Independence referendum

An independence referendum is a public vote in which a territory’s electorate decides whether it should become an independent sovereign state.

Referendum: A direct vote in which an electorate decides a specific political or legal question. An independence referendum is a referendum whose question concerns statehood.
2014 Scottish independence referendum: A 2014 vote in which Scotland rejected independence from the United Kingdom by 55.3% to 44.7%. It was a negotiated referendum whose result kept Scotland within the United Kingdom.
Devolution: The transfer of powers from a central government to regional or local governments. Devolution expands self-government without creating a sovereign state.
State succession: The replacement of one state by another in responsibility for a territory’s international relations. Independence raises questions about treaties, debts, and membership in international organizations.
Remedial secession: The disputed idea that a people may have a right to secede as a last resort against severe oppression. It raises whether independence is justified only after other remedies fail.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. It is the principle most often invoked to justify a territory’s choice of independence.
Quebec independence referendums: Two Quebec votes, held in 1980 and 1995, on whether the province should pursue sovereignty from Canada. The close 1995 result illustrates how wording and margin can intensify disputes over a mandate.
Secession: The withdrawal of a territory from an existing state to form a separate political entity. Secession is the act an independence vote may authorize or seek to legitimize.
Partition: The division of a territory into separate political units, often creating or altering state boundaries. An independence settlement may divide territory or leave borders contested.
Internal self-determination: The pursuit of political, cultural, or economic self-government within an existing state. It challenges claims that external independence is necessary to realize self-determination.

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1999 East Timorese independence referendumNarrower topic: The consultation pursued self-determination but formally offered rejection of autonomy, not a direct independence option.