Partition (politics)

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In politics, a partition is a change of political borders cutting through at least one community’s homeland. That change is done primarily via diplomatic means, and use of military force is negligible.^{[citation needed]}

Common arguments for partitions include:

historicist - that partition is inevitable, or is already happening, this argument is related to historicism
last resort - that partition should be pursued to avoid the worst outcomes (genocide or largescale ethnic expulsions), if other means fail
cost-benefit - that partition offers, on balance, a better prospect of conflict reduction than the maintenance of the existing borders
better tomorrow - that there will be a reduction in actual violence and conflict recurrence, and that the new more homogenized polities that emerge will have better prospects for the peaceful development in future
rigorous end - heterogeneity in cultures is bad, homogeneous states should be the goal of any policy^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Examples

Notable examples (see also Category:Partition) are:

Partition of Prussia by the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466^[1] ^[2] creating Royal Prussia, and Duchy of Prussia in 1525^[3]
In the 1757 Second Treaty of Versailles, France agreed upon the partition of Prussia^[4]
Partition of Prussia in 1919^[5]
German occupation of Czechoslovakia^[6] and Munich Agreement of 1938
Partition and Elimination^[7] of East Prussia^[8] among People's Republic of Poland and Soviet Union^[9]
Three Partitions of Luxembourg, the last of which in 1839, that divided Luxembourg between France, Prussia, Belgium, and the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Three Partitions of Poland and Poland-Lithuania in the 18th, with the fourth one sometimes referring to events of 19th and 20th centuries
1905 Partition of Bengal and 1947 Partition of Bengal
Partition of Tyrol by the London Pact of 1915
Partition of the German Empire in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles
Partition of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1919 by the Treaty of St. Germain
Partition of Ireland in 1920 into the independent Irish Free State and (British) Northern Ireland
Treaty of Kars of 1921, which partitioned Ottoman Armenia between the republic of Turkey and the then Soviet Union (Western and Eastern Armenia)
Partition of Germany and Berlin after World War II, annexation of Former eastern territories of Germany
Partition of Korea in 1945
1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine (region)
Partition of India (colonial British India) in 1947 into the independent dominions (later republics) of India and Pakistan (which included modern day Bangladesh)
Partition of Korea in 1953
Partition of Punjab in 1966 into the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh
Partition of Pakistan in 1971, when East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation War
Partition of Vietnam in 1954
The hypothetical partition of the Canadian province of Quebec

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Norman Davies: God's Playground [1]
^ Stephen R. Turnbull, Tannenberg 1410: Disaster for the Teutonic Knights [2]
^ Elements of General History: Ancient and Modern, by Millot (Claude François Xavier) [3]
^ Arthur Hassall, The Balance of Power. 1715 - 1789 [4]
^ Norman Davies: God's Playground [5]
^ The Polish Occupation. Czechoslovakia was, of course, mutilated not only by Germany. Poland and Hungary also each asked for their share - Hubert Ripka: Munich, Before and After: A Fully Documented Czechoslovak Account of the ..., 1939 [6]
^ Samuel Leonard Sharp: Poland, White Eagle on a Red Field, [7]
^ Norman Davies: God's Playground [8]
^ Debates of the Senate of the Dominion of Canada [9]