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94-430: Independence is a condition of a nation , country , or state , in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government , and usually sovereignty , over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a dependent territory or colony . The commemoration of the independence day of a country or nation celebrates when a country is free from all forms of colonialism ; free to build

188-494: A Hegelian "end of history". Huntington believed that while the age of ideology had ended, the world had reverted only to a normal state of affairs characterized by cultural conflict. In his thesis, he argued that the primary axis of conflict in the future will be along cultural and religious lines. Postnationalism is the process or trend by which nation states and national identities lose their importance relative to supranational and global entities. Several factors contribute to

282-632: A UNESCO World Heritage Site . Most of the 300 Christians who formerly lived in Timbuktu have fled to the South since the rebels captured the town on 2 April 2012. The people living in the central and northern Sahelian and Sahelo-Saharan areas of Mali are the country's poorest, according to an International Fund for Agricultural Development report. Most are pastoralists and farmers practicing subsistence agriculture on dry land with poor and increasingly degraded soils . The northern part of Mali suffers from

376-489: A change in the political structure have resulted in breakaway states. Mongolia and Finland , for example, gained their independence during the revolutions occurring in China (1911) and Russia (1917) respectively. Causes for a country or province wishing to seek independence are many, but most can be summed up as a feeling of inequality compared to the dominant power. The means can extend from intended peaceful demonstrations as in

470-402: A country or nation without any interference from other nations. Whether the attainment of independence is different from revolution has long been contested, and has often been debated over the question of violence as legitimate means to achieving sovereignty. In general, revolutions aim only to redistribute power with or without an element of emancipation, such as in democratization within

564-465: A critical shortage of food and lack of health care . Starvation has prompted about 200,000 inhabitants to leave the region. Refugees in the 92,000-person refugee camp at Mbera , Mauritania , described the Islamists as "intent on imposing an Islam of lash and gun on Malian Muslims." The Islamists in Timbuktu have destroyed about a half-dozen historic above-ground tombs of revered holy men, proclaiming

658-439: A crucial point of discussion. The rights to nationality and self-determination allow clarification. The right of self-determination allows self-governance , as for example in the case of indigenous peoples , but is not a right of secession, except in extreme cases of oppression as a remedy from the oppression. Therefore, the right to secession is generally determined by the legislation of sovereign states and independence by

752-471: A defined territory and organized under an independent government; a sovereign political state.... The word "nation" is sometimes used as synonym for: Thus the phrase "nations of the world" could be referring to the top-level governments (as in the name for the United Nations ), various large geographical territories, or various large ethnic groups of the planet. Depending on the meaning of "nation" used,

846-445: A fully modern political nationalism rooted in the model of biblical nationalism . In a 2013 article "Biblical nationalism and the sixteenth-century states", Diana Muir Appelbaum expands Gorski's argument to apply to a series of new, Protestant, sixteenth-century nation states. A similar, albeit broader, argument was made by Anthony D. Smith in his books, Chosen Peoples: Sacred Sources of National Identity and Myths and Memories of

940-468: A larger government for its protection as an autonomous region. During the 20th century wave of decolonization colonies gained rights to independence through documents such as the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples , but this right remained mostly applicable only to unfree territorial entities, such as colonies. How much these rights apply to all people has been

1034-437: A nation as "an imagined political community […] imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion", while Anthony D Smith defines nations as cultural-political communities that have become conscious of their autonomy , unity and particular interests. The consensus among scholars

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1128-448: A national identity is also a political action with political consequences, like the need to redraw the geopolitical map or alter the composition of political regimes and states". There are three notable perspectives on how nations developed. Primordialism (perennialism), which reflects popular conceptions of nationalism but has largely fallen out of favour among academics, proposes that there have always been nations and that nationalism

1222-623: A pact to merge to form an Islamist state. Later reports indicated the MNLA withdrew from the pact, distancing itself from Ansar Dine. MNLA and Ansar Dine continued to clash, culminating in the Battle of Gao and Timbuktu on 27 June, in which the Islamist groups Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa and Ansar Dine took control of Gao, driving out the MNLA. The following day, Ansar Dine announced that it

1316-517: A portion of the Sahara and the Sahelian zone . Gao is its largest city and served as the temporary capital, while Timbuktu is the second-largest city, and was intended to be the capital by the independence forces. On 6 April 2012, in a statement posted to its website, the MNLA declared "irrevocably" the independence of Azawad from Mali. In Gao on the same day, Bilal Ag Acherif , the secretary-general of

