{{multiple issues |refimprove=April 2011 |original research=April 2011}}
This is a list of proposed state mergers, including both current and historical proposals. 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.
Current
editHistoric
edit21st Century
editProposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cyprus | Republic of Cyprus Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus |
2004 | No | Rejected in a UN-sponsored referendum, with 64.90% approval from the Turkish Cypriot Community but only 24.17% from the Greek Cypriot Community. |
20th Century
editProposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arab Federation | Kingdom of Iraq Jordan |
1958 | Yes (14 February 1958 - 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. |
Arab Islamic Republic | Tunisia Libya |
1974 | No | Proposed by Muammar Gaddafi. |
Balkan Federation | Yugoslavia Albania Bulgaria |
1910 | No | |
Federation of Arab Republics | United Arab Republic Also invited: |
1972-1977 | No | An attempt to build a Pan-Arab state. |
Franco-British Union | France United Kingdom |
1956 | No | Proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet during the Suez Crisis. |
Germany | East Germany West Germany |
1990 | Yes | |
Greek-Serbian Federation | FR Yugoslavia Greece Macedonia |
1992-2001 | No | A serious project proposed by Slobodan Milošević in 1992. |
Greek-Yugoslav confederation | Strictest definition:
Loosest definition also includes: |
1942-1944 | No | |
Międzymorze |
Belarus |
November or December 1918 | No | Also called "Intermarum". Suggested shortly after World War I to combat the influences of Germany and Russia. |
North Borneo Federation | Kingdom of Sarawak British North Borneo Protectorate of Brunei |
1956-1960 | No | |
Polish-Czechoslovak confederation | Poland Czechoslovakia |
1939–1948 | No | A serious project proposed by Władysław Sikorski. |
Senegambia Confederation | Senegal Gambia |
Between 1 January 1982 and 30 September 1989 | Yes (1 January 1982 - 30 September 1989) |
Loose confederation was formed, but ended due to Gambia's lack of interest in integration. |
Tanzania | Tanganyika Zanzibar |
1964 | Yes | |
Union of African States | Ghana Guinea Mali |
1958 | Yes (23 November 1958 - 1962) |
The Union fell apart in 1962, when Guinea started to reach out to the United States, against the Marxist leaning of the other partners, who were more oriented towards the Cold War adversary of the U.S., the Soviet Union. |
United Arab Republic | Egypt Syria |
1958 | Yes (22 February 1958 - 28 September 1961) |
A short-lived Pan-Arab state. |
United Arab States | United Arab Republic North Yemen |
1958 | Yes (8 March 1958 - 26 December 1961) |
Loose confederation between United Arab Republic and North Yemen. |
Vietnam | North Vietnam South Vietnam |
1976 | Yes | |
Yemen | North Yemen South Yemen |
1990 | Yes |
19th Century
editProposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
(Absolute Monarchy: Black, White and red. Dictatorship: Black, red and orange) Greater German Empire (Not Nazi Germany) | Kingdom of Prussia South German Confederation Kingdom of Bavaria Kingdom of Württemberg Grand Duchy of Baden Grand Duchy of Hesse Alsace-Lorraine (Part of French Third Republic) (Grand duchy of) Luxembourg Duchy of Schleswig Duchy of Limburg Duchy of Brunswick Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchy of Nassau Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (The duchy lost Saalfeld but gained Gotha and was renamed Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen (The family lost parts of the duchy in 1826 to the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha but gained the dukedom of Saxe-Altenburg in the same year.) Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (Duchy of) Anhalt-Dessau (Duchy of Anhalt from 1863) (Duchy of) Anhalt-Bernburg (to 1863) (Duchy of) Anhalt-Köthen (to 1847) Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Principality of Liechtenstein (Principality of) Hohenzollern-Hechingen (merged with Prussia in 1850) (Principality of) Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (merged with Prussia in 1850) Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont Principality of Reuss-Greiz Principality of Reuss-Gera Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe Principality of Lippe Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg Free City of Lübeck Free City of Frankfurt Free City of Bremen Free City of Hamburg |
1815-1871 | No | The idea was conceived by the Austrians as an opposite foreign policy to that of Kingdom of Prussia, who just desired Lesser Germany, which was formed in 1871. Forming such an empire was very complex but the following set of steps and criteria was needed. Because Austria and Prussia did not fit inside the German confederation red line limits they both came up with their own ideas for the future of Germany. For Austria to form Greater Germany she would needed to have declared an illegitimate casus belli on the Prussian Kingdom for the principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. These two small states were needed to create the South German Confederation which were not controlled by Austria but Prussia. Because Austrian Empire had influence over Bavaria, Wurttemberg and Baden, after Austria’s annexation of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; Austria would have forced them and donated their small piece of land, to create a satellite nation under their direct control. An alliance with France when going to war with Prussia would have helped greatly as well.
