Located in the southern Caucasus, it came under Russian rule at the start of the 19th century. Following the Russian Revolution, it became a Soviet Socialist Republic, before being incorporated into the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, as an autonomous republic, in 1931.

On 23 July 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Abkhazia unilaterally declared independence. Although Georgia tried to reassert its authority, Abkhaz forces aided by Russia were able to hold on to most of the territory until, in May 1994, an UN-monitored ceasefire was reached.

Although peace talks were held in the years that followed, in August 2008 Russia and Abkhazia launched an operation to take back the remaining territory held by Georgia.

Moscow then announced that it had recognized Abkhazia as an independent state; as did five other countries: Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the Pacific island states of Nauru, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu.

Overall, it’s hard to see where things go from here. There’s little immediate prospect of reunification. Meanwhile, wider international recognition seems highly unlikely.

This is one of the most clearly frozen of all the independence conflicts. South Ossetia is different. Despite the international recognition it has received alongside Abkhazia, I’m not entirely convinced it is truly a de facto state.

Nor do I think it truly aspires to independence. Instead, many believe the aim is to unite with Russia.

In 1991, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke apart, sparking a series of conflicts. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats fought to break away and unite with Serbia and Croatia respectively.

In 1995, a peace agreement was negotiated that saw the Bosnian Serbs reintegrate their self-proclaimed entity, Republika Srpska, into the Bosnian state – albeit with a high degree of autonomy.

At first, this reintegration appeared to be making progress. However, over the past decade this has been reversed. Much needed constitutional reforms have failed and political relations have broken down between the communities.

Meanwhile, senior members of the Bosnian Serb leadership have repeatedly and increasingly suggested that Republika Srpska might try to break away and either form an independent state or unite with neighboring Serbia.

In reality, it seems hard to see how either could happen. Secession is explicitly ruled out under the terms of the 1995 peace agreement and Bosnia’s territorial integrity has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the UN Security Council.

Nevertheless, threats of secession remain a source of genuine concern. Many feel that there’s a real possibility of a return to conflict if the situation is not managed carefully.

Along with West Papua, this is perhaps one the lesser-known of the current disputes. However, it’s also one that should be watched very closely. The dispute is centered on the central African country of Cameroon.

In 1884, Germany established a colony in the region that was then captured and divided between Britain and France during the First World War. The British held part was further divided into two administrative districts: the Northern and Southern Cameroons.

When the French-held territory became independent as the Republic of Cameroon, in 1960, the area under British rule held a referendum to decide its future.

While the northern part decided to unite with neighboring Nigeria, the Southern Cameroons opted to merge with Cameroon. This occurred on 1 October 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

As is so often the case in these situations, the union proved to be unhappy and in 1972 the federation was abandoned in favor of a unitary state. In the decades that followed, resentment grew in the Anglophone region.

And in late 2016 protests broke out that led to a harsh crackdown by the central government. On 1 October 2017, political forces in the region declared independence as the Republic of Ambazonia.

In response, the government launched a military campaign to reassert control. Since then, it’s estimated that the ensuing conflict has cost over 3,000 lives and displaced up to a million people.

While there have been efforts to broker talks between the sides, these have failed to produce any sign of a peace deal. In the meantime, this conflict, one of the most serious active armed disputes in Africa, if not the world, receives remarkably little international attention.

At one time, most of the attention on Spain was focused on the Basque Region. However, for the past decade, it’s Catalonia that’s taken the limelight.

The problem really came to the fore in June 2010, when the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that elements of a 2006 Spanish law granting greater autonomy to Catalonia, the country’s second-largest province, were unconstitutional.

This then prompted mass demonstrations. In the years that followed, support for a vote on independence grew. Following an election in 2015, the Catalan leadership organized a referendum on independence on 1 October 2017.

Despite strong opposition from the Spanish government, 43% of the electorate turned out to vote. Of this, 93% supported independence. 10 days later, on 10 October, the President of Catalonia declared that Catalonia was independent – but immediately put the declaration on hold pending talks with Spain.

After Madrid refused discussions, the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence on 27 October 2017. In response, the Spanish Government immediately suspended Catalonia’s autonomy and imposed direct rule.

Within days, the effort to secede collapsed, and, in October 2019, nine leaders of the attempted secession were jailed for 9-13 years for their role in the attempt to break away.

While a strong strand of pro-independent sentiment remains in Catalonia, it’s hard to see how Spain will permit a formal referendum on the issue any time soon.

In 1763, France ceded Quebec to Britain. As a British territory, and then a province of Canada, Quebec nevertheless retained its French-language identity.

In May 1980, it held a referendum on the creation of a new, loose relationship with Canada that would essentially be based on independence – but with certain shared functions, such as a currency.

Although this plan was defeated by 59.6% to 40.4%, calls for change continued to grow. 15 years later, in 1995, another referendum was held. This time, the proposal was for full independence.

On this occasion, the proposal was defeated by the narrowest of margins: 50.6% to 49.4%. Since then, however, support for independence appears to have dropped.

Polls now show that around 30 percent of the roughly 8.5 million Quebecois are in favor of breaking away. Instead, priorities seem to be focused on retaining a French identity within Canada and pursuing greater cultural and economic autonomy – rather than outright independence.

Nevertheless, despite its apparently subdued state, there is undoubtedly the possibility that the pro-independence campaign may see a resurgence again in the future.

Meanwhile, it remains a very familiar independence campaign and without a doubt the most significant movement for sovereign statehood in the Americas.