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This article is about declarations of independence in general. Specific declarations of independence are listed below in alphabetical order. For the painting of this name, see Trumbull's Declaration of Independence. For the 1938 short film see Declaration of Independence (film).
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. Not all declarations of independence were successful and resulted in independence for these regions.
Declarations of independence are typically made without the consent of the parent state, and hence are sometimes called unilateral declarations of independence (UDI), particularly by those who question the declarations' validity.
Independence without a declaration
In many cases, independence is achieved without a declaration of independence but instead occurs by bilateral agreement. An example of this is the independence of many components of the British Empire, most parts of which achieved independence through negotiation with the United Kingdom government and legislation by the parliament of the United Kingdom. Australia and Canada, for example, achieved full independence through a series of acts of their respective national governments and parliaments and the British government and parliament.
On the other hand, regions often achieve de facto independence, but do not declare independence. Notable examples include Taiwan, which China has threatened to invade should it officially declare independence. Iraqi Kurdistan was de facto independent from the central Iraqi government between the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War, but could not declare statehood out of fear of losing international support. Such regions often refer to themselves as autonomous regions, with or without the assent of the central government.
See also
Notes
- ^ Singapore was forced out of Malaysia by the Malaysian parliament, and the proclamations were then agreed by the two governments. See the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 (1985 Rev. Ed.).