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Countries That SHOULD Exist (But Don't)
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May 12, 2025
▶ In this video, I explore regions that, in my view and based on the criterion of representing specific nationalities or ethnic groups, should exist as independent countries. The first example is Balochistan, split between Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, seeks independence for the Baloch people. I encourage viewers to consider whether these regions should have sovereignty and if they believe these countries could attain independence. Then moving on to East Turkistan and its Turkic identity. In North America, Quebec is considered due to its unique culture rooted in French colonization and historical referendums on sovereignty. In Africa, Ogoniland desires independence from Nigeria, facing exploitation of resources by foreign companies. Ambazonia and Biafra in Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively, emerge due to the Anglophone-Francophone divide and ethnic tensions. Lastly, Kurdistan, where the Kurdish ethnic group seeks autonomy or independence across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. ▶ Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GKonYoutube ▶ Join the Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/f4neAVWZfF ▶ Business Contact: [email protected] ▶ Thanks for watching, remember to subscribe to catch future videos! ▶ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Balochistan 02:27 East Turkestan 03:54 Quebec 05:37 Ogoniland 06:44 Ambazonia 08:03 Biafra 09:20 Kurdistan 11:06 Summary
View Video Transcript
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Throughout the world, there are many countries, fully sovereign and in charge of their own
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fates, with its people representing a single ethnic group and voting on their future as
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they see fit. However, not every country in the world corresponds to a single nationality
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Many countries include within their borders two or even more ethnic groups
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Sometimes, I'd argue most times, that's fine. They all get along and exist side by side, united as a multi-ethnic nation, if that's
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even a real term that we can use, but I think so. But in some cases that doesn't happen. And a
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nation exists is essentially controlled by one group and the other or others that exist within
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it are either repressed or at least stopped from achieving their own sovereignty and establishing
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their own desired country. That's what this video is about. Countries that maybe should exist but don't
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Starting with the two on the thumbnail, first Balochistan. The region of Balochistan is split between three countries, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan
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although most of it is within southern Pakistan as we can see in the pink area on this map
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And it includes the areas inhabited by the ethnic Baloch people, ethnically distinct from
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their neighbours and having their own language, Baloki. The region has historically been
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characterized by a nomadic lifestyle, tribal societies, and geopolitical significance due to its strategic location. During the colonial era, parts of Balakistan fell under British and
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Persian control. At the time of the partition of British India in 1947, the issue of Balakistan's
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status first arose. They were given the option to join Pakistan or India or to remain independent
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The Khan of Khalat, the then ruler of Balochistan, opted for independence
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However, they were still forcibly integrated into Pakistan in 1948, and this led to resentment
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among some Baloch leaders and people, and ignited a series of conflicts and insurgencies
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over the next decades, with people demanding independence or at least increased autonomy
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Pakistan has, so far, been able to stop these movements, but it's uncertain if the Baloch
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people will remain without independence for much longer. One could also make the argument that should Baloghistan achieve independence, so should the four other ethnic groups shown on this map, the Pashtun, the Punjab, and the Sindh
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A little to the east we have another example, Uyghuristan. The region commonly referred to as East Turkestan, also known as Uyghuristan, is an area in Central Asia that is home to the Uyghur ethnic group and various other Turkic Muslim minorities
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The Uyghurs, who have their own distinct language and culture, reside in what is now the Xinjiang
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Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and have faced terrible persecution and forced assimilation
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by the Chinese government Historically the area was part of various Central Asian empires including the Mongol and Turkish Khaganats which did have independence But in the 18th century
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the Qing dynasty of China formally incorporated Xinjiang into its empire, and it has remained
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Chinese ever since. In the 1930s and 1940s, there were brief periods of de facto independence for
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East Turkestan, but these were short-lived. In 1949, the People's Republic of China was established
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and Xinjiang became an autonomous region within the Chinese state, although its autonomy is mostly in name only
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They are closer in ethnicity and culture slash identity to their western neighbors
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the Central Asia Eastans. In fact, Turkestan itself exists on their border
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from which the potential country name of East Turkestan comes from. More and more independence movements have been created
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aiming for independence from China, but none have been successful. The historical independence of this region
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the cultural and ethnic difference of their people, and the wish of self-determination
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I think are enough reasons for a new country to be created. But this isn't just an Asia problem
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All the way in North America we have, for instance, Quebec. Now, recent polling data shows that 32% of Quebecers believe that Quebec has enough sovereignty
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and should remain a part of Canada. But 28% thought that they should separate, and 30% say they believe that Quebec does
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need greater sovereignty or autonomy but should remain a part of Canada. Essentially, the region
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is fairly divided between those that want independence, unionists, and those in the middle
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that want a little of both. However, I believe there's a real case to be made for the independence
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of Quebec. After all, their culture is tremendously unique and different from that of Canada. Quebec
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was colonized by the French in the 16th century. Even today, French is the main language of the
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region, causing Canada to be a dual language country, and their flag flies the French fleur
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de lis, symbols, as well as the French colors. The British defeated the French in the Seven Years
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War, and this led to the annexation of Quebec by the British, and the Quebec Act of 1774
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which allowed the French-speaking population to retain their language, legal system, and religious
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practices, despite becoming a part of the Canada colony. So, their differences were established
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very early on. Quebec held two referendums on sovereignty, the first in 1980 saw the majority
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vote against it with 60% choosing to remain a part of Canada, the second referendum in 1995
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was much closer with 50.6% voting to stay in Canada and 49.4% supporting independence