War with Denmark was required next to gain the German one of two reunification requirements, the first being the Duchy of Schleswig and the second being part of France itself; with the much needed imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. Because the German-Dualism and the future of the Germany was all about dominance over other countries; Austria needed to dominate Prussia for short period time. To influence it while being weak and not being on the world power list. What was very convenient at the time was that Prussian province of Silesia, which had the highest population and as a result the biggest industry of the kingdom was invested by Prussia greatly and was next to Austria itself. Taking this from Prussia would cause Austria to have a complete dominance over the historical modern Germany Empire as we knew it. What makes this idea so intriguing is the German Empire and Austrian Empire would be combined creating a super state. If this were to have happened the fate of Prussia itself is unknown, either it would be annexed by Austrian Emperor incorporating the entire territory into the archduke itself or the title would have been given to him making him the King of Prussia. The other states would remain the same. The total km2 of the empire would have been 1,239,557.54km2, while in square miles it would have been 478,596 sq mi. In comparison Mail is slightly bigger. If the merger were successful then the following title would be created for the emperor of the Germany this is listed below: His Imperial and Royal Majesty Franz Josef the first, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the Germans, King of (Prussia), Hungary, Bohemia, Lombardy, Venice, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; Archduke of Austria; Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cracow, Lower Rhine and of Posen, Sovereign and supreme Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Duke of Saxony of Westphalia, Angria, Pomerania, Lüneburg, Holstein and Schleswig, Magdeburg, Bremen, Guelders, Cleves, Jülich, Wends, Kassubes, Crossen, Lauenburg, Mecklenburg and Bergof, Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Bukovina, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, Auschwitz, Zator, Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa (Dubrovnik), Zara (Zadar) and Upper and Lower Silesia; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Burgrave of Nuremberg, Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia, Margrave of Moravia, Brandenburg, Upper and Lower of Lusatia and in Istria; Princely Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca and Henneberg; Count of Hohenzollern, Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, Mark, of Ravensberg, of Hohenstein, Tecklenburg and Lingen, of Mansfeld, Sigmaringen and Veringen; Prince of Trent (Trento), Brixen; Rügen, East Friesland, Paderborn, Pyrmont, Halberstadt, Münster, Minden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, of Verden, Cammin, Fulda, Nassau and Moers, Lord of Frankfurt , Trieste, Cattaro (Kotor), and over the Windic march.. |
Antillean Confederation | Cuba |
1869 or 1870 | No | Proposed by Ramón Emeterio Betances. |
United States | United States Texas |
1845 | Yes (1845–present) |
See Texas annexation |
Peru–Bolivian Confederation | Bolivia Peru |
1829–1839 | Yes (1836–1839) |
|
Scandinavia | Denmark Norway Sweden |
Mid-19th Century. | No | |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Kingdom of Great Britain Kingdom of Ireland |
1800 | Yes (1801-1922) |
18th Century
editProposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kingdom of Great Britain | Kingdom of England Kingdom of Scotland |
1707 | Yes |
16th Century
editProposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Tsardom of Russia |
1574-1658 | No |
- ^ 20 March 2011 "Support grows for Iberian federation". The Portugal News. 1 August 2009.
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(help) - ^ "Ambitious plan for a new Africa: Welcome to the U.S.A (that's the United States of Africa)". The Independent. 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2009-04-26.