Rican Senate approved a bill Thursday declaring ...
user4012's user avatar
  • 91.2k
5 votes
1 answer
712 views

How did various countries come to the position that Tibet is a part of China? Roughly which and how many countries do not have a position?

("part of" meaning not independent or "occupied independent") I am especially thinking of European countries. British, US and Soviet positions "spreading"? Actual situation after 1950? Independent ...
Olav's user avatar
  • 203
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

When is a country recognized as a sovereign state?

In past years we have heard a lot about statehood of Palestine, and that got me wondering when a state actually becomes recognized. If you look at the Wikipedia entry for the State of Palestine it ...
pajevic's user avatar
  • 161
2 votes
1 answer
147 views

What is the justification for FIFA's support of states with limited recognition? [closed]

FIFA recognizes several countries or rather I would say 'states' as a single federation unit like Kosovo, Guam, Gibraltar, etc. which are not recognized or partially recognized. Supporters of this ...
Aneek's user avatar
  • 131
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is ISIS considered a state?

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is "a Salafi jihadi extremist militant group and self-proclaimed caliphate and Islamic state which is led by Sunni Arabs from Iraq and Syria" (Wikipedia). With ...
Aryeh's user avatar
  • 333
9 votes
1 answer
408 views

What do we mean when we say that Daesh controls a terroritory?

In the recent news, it was said that the terrorist organization Daesh controls now half of Syria, together with one third of Iraq. What does it mean for a terrorist organization to control such a ...
Taladris's user avatar
  • 2,227
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

What are the current non-Westphalian states?

One non-Westphalian state is Monaco. But what are other non-Westphalian states in the world?
Anixx's user avatar
  • 9,927
6 votes
2 answers
754 views

Is the Naminara Republic recognized by any nation?

According to Wikipedia (citing http://www.namisum.com), the "Naminara Republic" declared itself as a country: the "passport" issued from Naminara is required in order to enter Namisum. It declared ...
nic's user avatar
  • 749
17 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why did Somalia fail as a state, and what keeps it from coming back?

When considering a list of "failed" states, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia are usually considered the textbook examples (see Fragile States Index, 2012). Yemen seems to have crawled back on its ...
Affable Geek's user avatar
  • 16.2k
42 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why is West Virginia a state?

First off, I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and am completely aware of the circumstances of the creation of the state of West Virginia. In 1863, in the midst of the Rebellion, ...
Affable Geek's user avatar
  • 16.2k