Nationalism -  Loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially : a sense of national consciousness placing primary emphasis on one nation and promoting its culture and interests. The desire to create an independent nation if one does not exist

QuebecThe Quebec sovereignty movement is a political movement as well as an ideology of values, concepts and ideas that advocates sovereignty for the Canadian province of Quebec

Puerto RicoA referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico was held in Puerto Rico on November 6, 2012. It was the fourth referendum on status to be held in Puerto Rico and the first in which a majority voted for statehood. Puerto Rico has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since the Spanish–American War in 1898.

TibetThe Tibetan independence movement is a movement for the independence of Tibet and the political separation of Tibet from the People's Republic of China.China sent in thousands of troops to enforce its claim on Tibet in 1950. In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and set up a government in exile in India. Most of Tibet's monasteries were destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s during China's Cultural Revolution.

Basque SpainIn the Basque Country, the separatist group ETA waged nearly five decades of an armed struggle for independence. The fight there is Western Europe's last armed conflict, and at the heart of it is one of Western Europe’s oldest languages. The Basque people have an ancient history and nationalists here want self-determination to revive their culture and language, which is spoken by less than one third of the Basque population.

CataloniaWithout ever having fired a bullet, Catalan nationalists are moving one step closer to their goal of forming a state independent from Spain.  In November, 2014 they held a referendum on this question.In a non-binding referendum showing, the determination of the Catalan population to decide their own future. A total of 2,305,290 Catalans cast their vote. 80.76% of the citizens voted in favor of independence, 4.54% against and 10.7% in favor of a non-independent state.

ScotlandScottish independence is a political aim of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals in Scotland (which is a country of the United Kingdom) for the country to become an independent sovereign state. A national referendum was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. Voters were asked to answer either "Yes" or "No" to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?“  55.3% of voters answered "No" and 44.7% answered "Yes", with a voter turnout of 84.5%.

CorsicaCorsican nationalism is a social and political movement in Corsica, active since the 1960s. Bombings against state buildings and second homes belonging to mainlanders have been constant GOALS:Separation from France is partially based on cultural and ethnic differences between the island and the mainland. Promotion of the Corsican language, and its compulsory teaching in schools.Limiting of tourism, and in its place sustainable economic development.

Venice (Veneto)A movement for the Italian region that includes Venice to declare itself an independent state, as it was centuries ago, is gaining momentum here amid chaotic national economic policies from Rome and local pride in the region's 1,000-year history of achievement in the arts and merchant class.The Venetian independence referendum of 2014 was an unofficial, non-binding, online and privately organized poll held among residents of Veneto, one of the 20 regions of Italy, 16–21 March 2014. Venetians say they support the movement partially out of frustration at seeing their taxes used to support the underdeveloped southern part of the country. 

Faroe Islands

The Faroese independence movement or the Faroese national movement is a political movement which seeks the establishment of the Faroe Islands as a sovereign nation outside of Denmark. Reasons for complete autonomy include the lingual and cultural divide between Denmark and the Faroe Islands as well as their lack of proximity to one another; the Faroe Islands are about 990 km (approximately 620 miles) from Danish shores.

Donetsk People’s RepublicThe Donetsk People's Republic (DPR or DNR) is an unrecognized state, supported by several rebel groups based in the Donetsk oblast of Ukraine, where it controls territory. It is a self-proclaimed state which is totally rejected by the international community, that receives humanitarian and military support from Russia.  The entity was declared on 7 April 2014 by a group of armed and masked militants who occupied the Regional Administration and the City Hall buildings in Donetsk.  Occupation of government buildings then spread to other cities in the region.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front. It is listed by the United Nations (UN), as a non-decolonized territory. Since the Madrid Accords of 1975, a part of Western Sahara has been administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Another section, the Liberated Territories, is administered by the Polisario Front as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Mauritania administers temporally the western half of the Ras Nouadhibou Peninsula. A UN-monitored cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991.  In order to resolve the sovereignty issue, the UN has attempted to hold a referendum in Western Sahara, and is holding direct talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The UN recognizes neither Moroccan nor SADR sovereignty over Western Sahara.

PalestineThe State of Palestine is a partially recognized proto-state in the Middle East.  Its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Algiers as a government-in-exile. The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with eastern Jerusalem as the designated capital, with partial control of those areas assumed in 1994 as the Palestinian Authority. Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 after the Six-Day War. The Palestinian Authority applied for United Nations (UN) membership in 2011 & 2012 was granted a non-member observer state status.

KurdistanAn independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan was planned to be held in 2014 amidst controversy and dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government of Iraq. Longstanding calls for Kurdish independence gained impetus following the Northern Iraq offensive by ISIL in which central forces abandoned some areas, which were then taken and controlled by the Kurds. More recently, Kurdish leaders have agreed to postpone the referendum while they focus on the fight against ISIS.

Islamic State (ISIS)The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Salafi jihadist extremist militant group and self-proclaimed Islamic state and caliphate, which is led by and mainly composed of Sunni Arabs from Iraq and Syria. As of March 2015, it has control over territory occupied by ten million people in Iraq and Syria, and has nominal control over small areas of Libya, Nigeria and in eastern Afghanistan.