Editing Irredentism (section)

== Types ==
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 350
| image1            = Ethio-Somali_War_Map_1977.png
| alt1              = Map of Ethiopian territory occupied by Somalia in 1977
| link1             = Greater Somalia
| image2            = Kurdish-inhabited_area_by_CIA_(1992)_box_inset_removed.jpg
| alt2              = Map of area inhabited by Kurds
| link2             = Greater Kurdistan
| footer            = [[Somalia]]'s occupation of [[Ethiopia]]n territory constitutes a typical case of irredentism between two states (left). The [[Kurdish nationalism|desire to create a Kurdistan state]] composed of [[Kurds]] living in [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Syria]], and [[Turkey]] is an unusual type of irredentism since there is no pre-existing state to absorb the territories (right).
}}

Various types of irredentism have been proposed. However, not everyone agrees that all the types listed here constitute forms of irredentism and it often depends on what definition is used.{{sfn|Kornprobst|2008|pp=8–10}}{{sfn|Ambrosio|2022}}{{sfn|Horowitz|2011|p=159}} According to political theorists [[Naomi Chazan]] and [[Donald L. Horowitz]], there are two types of irredentism. The typical case involves one state that intends to annex territories belonging to a neighboring state. [[Nazi Germany]]’s claim on the [[Sudetenland]] of [[Czechoslovakia]] is an example of this form of irredentism.{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|p=420}}{{sfn|Ambrosio|2011|pp=1346–1348|loc=irredentism}}{{sfn|Horowitz|2011|p=159}}

For the second type, there is no pre-existing parent state. Instead, a cohesive group existing as a minority in multiple countries intends to unify to form a new parent state. The intended creation of a [[Kurdistan]] state uniting the [[Kurds]] living in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran is an example of the second type. If such a project is successful for only one segment, the result is [[secession]] and not irredentism. This happened, for example, during the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]] when [[Yugoslavian Slovenes]] formed the new state of [[Slovenia]] while the [[Austrian Slovenes]] did not join them and remained part of [[Austria]].{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|p=420}}{{sfn|Horowitz|2011|p=159}} Not all theorists accept that the second type constitutes a form of irredentism. In this regard, it is often argued that it is too similar to secession to maintain a distinction between the two. For example, political scholar [[Benyamin Neuberger]] holds that a pre-existing parent state is necessary for irredentism.{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|p=420}}

Political scientist [[Thomas Ambrosio]] restricts his definition to cases involving a pre-existing parent state and distinguishes three types of irredentism: (1) between two states, (2) between a state and a former [[colony]], and (3) between a state and a collapsed state. The typical case is between two states. A textbook example of this is [[Ogaden War|Somalia's invasion of Ethiopia]].{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|pp=420–421}}{{sfn|Ackermann|Schroeder|Terry|Upshur|2008a|p=143}} In the second case of decolonization, the territory to be annexed is a former colony of another state and not a regular part of it. An example is the [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesian invasion]] and [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|occupation]] of the former Portuguese colony of [[East Timor]].{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|pp=420–421}}{{sfn|Ackermann|Schroeder|Terry|Upshur|2008a|p=130}} In the case of state collapse, one state disintegrates and a neighboring state absorbs some of its former territories. This was the case for the irredentist movements by [[Croatia]] and [[Serbia]] during the breakup of Yugoslavia.{{sfn|White|Millett|2019|pp=420–421}}{{sfn|Ackermann|Schroeder|Terry|Upshur|2008a|pp=49, 468–471}}