But over the last few decades, the world has witnessed the birth of a few new nations.

但過去數十年以來，有些新國家也誕生了。

East Timor split away from Indonesia and gained sovereignty in 2002, and South Sudan became the world's newest nation in 2011.

東帝汶在 2002 年脫離印尼成為主權國家；而南蘇丹則在 2011 年成為目前最年輕的國家。

But for every successful bid at nationhood, there's also many more failed attempts.

然而在這些成功案例之外，也有些嘗試最終功敗垂成。

Think of Catalonia or Iraqi Kurdistan's dramatic bids for independence just last year.

例如 2017 年延燒加泰隆尼亞還有庫德斯坦地區的獨立運動。

These examples got us thinking about other "inbetweener" states.

這些案例讓我們聯想到其他「地位搖擺不定」的國家。

Hey guys I'm Judah, this is NowThis World and today we're to talk about just a few of the dozens of "partially recognized states" around the globe.

大家好，我是 Judah，這是 NowThis World 節目，今天的主題是關於「有限承認國家」。

First on our list is Abkhazia.

第一個要介紹的是阿布哈茲。

To most of the world, Abkhazia is a region inside of the country Georgia.

在大家的普遍認知裡，阿布哈茲地區屬於喬治亞共和國的範疇。

It's located near the Black Sea, shares a border with Russia, and is home to more than 250,000 people that mostly speak Abkhaz and Russian.

該地區鄰近黑海，與俄羅斯接壤，有超過25 萬人民居住，主要語言為阿布哈茲語以及俄語。

Geography aside, Abkhazia's political situation is closely tied to Russia.

地理位置之外，阿布哈茲地區的政治局勢同樣與俄羅斯有緊密聯繫。

When the USSR was in full swing and Georgia was a Soviet Republic, Abkhazia enjoyed autonomous status.

當蘇聯最為強盛之時，喬治亞受蘇聯管轄，阿布哈茲地區享有自治地位。

Things weren't ideal, but at least the region had some form of self-rule under the Soviets.

即使並非理想狀態，蘇聯掌控之下阿布哈茲地區至少有一定程度的自治自由。

But in April 1991, Georgia declared independence.

可是喬治亞民主共和國在 1991 年四月宣布獨立。

Its first leader was a fervent nationalist who pledged to assert control over Abkhazia and other autonomous areas like South Ossetia.

首任領導者是位滿腔熱血的民族主義者，聲稱要收回對阿布哈茲地區的掌控，還有該國內其他自治地區，像是南奧賽提亞。

Months later, the USSR officially collapsed, and by 1992 tensions were high in Abkhazia as countries like Georgia attempted to redraw the lines of Eastern Europe.

幾個月後蘇聯宣布瓦解，到了 1992 年，阿布哈茲地區內情勢非常緊張，因為喬治亞與其他國家試圖重組東歐的勢力劃分。

But between 1992 and 1993, Abkhazia and Georgia fought a bloody conflict.

在 1992 至 1993 年間，阿布哈茲地區與喬治亞共和國間起了血腥衝突。

Ethnic Abkhaz, with help from Russia, fought for independence while Georgia fought to secure its territory.

在俄羅斯的支持下，阿布哈茲民族奮力爭取獨立建國；另一方面喬治亞則為主權完整而戰。

The sixteen-month war led to thousands of deaths on both sides, while hundreds of thousands more were displaced from their homes.

持續 16 個月的戰爭造成雙方數以千億的死亡，還有上萬人流離失所。

Ultimately, a ceasefire was declared and Georgian forces were expelled from the territory.

最後雙方達成停火協議，喬治亞軍隊被迫撤出阿布哈茲地區。

6 years later they declared independence.

6 年後阿布哈茲宣布獨立。

Today, the state is recognized by only a few other countries, including Russia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

今日阿布哈茲的地位只受到少數國家承認，包含俄羅斯、尼加拉瓜、委內瑞拉。

Another region that voiced support for Abkhazian's independence was Northern Cyprus, which is another partially recognized state.

另一方聲援來自北賽普勒斯，它本身也是「有限承認國家」的一員。

Internationally speaking the island of Cyprus is considered one country, but in reality it's divided along ethnic lines.

國際上普遍認為賽普勒斯島是一個完整的國家，但事實上種族差異劃出一道界線。

The northern third of the Mediterranean island, which refers to itself as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is, as you guessed it, ethnically Turkish, while the rest of the island is Greek.

這座地中海島嶼北邊三分之一的部分，自稱北賽普勒斯土耳其共和國，如你所料，其主要種族是土耳其人，而賽普勒斯島剩下的地區多是希臘人。

Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960.

1960 年賽普勒斯脫離英國統治，取得獨立。

Like many other post-colonial situations, ethnic tensions flared once the occupiers left.

如同許多後殖民國家的經驗，當占領者離開，種族衝突就會一觸即發。

As things got worse in 1964, the UN sent an peacekeeper to the island to prevent the Turks and Greeks from fighting each other.

