List of proposed state mergers
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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
Historic
20th Century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Greek-Serbian Federation | Greece Republic of Macedonia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
1992-2001 | No | A serious project proposed by Slobodan Milošević in 1992. |
Germany | East Germany West Germany |
1990 | Yes | German reunification |
Yemen | North Yemen South Yemen |
1990 | Yes | |
Senegambia Confederation | The Gambia Senegal |
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. |
Federation of Arab Republics | Libya United Arab Republic Also invited: Iraq Sudan |
1972-1977 | No | An attempt to build a Pan-Arab state. |
Vietnam | North Vietnam South Vietnam |
1976 | Yes | |
Arab Islamic Republic | Libya Tunisia |
1974 | No | Proposed by Muammar Gaddafi. |
Tanzania | Tanganyika Zanzibar |
1964 | Yes | |
Malaysia | Malaya North Borneo Sarawak Singapore |
1963 | Yes | Singapore left the federation on 9 August 1965. |
North Borneo Federation | Sarawak North Borneo Protectorate of Brunei |
1956-1960 | No | |
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. |
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. |
West Indies Federation | British Barbados British Jamaica British Leeward Islands British Trinidad and Tobago British Windward Islands |
1958 | Yes (1958-1962) |
The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state, however, before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts. |
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. |
Franco-British Union | France United Kingdom |
1956 | No | Proposed by French Prime Minister Guy Mollet during the Suez Crisis. |
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland | Nyasaland Northern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia |
1953 | Yes (1953-1963) |
A semi-independent state. |
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia People's Socialist Republic of Albania People's Republic of Bulgaria |
1946-1948 | No | Josip Broz Tito came extremely close to getting Albania into accepting integration into Yugoslavia, but relations cooled in 1948 over fears that Yugoslavia only intended to use Albania for raw materials, subsequently resulting in the expulsion of Yugoslav diplomats. Yugoslav/Bulgarian negotiations fell through when Moscow attempted to force both countries into accepting Soviet control over the merge, which caused Yugoslavia to withdraw from negotiations and precipitated the Tito–Stalin split. |
Polish-Czechoslovak confederation | Czechoslovakia Poland |
1939–1948 | No | A serious project proposed by Władysław Sikorski. |
Greek-Yugoslav confederation | Strictest definition: Greece Kingdom of Yugoslavia Loosest definition also includes: Albania Bulgaria Romania |
1942-1944 | No | |
Nazi Germany | Nazi Germany First Austrian Republic |
1938 | Yes (1938-1945) | Academic disagreement whether union was forced. See Anschluss. |
Soviet Union | Byelorussian SSR Russian SFSR Transcaucasian SFSR Ukrainian SSR |
1922 | Yes (1922 - 1991) |
Treaty on the Creation of the USSR |
Ukrainian People's Republic | Ukrainian People's Republic West Ukrainian People's Republic |
1919 | Yes (1919) |
Act Zluky |
Weimar Republic | Weimar Republic Republic of German-Austria |
1918-1919 | No | Following the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in the final days of World War I, the German-speaking territories of the Empire attempted to begin a process of integration into Weimar Germany. The Allies did not favor the idea, and forced the Austrian rump state to sign the Treaty of Saint Germain, which prohibited Austria from uniting with Germany. |
Międzymorze | Belarus Czechoslovakia Estonia Finland Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania Ukraine Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
November or December 1918 | No | Also called "Intermarum". Suggested shortly after World War I to combat the influences of Germany and Russia. |
United Baltic Duchy | Estonia Latvia |
1918 | No | Attempt to form German protectorate state in a Personal Union with Kaiser Wilhelm II, mostly lead by Baltic German nobility and was only recognized by the German Empire. After Germany's defeat in World War I, Latvia declared its independence. Germany Army General Rüdiger von der Goltz was unsuccessful at attempting to keep the region under German control. |
Kingdom of Yugoslavia | Kingdom of Montenegro Kingdom of Serbia State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs |
1918 | Yes (1918 - 1992) |
Creation of Yugoslavia |
Balkan Federation | Albania Bulgaria Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
1910 | No |
19th Century
18th Century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kingdom of Great Britain | Kingdom of England Kingdom of Scotland |
1707 | Yes |
17th Century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Cossack Hetmanate |
1658-1659 | No | Treaty of Hadiach |
16th Century
Proposed state | Components | Time period | Successful? | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth | Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Tsardom of Russia |
1574-1658 | No | |
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) Grand Duchy of Lithuania |
1569 | Yes (1569-1795) |
See Union of Lublin |
See also
- List of United States territories that failed to become states
- Lists of active separatist movements
- Pan-nationalism
- Political union
References