Histories of independence and self-determination movements
Sourced histories of independence and self-determination movements — what each sought, how their goals differ, and how their stories connect — with every claim traceable to its evidence.
Independence movements
کوردستان
An umbrella hub for Kurdish political projects across several states, from the Treaty of Sèvres to the present, with separate branches for each state context.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the disputed 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement and the 1959 uprising and Dalai Lama's exile, to the Central Tibetan Administration's Middle Way Approach, which does not itself seek independence.
Independence movements
From the 1991-1992 South Ossetia war and inconclusive division of the territory, through the unrecognized 1992 sovereignty declaration, to the August 2008 Russo-Georgian war and Russia's subsequent recognition of South Ossetian independence.
Independence movements
From the disputed 1947-1948 Khanate of Kalat accession, through the Balochistan Liberation Army's ongoing insurgency in Pakistan, to the distinct, sectarian-inflected Jaish al-Adl insurgency in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Independence movements
From the April 2021 Ibadan declaration of the Oduduwa Republic, through Sunday Igboho's 2021 raid, arrest and 2022 release, to the movement's continued 2025 advocacy.
Independence movements
Veneto
Veneto's path from an unofficial 2014 online independence poll and the Constitutional Court's 2015 bar on a binding independence vote, through the overwhelming 2017 official autonomy referendum, to a preliminary agreement on differentiated autonomy signed with the Italian state in November 2025.
Political status and decolonisation
From the 1979-1982 independence plan derailed by McCartney's death, through the 2009-2012 governance suspension, to the separate, historical Canada-association proposal.
Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
From the 1936 maritime strike and the 1992 Mabo ruling, through the 1994 TSRA and 1985 Torres Strait Treaty, to Getano Lui Jnr's unofficial "Free Nation" proposal and post-2023 autonomy calls.
The atlas keeps these apart. A case’s collection is a navigation choice, not a legal ruling.
A separate state, powers within a state, and self-governing institutions are different goals.
Explainer in preparation.
What the principle means in decolonisation, in existing states and for Indigenous peoples — and what it does not settle.
Explainer in preparation.
Why the end of colonial rule, a region leaving a state and a state dissolving are treated differently.
Explainer in preparation.
Why who governs a territory and who recognises a state can be separate questions.
Explainer in preparation.
27 August 2026
Parliament debates and adjourns without a vote; the governments are to meet in October to set a date.
August 2026
The two governments endorse the Joint Consultation Report and the Melanesian Framework and fix 27 August for tabling.
9 June 2026
A sessional order requires at least 89 of 118 MPs to ratify the result; Bougainville’s leaders say the threshold was not agreed.
June 2026
The ABG’s final position to the consultations facilitator sets out a three-stage pathway; PNG’s ruling party offers a conditional 15-year transition.
· Administrative change
Ahead of Mauritian independence, the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from the Colony of Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, and later relocated the Chagossian population.
Inclusion follows published rules. Classifications are dated and attributed. Every factual paragraph cites its evidence, and nothing is published without evidence review and a named editor’s approval.
220 published case hubs:
A page count is not a movement count. How we count and what is missing.