1964 年局勢惡化時，聯合國派出一支維和部隊進駐賽普勒斯島，以避免土耳其人和希臘人互相殘殺。

But in 1974, supporters for Greek unification staged an unsuccessful coup.

但 1974 年支持回歸希臘那方策畫了一場不成功的軍事政變。

Turkey then invaded the island claiming it was protecting its ethnic Turks from Greek domination.

土耳其於是入侵散普勒斯島，聲稱是為了保護島上的土耳其人，防止希臘勢力支配全島。

Turkish forces took control of 37% of the island and kicked out 200,000 Greeks from its northern portion.

土耳其拿下該島 37% ，還在北賽普勒斯地區驅逐了 20 萬名希臘人。

The island has been divided ever since.

賽普勒斯島從那時起便處於分裂狀態。

On November 15, 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus officially declared independence.

1983 年 11 月 15 號，北賽普勒斯土耳其共和國正式宣布獨立。

But here's the thing, only Turkey recognized the North as a separate state, and has about 40,000 troops stationed there.

然而僅有土耳其承認北賽普勒斯島是一個獨立國家，並在那裡派駐 4 萬人的部隊。

Over the years, the UN has passed several resolutions to maintain the island as a single country.

這幾年來聯合國曾經通過多項決議，堅持賽普勒斯島是單一個完整國家。

But while both sides have discussed reunification, the last round of talks collapsed late last year.

可是儘管雙方都曾就統一議題討論，最後一輪協商在去年年底以失敗收場。

So it seems like Northern Cyprus will remain not only un-unified, but also unrecognized.

因此目前看起來北賽普勒斯不僅未統一，同時也會維持未被承認的狀態。

The last example we'll touch on in today's episode is Somaliland, which is a region located in the northernmost part of Somalia.

我們今天要看的最後一個案例是索馬利蘭，該地區位在索馬利亞聯邦共和國的最北端。

It declared independence from Somalia almost 27 years ago.

它從索馬利亞獨立出來已經有約 27 年的歷史了。

But unlike Abkhazia or Northern Cyprus, no other country has legally recognized Somaliland's sovereignty.

可是與阿布哈茲或是北賽普勒斯不同，沒有任何國家承認索馬利蘭的主權地位。

Despite this lack of acknowledgement by the international community, Somaliland continues to thrive against all odds.

儘管缺乏認同，國際情勢很不友善，索馬利蘭卻能在逆境中成長。

Somaliland separated itself from Somalia following that country's brutal civil war on May 18, 1991.

在 1991 年 5 月 18 日殘酷的內戰之後，索馬利蘭脫離了索馬利亞。

Somaliland's claim to statehood stems from the fact that it was sovereign for a short period of time following independence from Britain in 1960.

索馬利蘭獨立建國的要求奠基在 1960 年曾經短暫脫離英國的歷史事實。

The territory has also done a pretty great job of acting like an independent country in the years since independence.

在獨立之後幾年，索馬利蘭在扮演獨立國家上也做得可圈可點。

It has a government for the people, by the people, its own currency, its own military and police force, and perhaps most importantly, it has control over its own land.

它有民治、民享的政府、貨幣、軍隊與警力，或許最重要的一點是它確實掌控其領土。

It's definitely not a perfect situation, however.

然而情況絕對稱不上是理想。

There remain violent disputes over territory with some parts of Somalia,

在索馬利亞部分地區仍然上演著暴力的領土糾紛，

and there are reports that the terrorist organization al-Shabab has sleeper cells in Somaliland.

甚至有些報導指出，恐怖組織索馬里青年黨在索馬利蘭暗中埋伏勢力。

Despite its relative success, some experts say that both international and domestic actors,

雖然索馬利蘭的獨立相對成功，有些專家認為國際與國內的參與者，

like the African Union, don't want Somaliland to become a recognized state due to the potential "domino effect" it could have across Africa.

像是非洲聯盟，都不樂見索馬利蘭成為受承認的國家，以免發生橫掃非洲大陸的骨牌效應。

So the thought process is basically, If Somaliland gains sovereignty,

簡單來說，倘若索馬利蘭獲得主權地位，

what's stopping the dozens of other areas on the continent from seeking independence too?

有誰能保證非洲其他地區不會也開始爭取獨立呢？

So as we saw with these three examples, regions often have very different reasons for seeking independence,

就像我們在這三個案例中看到的，不同地區追求獨立的理由通常大相逕庭，

but very few of them actually achieve full international recognition.

但只有極少數確實獲得完整的國際認同。

So which region do you think will become the world's 196th country?

你認為誰會變成世界上第 196 個國家呢？

Let us know in the pinned comment below!

請在下方置頂的留言區內告訴我們！

Thanks for watching NowThis World!

感謝觀賞 NowThis World！

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也別忘了按讚與訂閱喔！