Constituent country

Constituent country is a term sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger political entity, such as a sovereign state. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a constituent part of something else.

In unitary states

Denmark

Main article: Danish Realm

The Danish Realm consists of three constituent parts, each part sometimes referred to as a country:

However, this terminology is not consistent. The Faroes are also referred to as a "self-governing territory" or similar by (e.g.) the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands[3] and the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[4] Similarly, the Danish Government also refers to Greenland as an "autonomous province"[5] and neither of the laws forming Greenland's constitution refer to Greenland as a country.[6]

France

Main article: Overseas country of France

French regions (e.g., Pays d'Auge, Pays de la Loire, and Pays de Caux) often bear the appellation pays ("land"), which is sometimes also used in reference to other nations (e.g., Pays-Bas is the French name of the Netherlands).

In 2004, the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia was legally designated as a pays d'outre-mer au sein de la République,[7] translated as an "overseas country inside the Republic".[8] The Constitutional Council of France ruled that this was merely a change of appellation and did not represent a constitutional change in legal status.[9]

Netherlands

Main article: Kingdom of the Netherlands

From 10 October 2010, the Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four countries:[10]

Each is expressly designated as a land in Dutch law by the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[11] Unlike the German and Austrian Bundesländer, landen is consistently translated as "countries" by the Dutch government.[12][13][14]

New Zealand

Main article: Realm of New Zealand

The Realm of New Zealand consists of three parts usually referred to as countries:

However, the Constitutions of the Cook Islands[18] and of Niue[19] do not describe either as a country, nor do the New Zealand Acts which brought those constitutions into force.[20][21]

United Kingdom

Constituent countries of the UK.
Main articles: Countries of the United Kingdom and History of the formation of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is generally considered to comprise four countries:[22][23][24][25]

However, the kingdom itself is a unitary one and not a personal union. The principality of Wales ceased to exist in 1542, the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707, and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801 (or 1953[26]). Further, the word country does not always appear in the acts of union which established the modern nation. The term can be particularly controversial when applied to Northern Ireland, which was created when Ireland was partitioned in 1921.[citation needed]

Northern Ireland had a devolved parliament from 1921–73 and an assembly from 1973–74, 1982–86, and 1999 to the present. After referenda in Wales and Scotland in 1997, new devolved governments were created in Scotland, Wales but not England, which remains directly under the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London.

At sporting events such as rugby union, an alternative title, Home Nations is used, which in these contexts sometimes includes Ireland as a whole.

↑Jump back a section

In federal states

Soviet Union

Main article: Republics of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was a Union of the free associate Soviet Socialist Republics, by constitution. In reality, most of its lifespan the Union was a strongly centralized state.

Map of the Union Republics from 1956-1991
Republics of the USSR.svg
Soviet
socialist
republic		 member
since		 population
(1989)
 pop./
USSR pop.
(%)		 area
(km²)
(1991)		 area/
USSR area
(%)		 capital

 independent
state
 No.
Flag of Russian SFSR Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 1922 7008147386000000000147,386,000 700151400000000000051.40 700717075400000000017,075,400 700176620000000000076.62 Moscow  Russia 1
Flag of Ukrainian SSR Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 1922 700751706746000000051,706,746 700118030000000000018.03 7005603700000000000603,700 70002710000000000002.71 Kiev
(Kharkov before 1934)		  Ukraine 2
Flag of Uzbekistan SSR Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic 1924 700719906000000000019,906,000 70006940000000000006.94 7005447400000000000447,400 70002009999999999992.01 Tashkent
(Samarkand before 1930)		  Uzbekistan 4
Flag of Kazakhstan SSR Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic 1936 700716711900000000016,711,900 70005830000000000005.83 70062727300000000002,727,300 700112240000000000012.24 Alma-Ata  Kazakhstan 5
Flag of Belarusian SSR Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic 1922 700710151806000000010,151,806 70003540000000000003.54 7005207600000000000207,600 69999300000000000000.93 Minsk  Belarus 3
Flag of Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic 1936 70067037900000000007,037,900 70002450000000000002.45 700486600000000000086,600 69993900000000000000.39 Baku  Azerbaijan 7
Flag of Georgian SSR Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic 1936 70065400841000000005,400,841 70001880000000000001.88 700469700000000000069,700 69993100000000000000.31 Tbilisi  Georgia 6
Flag of Tajikistan SSR Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic 1929 70065112000000000005,112,000 70001780000000000001.78 7005143100000000000143,100 69996400000000000000.64 Dushanbe  Tajikistan 12
Flag of Moldovan SSR Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940 70064337600000000004,337,600 70001510000000000001.51 700433843000000000033,843 69991500000000000000.15 Kishinev  Moldova 9
Flag of Kyrgyzstan SSR Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic 1936 70064257800000000004,257,800 70001480000000000001.48 7005198500000000000198,500 69998900000000000000.89 Frunze  Kyrgyzstan 11
Flag of Lithuanian SSR Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940 70063689779000000003,689,779 70001290000000000001.29 700465200000000000065,200 69992899900000000000.29 Vilnius  Lithuania 8
Flag of Turkmenistan SSR Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic 1924 70063522700000000003,522,700 70001230000000000001.23 7005488100000000000488,100 70002190000000000002.19 Ashkhabad  Turkmenistan 14
Flag of Armenian SSR Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic 1936 70063287700000000003,287,700 70001150000000999991.15 700429800000000000029,800 69991300000000000000.13 Yerevan  Armenia 13
Flag of Latvian SSR Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940 70062666567000000002,666,567 69999300000000000000.93 700464589000000000064,589 69992899900000000000.29 Riga  Latvia 10
Flag of Estonian SSR Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic 1940 70061565662000000001,565,662 69995500000000000000.55 700445226000000000045,226 69992000000000000000.20 Tallinn  Estonia 15
  The annexation of the Baltic republics in 1940 was considered as an illegal occupation and never recognized by a number of Western countries, including the United States and European international organizations such as the European Union.[27][28][29] The Soviet Union officially recognized their secession on September 6, 1991, prior to its final dissolution.

