Irredentism

Irredentism is a political movement seeking to annex territory inhabited by people regarded as belonging to the same nation. It links claims of national unity to demands for changing borders.

Nationalism: A political ideology that treats the nation as a primary source of identity and political legitimacy. Irredentism applies nationalist claims to territory beyond an existing state's borders.
Italian irredentism: A nineteenth- and twentieth-century movement to incorporate Italian-speaking territories outside the Kingdom of Italy. The movement gave irredentism its name and became a prominent national unification campaign.
Italian unification: The nineteenth-century political process that united much of the Italian peninsula in the Kingdom of Italy. Unification left Italian-speaking territories outside the new state, creating the original irredentist cause.
Revisionism (international relations): A state's effort to alter an established international order, including its territorial arrangements. Irredentist states pursue a territorial revision justified by national claims.
Pan-nationalism: A political movement seeking to unite people of a shared national identity across multiple existing states. It can seek cross-border unity without demanding annexation by one existing state.
Self-determination: The principle that peoples should determine their political status and pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development. Irredentist movements may invoke self-determination to justify joining a neighboring state.
Anschluss: The 1938 annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, presented by the Nazi regime as the union of Germans. It demonstrates how claims of national unity can accompany coercive annexation.
Risorgimento: The nineteenth-century movement for Italian national revival and political unification. Its national-unification ideals shaped claims to territories described as unredeemed Italy.
Ethnic conflict: Political or armed conflict in which ethnic identities shape opposing groups and their claims. Irredentist campaigns can heighten tensions between populations and states across a border.
Separatism: A movement seeking to withdraw a region or group from an existing political unit. Separatism seeks exit, while irredentism seeks incorporation into a claimed national homeland.

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