Creating an Independent Country

Creating an Independent Country

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Creating an Independent Country

Independence means that a country is no longer controlled by another. Historically, independence was achieved by countries that had previously been under colonial powers, or that had been held captives by the people from another country. Sometimes, the road to independence involved war, yet at other times, peaceful negotiations would make the ruling state give the people who were being ruled independence. In this paper, a hypothetical country will be created. The paper will examine some of the conditions that must be present in order to create an effective state. In addition, the factors that determine the success rate of the country in developing an independent state will be addressed. 

 What conditions must be satisfied for you to have an effective state

One of the conditions that has to be addressed in the creation of an independence country is having a majority of the people living in the country believing that they deserve to be independent. This may be a difficult step, as sometimes, the people who deserve independence are so oppressed they do not know if an independent country would be the best thing for them. An example of a country that had the majority of the people deciding that it was best to be an independent country is South Sudan. South Sudan was previously part of Sudan. The country gained independence in the year 2011, making it one of the newest countries in the world. Before that, people in the country had been in war with those from the Northern parts of Sudan. These wars were often caused by differences in religious ideologies. The people in South Sudan are mainly Christian while those is the now Sudan are mainly Muslims. These differences often led to war and the war led to the death of many in both Sudan and South Sudan. 

Another condition  that has to be fulfilled is the establishment of known boundaries. In the current world today, countries are recognized by both political and geographical boundaries. These boundaries make it such that there is a defined territory for the country that wishes to be independent. The importance of this is that it helps in determining the extent to which the administrative powers of the leader of the country will span (Keating, 2008). Another advantage is that with such boundaries and a well established territory, it becomes possible to know how to establish trade relationships. It also makes it easier for the people who wish to invest in that country to know how to relate with the people of that country. Another advantage of this is that it makes it possible for the members in that country to know what resources that have in that country. With these resources, they can be sure to promote the growth and development of the country. 

Another requirement has to be that there should be a permanent population in the area that is to be declared a country. A permanent population means that there will always be people who are in charge of the country that is becoming independent (Keating, 2008). Sometimes, this may be a difficult, especially if the country in question is in war. The people there may be fleeing from some other natural disaster, for example, an earthquake. However, once it is possible to have this factor decided on, it becomes easy to seek the independence of that country. 

Another condition that must be satisfied in order to have an effective state is the recognition by other countries. It is possible to declare a piece of land with a decent population living in it an independent state. However, this status would remain worthless if other countries do not recognize it. It becomes important for any country seeking independence to have other countries recognize it. Most countries do not have specific rules for what a country must do in order to be recognized as a country (Keating, 2008). However, this step may be a problem. For example, the country that one is seeking independence from may fail to recognize the new country, and continue to treat the citizens as if they are not independent yet. Secondly, other countries may not be fully aware of the politics of that country and may therefore refrain from recognizing it as an independent country. However, for most countries, this is usually not a very complicated step. For example, Eritrea got independence from Ethiopia after a period of war between the two countries. Some people in the country had been held as captives in other areas like Cairo. This would have made it difficult to fulfill most of the criteria for an independent country. However, once the war was over, Ethiopia agreed to grant Eritrea their independence and in the year 1991, the country became independent (Harper, 2016). 

To have an effective state, one should also form a government that is at par with international standards and also one that is able to serve the people in the country. Most of the countries that were previous colonies of European powers had some requirements for the people before they were allowed to power(Keating, 2008). One of the requirements was that the people who would form the government would have to be native to the country. The main aim of such a rule is to make sure that even with independence, the country is no longer ruled by foreigners who could make the citizens slaves again. Another rule that was common among countries just gaining independence was that a person seeking to be a leader in any capacity must have a recognizable education qualification . The aim of such a rule is to make sure that the people who are elected to power are knowledgeable in many areas. It also makes sure that the decisions that they will come up with will be sound and therefore upheld by the people and by other leaders.

An independent state usually seeks to make sure that the people in that state are free. For this reason, countries that are seeking independence must come up with a constitution. Most of the constitutions of the countries in the world recognize the rights of the people in that country. However, moist of these rights also have limits, especially if they limit the rights of others or act in a way such that the government of such a country feels threatened. One right and freedom that may often cause conflict for the newly created state is the freedom for religion. Most religions in the world today tend to dictate how other people should treat those that do not belong to the said. This could be problematic and therefore lead to war. A country seeking independence should have sound laws for such a case. The laws should stipulate the cause of action to be taken if a person does not respect the authority of others. Historically, religion has been crucial to the development of empires and state. Most of the kingdoms and empires in history had a state religion. They recognized the sovereignty of a supreme being and demanded that all the people in that country recognize it too. There were some problems with it. One of the problems is that sometimes, when there is a state religion, any attempts to correct it may be termed as blasphemous, and thus punishable by death. Such laws have been solved in most of the countries. Most of the countries today have no state religion. However, they recognize the religions of the people who live there and give them the freedom to practice. 

Another right that is often recognized by many states that are becoming independent is the freedom of movement. In such countries, this freedom has usually previously been suppressed by the people that were rulers of that place. Freedom of movement sometimes means rules that other countries already have regarding visiting them. The country that is seeking independence should also make sure that the people there have education, healthcare and other important social amenities. These things make it possible for such people to live comfortably within the borders of such a country. Another factor is the security. This means that the country should be prepared to protect the citizens from both internal and external threats that they may face. The internal threats are usually handled by law enforcement officers commonly known as police officers. The outside threats are usually handled by the military. If the country boarders an ocean or a large sea, it would be important to make sure that the people are protected from threats that may come from here. It is also important to make sure that the country makes use of the natural resources that are shared between the country and any other country. 