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The narrow margin highlighted the deep divisions within the province. If held again today
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it's not impossible that independence would win, and considering their differences, I would argue it would make sense for them to be their own country
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Moving to Africa we have three great examples, most of which are consequences of poor territorial
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reorganization after the end of European colonies. First Ogoniland. The Ogonis are a people in what is today southern Nigeria They number into 2 million and live in a thousand square kilometer region which they call Ogoniland Despite being a part of Nigeria today they are only so due to British colonialism and their history and identity is quite different
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They survived the period of the slave trade in relative isolation. While most of Nigeria
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was colonized by the British in 1885, British soldiers only arrived in Ogoni by 1901 and found
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major resistance to their presence until 1914. Their integration into the surrounding regions
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was arguably rushed and their resources began being exploited. Due to this, movements have been
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created demanding their sovereignty, flying this flag, a vertical tricolor of blue, yellow, and green
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with six stars on it. A flag mainly used by the Mozop, the movement for the survival of the Ogoni
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people, created to fight the irresponsible exploitation of oil by foreign companies
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Independence for the Ogonis is unlikely, but I believe arguably justified. Another example that I even dedicated a full video to is Ambazonia. Using this really beautiful flag
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Ambazonia is the name chosen by those who defend independence for the province of Southern Cameroon
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Which is odd because Southern Cameroon is actually located in the northwest region of the country, but anyway
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Ambazonia's roots are in the historical context of the Anglophone-Francophone divide in Cameroon
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Until 1961, they were British Cameroon, while the rest of Cameroon existed as French Cameroon, two separate colonies
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Upon gaining independence, a referendum was held and the residents of Amazonia did choose to become a part of Cameroon within a federal republic
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However, over time, the central government, predominantly influenced by francophones, gradually expanded its central authority, diminishing the region's autonomy
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A significant portion of the population who identify as anglophones harbor resentment towards discrimination
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and the Cameroonian government's attempts to remove anglophone legal, administrative, educational, and cultural institutions
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Between 2016 and 2017, an extensive protest movement was met by forceful government suppression, resulting in riots
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In 2017, Amazonian leaders unilaterally declared independence. This unrest evolved into a guerilla war and as of 2023, conflicts persist but it doesn't look good for Amazonia
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And in very similar fashion, Biafra, which I also did a whole video on, I'll post the links for these in the description if you're interested
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Biafra is, similarly to the Ogoni, a breakaway region of Nigeria, but this time led by another ethnic group, the Igbo
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It becomes increasingly clear how many African and Asian nations hold within them conflicting ethnic groups
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grouped together in European-drawn colonial borders that then transferred on to independent states
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In Nigeria's case, the northern region of the country has a Muslim majority
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being primarily made up of the territory of the indigenous Sokoto Caliphate
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The southern population is predominantly Christian, primarily made up of territory of the indigenous Yoruba and Igbo states
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The south is also richer than the north in resources The roots of the Biafran movement can be traced to these differences which led to ethnic political and economic tensions felt by the Igbo people
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Feeling marginalized and exploited, they declared independence in 1967. The Nigerian military fought back, invaded the region and this led to a 3 year long internal
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conflict that was devastating and tragic for millions of civilians. The civilian suffering eventually led the Biafrans to surrender and to be once again
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annexed by Nigeria. Some desires for independence remain today, but after the former tragic attempt
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it's unlikely they will try again. And finally, back to Asia, we have Kurdistan. Kurdistan refers
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to a region inhabited primarily by the Kurdish ethnic group spanning parts of Turkey, Iran
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Iraq, and Syria. The Kurds have a distinct language and culture. Most are Sunni Muslim
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but some are Shia, some are Christian, or even Jewish. And together, they have sought autonomy
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or independence for many years but have so far failed. The closest they ever got, arguably, was in the aftermath of World War I and the dissolution
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of the Ottoman Empire. With the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, there were provisions for the establishment of an independent
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Kurdish state, but this was never implemented, due to various geopolitical developments including
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the Turkish War of Independence. Throughout the 20th century, the Kurdish people faced persecution and challenges in the countries
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where they resided, especially in Turkey, where the relationship with the Turks is fairly
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negative and constantly difficult. On the other hand, the Kurds in Iraq have experienced greater autonomy with the establishment
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of the Kurdistan Regional Government, which is in fact a rare example of governmental
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stability within Iraq. In Syria, their forces organized to fight in the country's internal conflict and were
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seemingly one of the most moderate sides, gathering the support of many western nations
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In Iran, there is a Kurdistan province but it has no special autonomy as the Iraqi one does
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Regardless of more or less friendliness and autonomy, Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria have
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all historically resisted the idea of an independent Kurdistan within their borders, after all
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which country would like to lose territory. With the instability of the region altogether, it's fairly likely they will eventually
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become the sovereign country they want to be, flying this really cool horizontal tricolor
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of red, white and green with a golden sun in the middle
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So those are some of the countries that, in my view and following this criteria of representing
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a specific nationality or ethnic group, should exist. Some have a real possibility at existing, I would argue Balochistan most of all, others
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have tried to achieve their independence and dramatically failed, such as Biafra or Ambazonia
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But what do you think? Do you agree these countries should exist on their own and have sovereignty
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Do you think any of them will actually be able to and which other countries would you
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add to this list? Let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for watching, remember to subscribe if you want and I will see you next time for
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