1410-590: A rift was developing with the Islamists. The Economic Community of West African States , which refused to recognise Azawad and called the declaration of its independence "null and void", warned it could send troops into the disputed region in support of the Malian claim. Tuareg military leader Moussa Ag Acharatoumane , affiliated with the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad ( French : Movement pour le Salut de l'Azawad ),

1504-497: A separate entity". After the first attack took place in the town of Ménaka , further fighting was reported in different parts of the north, including Aguelhok , Tessalit , Léré , and Niafunké . Contradictory reports on military gains and losses from Malian military, were strongly denied by the Malian government. On 24 January, the MNLA won control of the town of Aguelhok , killing around 160 Malian soldiers and capturing dozens of heavy weapons and military vehicles. In March 2012,

1598-569: A state, which as such may remain unaltered. For example, the Mexican Revolution (1910) chiefly refers to a multi-factional conflict that eventually led to a new constitution ; it has rarely been used to refer to the armed struggle (1821) against Spain. However, some wars of independence have been described as revolutions, such as the ones in the United States (1783) and Indonesia (1949), while some revolutions that were specifically about

1692-443: A statement posted to its website, the MNLA declared the independence of Azawad from Mali. In this Azawad Declaration of Independence, the name Independent State of Azawad was used (French: État indépendant de l'Azawad , Arabic : دولة أزواد المستقلة , Dawlat Azawād al-Mustaqillah ). On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state; according to

1786-432: A term coined by Benedict Anderson . A nation is an imagined community in the sense that the material conditions exist for imagining extended and shared connections and that it is objectively impersonal, even if each individual in the nation experiences themselves as subjectively part of an embodied unity with others. For the most part, members of a nation remain strangers to each other and will likely never meet. Nationalism

1880-511: Is a Nation? ", argues that a nation is "a daily referendum", and that nations are based as much on what the people jointly forget as on what they remember. Carl Darling Buck argued in a 1916 study, "Nationality is essentially subjective, an active sentiment of unity, within a fairly extensive group, a sentiment based upon real but diverse factors, political, geographical, physical, and social, any or all of which may be present in this or that case, but no one of which must be present in all cases." In

1974-610: Is a natural phenomenon. Ethnosymbolism explains nationalism as a dynamic, evolving phenomenon and stresses the importance of symbols, myths and traditions in the development of nations and nationalism. Modernization theory , which has superseded primordialism as the dominant explanation of nationalism, adopts a constructivist approach and proposes that nationalism emerged due to processes of modernization , such as industrialization , urbanization, and mass education, which made national consciousness possible. Proponents of modernization theory describe nations as " imagined communities ",

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2068-416: Is and whether there are viable or developing alternatives. The theory of the clash of civilizations lies in direct contrast to cosmopolitan theories about an ever more-connected world that no longer requires nation states. According to political scientist Samuel P. Huntington , people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post– Cold War world. The theory

2162-685: Is called the Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire transformed into a nation-state in the Middle Ages . Azar Gat also argues China , Korea and Japan were nations by the time of the European Middle Ages . In contrast, Geary rejects the conflation of early medieval and contemporary group identities as a myth, arguing it is a mistake to conclude continuity based on the recurrence of names. He criticizes historians for failing to recognize

2256-501: Is consequently seen an " invented tradition " in which shared sentiment provides a form of collective identity and binds individuals together in political solidarity. A nation's foundational "story" may be built around a combination of ethnic attributes, values and principles, and may be closely connected to narratives of belonging. Scholars in the 19th and early 20th century offered constructivist criticisms of primordial theories about nations. A prominent lecture by Ernest Renan, " What

2350-409: Is that nations are socially constructed , historically contingent, organizationally flexible, and a distinctly modern phenomenon. Throughout history, people have had an attachment to their kin group and traditions , territorial authorities and their homeland, but nationalism – the belief that state and nation should align as a nation state – did not become a prominent ideology until the end of

2444-425: Is the U.S. Declaration of Independence issued in 1776. The dates of established independence (or, less commonly, the commencement of revolution), are typically celebrated as a national holiday known as an independence Day . Historically, there have been four major periods of declaring independence: Nation A nation is generally more overtly political than an ethnic group . Benedict Anderson defines

