How do new countries legally and without bloodshed declare themselves independent?

Question

I saw an article about the legality of the declaration of independence. For example, when USSR broke up, several countries became independent, but for others, there is still fighting to maintain them as part of Russia. Why were some allowed to be independent and others not? One peaceful split I know of was Czechoslovakia in the 90's. How was that so peaceful while Serbia had lots of fighting?

Is there a way for countries to become legally independent without the bloodshed?

Answer 1

You have several ways to go about it.

First, a set of powerful nations will recognise and guarantee the independence up to going to war over the state. This is generally the peaceful way as everyone comes to an agreement that this is what should happen. Some countries (such as Poland) were re-made after a war and given independence again. India could be said to be in this camp as it peacefully split from the British Empire.

Second, a country declares itself independent and forces the rest of the world to recognise them. This is what happened to the confederate states in the USA civil war... Or rather that is what they tried and failed to do. This is more risky since the rebels have clearly some difficulties in being legitimate.

Lastly, a country can force independence and not be recognised by anyone or just a few nations. They become a rather odd entity -- as was Afghanistan under the Taliban was one such nation even though it was a country its government was not recognised by the vaste majority of countries . I am unsure of their legal status but if the country does not have friends, they are doomed.

There are many international agreements and codes but there is no supreme court of law of the world. So, the legality of becoming independent is murky at best. Even international law is by agreement of countries. It is up to the club of nations signing the treaty to defend it. If they do not, then it's just ink on a page.

Answer 2

A recent example of peaceful secession is in 1991 when Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia. I say peaceful, but this was at the end of a long civil war when up to 1.4 million people died. The victorious rebels who took over the government were allied to the Eritrean independence movement and they quickly recognised their allies' wishes. Sadly a border war with Ethiopia seven years later cost up to another 300,000 lives.

Nonetheless, it was, technically, a peaceful seccession as the split itself didn't involve a war.

Answer 3

To put it more simply:

When a new nation declares its independence from a nation of which it was formerly a part, there will be bloodshed if and only if the parent nation is able and willing to impose bloodshed.

Slovakia seceded peacefully because the Czechoslovakian government permitted it. The US had to fight against Britain because Britain did not permit the US to secede peacefully.

(The parent nation's ability and willingness to fight may be affected by the actions of other interested nations.)

Answer 4

There is no formal process by which one country would declare its independence from another country. However, the most common form has been to simply declare your intentions to operate as an independent entity and then hope that the international community will recognize your claim.

Historically, this has been done by a number of countries. In South America, Brazil used to be a colony of Portugal until the Brazilians declared heir independence in 1822. Portugal rattled their sabres but ultimately came to a diplomatic agreement in exchange for compensation. Guyana gained independence from the UK in 1966 after becoming a repoublic. They now remain as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In West Africa, the Republic of Guinea declared their independence from France in 1958. The French didn't have the means or desire to oppose it, so they were able to establish their own country.

There are no doubt other examples, but the main point is that it usually came about simply by one country declaring their independence. From there, it is a combination of things that determine their success. Primarily, there is the willingness of the "mother country" to acknowledge and accept this declaration, and secondly there is the willingness of other countries in the international community to recognize it.

Answer 5

I think there are three major ways of gaining independence now.

• Any non-self-governing territory (colony) has legal right for independence according the United Nations. Non-self-governing means not represented in central government.

• Dissolution of a union state or federation. Upon dissolution the constituent parts become independent

• Secessionism. Usially seceding territory gains full international recognition only if the secession recognized by the government of the country from which the territory secedes. Secessions often accompanied by wars.

Answer 6

The least bloodshed occurs when the stronger country is willing to grant independence without a fight. As between the Czech Republic and Slovakia, when Slovakia wanted to leave, "the feeling was mutual" on the Czech side. Some divorces are "amicable."

Britain granted independence to far away Australia early in the 20th century. It had previous experiences doing so with Canada, peacefully, and the United States, after a long war. In the case of Australia and Canada, it probably helped that most people were of "British" stock who could argue for independence using British sensibilities.

The worst situations are those in which the party that is being left feels it has something to lose. This feeling may be aggravated by the fact that one group of people feels that it is "better" than the other. This may have been the case with former Yugoslavians, or Britain and India, for instance.