The Unorthodox Website Blog

Once there were at least five divided countries – Germany, Vietnam, Korea, Cyprus, Ireland. Now that Vietnam has been reunited under Socialism and Germany under capitalism, that just leaves the other three.

Republic of Cyprus    TRNC (N. Cyprus)

In Cyprus, where my father came from, the travel restrictions between the Greek-Cypriot South (Republic of Cyprus) and the Turkish-Cypriot North (Turkish Republic of North Cyprus) have been greatly eased in recent years. The new Greek-Cypriot President is keen on making a new effort aimed at reuniting the troubled island, since the UN-sponsored plan for reunification was accepted by the Turkish-Cypriots but rejected by the Greek-Cypriots in a referendum a few years ago.

Republic of Ireland

In Ireland too there has been much progress, not in the form of reunification, but the Anglo-Irish Agreement has finally brought a devolved government composed of both nationalist republicans and loyalists to the 6 counties. (Note: the Irish province of Ulster is 9 counties, only 6 of which compose Northern Ireland. Note also that even these 6 counties are not part of Great Britain, as evidenced by the official name of our country – ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland’.)

ROK (S. Korea)       DPRK (N. Korea)

On the Korean peninsular there seems little hope for reunification at the moment. You cannot reunite states with two completely different economic and political systems, so these have to coincide, as in Germany and Vietnam, before reunification can take place.

GDR (E. Germany) 

FRG (Germany)        SRV (Vietnam)

(these were also the former flags of W. Germany and N. Vietnam)

But there are other kinds of divided countries emerging in the world as united countries and federations break up into individual states. I’m thinking of places like the former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, former Czechoslovakia and African countries like Nigeria, where Eritrea has broken away as a separate state. Or indeed the Indian sub-continent, once united in the British Empire as ‘India’ but now divided between the states of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

USSR                       FSRJ (Yugoslavia)

In Europe, including parts of the former Soviet Union, these newly independent states are clamoring to join, or have already joined, the European Union. So while old countries/federations are breaking up, I see the trend to new, voluntary unions or federations such as the EU.

USA                        CSA

One such federation which still exists is, of course, the United States of America. In the 19th century there was an attempt at secession when the Confederate States of America was declared in the Southeast of the country. There is a huge cultural division still between these Dixie states and the Yankee states of the North and West. South and East of the Mason-Dixon line the American Civil War which brought victory to the Union forces is still referred to as either the ‘war of Northern aggression’, or more diplomatically as ‘the war between the states’. The CSA battle flag, also known as The Rebel Flag, is still flown as a symbol of their heritage by many in the South, and remains part of the the official State flag of Mississippi. Although the Confederacy exists no more, all states in the Union have a great deal of autonomy, which provides a possible blueprint for other Unions like the EU should they ever become fully-fledged federations, as seems likely in the long term.

EU                           UN

As I see it the only hope for world peace is for more states to become autonomous states within voluntary unions/federations such as the EU and USA, and loosely united globally under a world-wide UN confederation,  policed by a permanent international UN security force.

But while I am all in favor of a federal EU, being a Socialist I also hope for new democratic and voluntary Socialist federations arising in future. There is no reason whatsoever why European states who wish to adopt Socialist Constitutions in the future should not break away from the EU and form a Socialist European Union, where all political parties would contest genuinely free elections, but where each State would be pledged to uphold their Socialist Constitution unless and until it was rejected and replaced in a referendum by a substantial majority of the electorate. I believe only genuine democratic worldwide Socialism can truly solve all the problems of inequality and exploitation in the world, and ultimately bring lasting peace. But it has to be voluntary, and uphold freedom of speech and genuinely free multi-party democracy.