Germany and Austria

The states of Germany and of Austria are referred to as Bundesländer ("Federal Lands") and Gliedstaaten ("Member States") in German, a usage implying their sovereignty in a manner parallel to the American use of "states" (German: Bundesstaaten and Gliedstaaten). However, they are never considered countries in their own right and are referred to as Bundesländer or terms such as "states" in other languages to avoid confusion.

↑Jump back a section

See also

↑Jump back a section

References

  1. ^ The West Nordic Council. website. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  2. ^ Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Factsheet Denmark: Greenland.
  3. ^ Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands. "About the Faroe Islands". Retrieved 8 March 2011
  4. ^ Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Factsheet Denmark – the Faroes.
  5. ^ Danish Government.[dubious – discuss] "Denmark in Brief".
  6. ^ The "Act on Greenland Self-Government 2008" refers to Greenland as a "people" and the "Greenland Home Rule Act 1978" referred to Greenland as a "community".
  7. ^ "Loi organique n°2004-192 du 27 février 2004" (in (French)). Legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  8. ^ Regions and territories: French Polynesia BBC, 11 December 2010, retrieved 8 March 2011
  9. ^ "Décision n° 2004-490 DC du 12 février 2004". Conseil-constitutionnel.fr. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  10. ^ "Netherlands Antilles no more - Stabroek News - Guyana". Stabroek News. 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  11. ^ "Article 1 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands". Lexius.nl. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  12. ^ "Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations -Aruba". English.minbzk.nl. 2003-01-24. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  13. ^ St Martin News Network 18 November 2010
  14. ^ "Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations - New Status". English.minbzk.nl. 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  15. ^ Cook Islands Government. "The Cook Islands Government Online". Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  16. ^ Australian Government. "AusAid". Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  17. ^ Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "Niue". Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  18. ^ "Constitution of the Cook Islands".
  19. ^ "Constitution of Niue".
  20. ^ "New Zealand legislation - Cook Islands".
  21. ^ "New Zealand legislation - Niue".
  22. ^ Number 10.gov.uk. "Countries within a Country."[dead link]
  23. ^ Office for National Statistics. "Glossary".
  24. ^ Statistics.gov.uk. "2001 British Census".[dead link]
  25. ^ British Embassy in the United States of America. "Countries in the UK".[dead link]
  26. ^ The year Elizabeth II ceased to be styled Queen of Great Britain, Ireland, &c. and was instead styled Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, &c. See: Titles of Elizabeth II.
  27. ^ European parliament: Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (No C 42/78) (1983). Official Journal of the European Communities. European Parliament. 
  28. ^ Aust, Anthony (2005). Handbook of International Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-53034-7. 
  29. ^ Ziemele, Ineta (2005). State Continuity and Nationality: The Baltic States and Russia. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 90-04-14295-9. 
Autonomous types of first-tier subdivision administration
Federalism
See also
Terms for types of country subdivisions
 
English terms
Common English terms (nouns)1 used to derive other terms and the derived ones historic in italics
Unit
Other English terms
Current
Historic
 
Non-English or loanwords
Current
Defunct
↑Jump back a section
Last modified on 13 May 2013, at 00:12