Nationalistic sentiment (fatherland, my people, my country, patriotism...) has been carefully nurtured since the rise of the nation states in the late 19th century Europe. So people are conditioned to die in the name of pride.
It's the reason we are seeing any conflict in Europe since WW2: if we decided that people can easily self-proclaim independence with a majority vote (under certain democratic principles) without regard for imaginary borders of countries post-WW2, any pretext for recent conflicts in Europe would be gone.
Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Donbas would have been split into multiple tiny independent countries, but just maybe, we'd avoid any need for war.
Conditions have to be reasonable and fair for all sides (eg. investment from other parts of the country should be repaid as if they were a loan; if they are pulling significant natural resources, remaining parts should be "compensated"; bigger parts should guarantee freedom of movement for people and goods so no crazy visas and tariffs...).
I, for one, don't see anything natural in insisting on imaginary lines on the map, or in ignoring millenia of history where states have joined and separated repeatedly in different arrangements. UN should step up the game and turn into United People, and we can move towards a more reasonable peaceful future.
It's the reason we are seeing any conflict in Europe since WW2: if we decided that people can easily self-proclaim independence with a majority vote (under certain democratic principles) without regard for imaginary borders of countries post-WW2, any pretext for recent conflicts in Europe would be gone.
Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Donbas would have been split into multiple tiny independent countries, but just maybe, we'd avoid any need for war.
Conditions have to be reasonable and fair for all sides (eg. investment from other parts of the country should be repaid as if they were a loan; if they are pulling significant natural resources, remaining parts should be "compensated"; bigger parts should guarantee freedom of movement for people and goods so no crazy visas and tariffs...).
I, for one, don't see anything natural in insisting on imaginary lines on the map, or in ignoring millenia of history where states have joined and separated repeatedly in different arrangements. UN should step up the game and turn into United People, and we can move towards a more reasonable peaceful future.