The combination of the international laws and the interests of the people would be the main considerations in the decisions to seek for the independence of the country of my choice

 What factors could determine your country’s success in developing such a state

The above listed factors have made it clear that having an independent country may not always be successful. There are some factors that may make it nearly impossible for a country to have independence. Some factors on the other hand may make it easier to for a country to gain independence. The factors range from economic to social and political factors.

One economic factor that may affect the independence is the capacity of the country to trade with other countries. If a country’s economy is not strong enough according to the global standards at the time, it may be difficult for such a country to gain independence. If, however, the country has such a strong economy, it may make it easier to gain independence. Sometimes, it is more complicated than that. The countries that are seeking independence may have the citizens being exploited by another country. In such a case, the company may have a strong economy but at a disadvantage hence not completely able to gain independence on its own. Another factor to consider economically is if the country has a recognized currency, or if it is possible to adopt the currency of another nation (Keating, 2008). Most of the countries, at the time of independence had their own currency. Some, however, sis not have this and had to rely on other currencies. Usually, the US dollar is the one that is commonly used since it is internationally recognized. Having a recognized country could increase the chances that the country in question is accepted by other nations as a full country.

Other factors that increase the chances for the creation of an independent state are the social lives of the people within that country. Most regions in the world usually have a diverse population of people. This diversity is usually in terms of the languages spoken, the culture and the general economic activities of the people. Populations where the various groups of people get along and only face threats from external nations are more likely to be declared independent. Peaceful Nations usually have a higher chance for success as independent states(Keating, 2008). However, it should be noted that this is not always the case. Sometimes, independence may be granted to nations that are in war. This is usually done to make sure that such nations become at peace with each other and do not continue fighting.

As stated earlier, most of the Nations in the world today have some key differences in religion. The religious affiliation of a country that is seeking independence may impede or promote the chances of the country’s success at independence. The factors that determine this include what the religious affiliation of the country that is granting independence are. In many cases, if the religious differences are irreconcilable, the country may be forced to have the members convert, or be denied independence. However, if the leaders of either region can see past such differences, then the country is granted independence. 

Another social political factor that has affected the chances of independence across the world is race. Scientifically, race is a concept that does not exist. Human beings are all similar, and the differences are usually only made up. However, historically, this was not always common knowledge. Groups of people, especially those with darker skin were usually seen as inferior, and thus treated as inferior. In some cases, these people were enslaved and subjected to very harsh treatments. Whenever such people sought independence from their masters, they were denied since they were considered inferior. While this concept is close to being abolished, it may also have some influence over who is accepted as an independent country. Most of the people seeking independence may have to go through thorough court procedures in order to determine their eligibility as people. Their skin color, and other features could mean that they are not recognized by other nations. This may be a difficult fight for the leaders in that nation. It is often made difficult by the fact that skin color is something that one cannot change in general, and recognition of this is generally important. 

Another factor that may hinder or promote the chances of an independent nation are their relationship with the international community. This relationship means that once independence is achieved, there will be favorable ties between the countries.

Usually, countries in the world that have just gained independence join the UN. Joining the UN is usually quite easy as all that has to be done is send a letter of application the chairman there. Upon review, the country is then accepted and thus officially recognized. The process is usually really simple. This could be a factor that I would consider, since it is one of the simplest yet easiest to achieve from all the factors that have been listed above.

Based on the points that have been discussed above, in order to create an independent nation, the first step for me would be to determine what is currently hindering the independence of the Nation. It could be war, or slavery, or that the citizens of the country are exploited by the main country or by another country. If it is war or slavery, it would then be right for me to report the case to an international body that deals with such issues. Most times, it is necessary to involve the military in  such an issue. If my country does not have enough military power, I would ask for aid from other countries that have enough military power.

If the reason that the country is not independent is exploitation, I would choose to educate the people through means such that the exploiting countries would not be aware. Once a significant proportion of the population is aware of the exploitation they are going through, I would ask for their help in becoming independent and being free from their exploiters. This strategy would likely have some limitation. For example, the people exploiting may have limitations that make sure that those who are being exploited do not get to know how they are being exploited. However, I would find means, such as the use of social media and the main stream media to make the people there aware of the exploitative nature of the people they are under. 

After either of the above steps, I would seek to create a government that would lead the country to independence. I would make sure that the government is chosen by a majority of the people, so that they are more acceptable at the time of independence. I would require that the people chosen have vast knowledge about the nature of the country that will become independent. Additionally, I would also require them to be aware of international laws so that they are more able to recognize the ally countries and those that aren’t.

In conclusion, the factors that would affect the independence of a country have been discussed at length. From the above discussion, it is clear that most of the factors are political, social or religious. Understanding each of them in relation to the specific area is of importance to the country. Some examples have been considered, especially if the countries gained independence recently. For example, South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan, and Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia. These examples have shown that in general, a country seeking independence is likely to have faced a period of war. Anyone willing to be the leader of such a country should keep that in mind. The above has also shown that international recognition is another factor to consider, as any country could declare itself independent though the international community may not accept it.

References

Harper, M.  (2016) Eritrea celebrates 25 years of independence after war with Ethiopia. BBC News Africa

Keating. J., (2008) How to Start your own country in four easy steps. Retrieved 22 October 2016 from www.foreignpolicy.com/2008/02/06/how-to-start-your-own-country-in-four-easy-steps/amp/