Secessionist Movements Around the World: Internal Conflicts and Territorial Identity

States within the State: the hidden map of secessionist movements

Editorial illustration — Worktable with maps and documents used for the analysis of territorial tensions and secessionist movements across different regions of the world, representing a hidden study of internal conflicts and identity-based disputes within states. Created for The Global Report One.

In school maps, the world is usually presented as a set of clearly defined countries, with fixed borders and a seemingly unified national identity. However, this image represents only a superficial layer of a much more complex reality.

Beneath this formal structure, there are internal tensions within different states where certain territories have questioned their belonging to the country they are part of. In some cases, this even includes the possibility of breaking away and forming an independent state.

These phenomena, known as secessionist movements, show that countries are not always homogeneous units, but political constructions shaped by multiple identities.

A modern state is not only a territory with borders, but the result of historical processes, political agreements, and long-standing conflicts. Within these states, different cultural identities, languages, and historical memories can coexist.

When these differences become politically relevant, the debate over autonomy or independence emerges.

In Spain, the Basque Country was historically marked by political violence associated with ETA, while in Catalonia the debate has been mainly institutional, reaching a critical point in 2017 with an independence referendum declared unconstitutional by the Spanish state.

In the United Kingdom, Scotland represents a case where the independence debate has been conducted through democratic mechanisms, including a legally authorized referendum in 2014.

In Canada, Quebec reflects a process where cultural identity has driven independence referendums in 1980 and 1995, without achieving separation from the state.

In the United States, secession is part of its foundational history. During the Civil War (1861–1865), eleven southern states attempted to leave the Union, leading to an armed conflict that ultimately reinforced the federal state.

Today, there are groups that advocate for secessionist ideas or greater state independence, but they do not hold significant political influence at the national level and lack constitutional viability. These are generally minor or symbolic expressions within public debate.

Across these cases, it becomes clear that there is no single model of territorial conflict: each one is shaped by its own history, political structure, and institutional framework.

Secessionist movements cannot be understood as isolated phenomena or simple desires for separation. They are the result of the interaction between history, identity, state structure, and political mechanisms.

Behind every national border, there is not always a single identity, but multiple ways of understanding belonging, politics, and the very concept of a country.

References

• Historical records of Spain’s Basque conflict and ETA period
• 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum (UK official records)
• Quebec sovereignty referendums (1980, 1995, Canada)
• United States Civil War constitutional outcomes (1861–1865)

Published by THE GLOBAL REPORT ONE | May 20, 2026