2538-834: The Arma . Following the Battle of Tondibi in a village just north of Gao, Pasha and his forces captured Gao on 30 May 1591. Pasha was born into a family of Spanish Muslims in Morocco, who were banished by the Spanish Crown following the failed Alpujarras uprising of 1568–71 . The sacking of Gao marked the effective end of the Songhai as a regional power and its economic and intellectual decline. The increasing trans-Atlantic trade, which transported African slaves, including leaders and scholars of Timbuktu, marginalised Gao and Timbuktu's roles as trade and scholarly centers. The Moroccan expedition resulted in

2632-651: The First Tuareg Rebellion (1962–64), the rebellion of 1990–1995 , the rebellion of 2007–2009 , and a 2012 rebellion . In the early twenty-first century, the region became notorious for banditry and drug smuggling. The area has been reported to contain great potential mineral wealth, including petroleum and uranium. On 17 January 2012, the MNLA announced the start of an insurrection in Northern Mali against central government, declaring that it "will continue so long as Bamako does not recognise this territory as

2726-771: The Internet . However attachment to citizenship and national identities often remains important. Jan Zielonka of the University of Oxford states that "the future structure and exercise of political power will resemble the medieval model more than the Westphalian one" with the latter being about "concentration of power, sovereignty and clear-cut identity" and neo-medievalism meaning "overlapping authorities, divided sovereignty, multiple identities and governing institutions, and fuzzy borders". Azawad Azawad , or Azawagh ( Tuareg : Azawaɣ , or Azawad ; Arabic : أزواد ),

2820-543: The MNLA , an Azawadi separatist group, helped retake several main towns in the North, but stayed neutral in fighting between the Islamists and the Malian army. The MNLA co-operated with the French troops, providing guides and logistical services and renting space in their military bases. However, no Malian army presence was allowed by MNLA authorities, due to accusations of Malian crimes against

2914-609: The Mali Empire waning in the first half of the 15th century, the area around Timbuktu became relatively autonomous, although the Maghsharan Tuareg had a dominant position. Thirty years later, the rising Songhay Empire expanded in Gao, absorbing Timbuktu in 1468 or 1469 and much of the surrounding area. The city was led, consecutively, by Sunni Ali Ber (1468–1492), Sunni Baru (1492–1493) and Askia Mohammad I (1493–1528). Sunni Ali Ber

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3008-555: The Malian Armed Forces from the region. Azawad, as claimed by the MNLA, comprised the Malian regions of Timbuktu , Kidal , Gao , as well as a part of Mopti Region , encompassing about 60 percent of Mali's total land area. Azawad borders Burkina Faso to the south, Mauritania to the west and northwest, Algeria to the north and northeast, and Niger to the east and southeast, with undisputed Mali to its southwest. It straddles

3102-571: The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa , and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The MNLA did not establish a formal government, though it pledged to draft a constitution establishing Azawad as a democracy. The main government building is called the Palace of Azawad by the MNLA. It is a heavily guarded building in central Gao that served as the office of the Gao Region 's governor prior to

3196-633: The Niger River . The annual Niger flood was diffused throughout the Azawad by a network of palaeochannels spread out over an area of 180 by 130 kilometres. The most important of these paleochannels is the Wadi el-Ahmar, which is 1 200 metres wide at its southern end, at the Niger bend, and winds 70 to 100 kilometres northward. These long interdunal indentations that are framed by Pleistocene longitudinal dunes , characterise

3290-450: The rebellion . The military wing of Ansar Dine rejected the MNLA's declaration of independence hours after it was issued. Ansar Dine vowed to establish Islamic sharia law over all of Mali. At a conference, the Azawadis voiced their disapproval of radical Islamic groups, and asked all foreign fighters to disarm and leave the country. According to a Chatham House Africa expert, Mali

3384-405: The regions of Gao , Timbuktu , Kidal , and the northeast half of Mopti ; until 1991, when the new Kidal Region was created, it formed the northern portion of Gao Region. As such, it includes the three biggest cities of Timbuktu , Gao and Kidal . Northern Mali has a population density of 1.5 people per square kilometre. The Malian regions claimed by Azawad are listed hereafter (apart from

3478-500: The sandplains north of Timbuktu. In geological terms, it is a mosaic of river , swamp , lake, and wind-borne deposits , while aeolian processes have proven the most imprinting. About 6500 BC, Azawad was a 90,000-square kilometres marshy and lake basin . The area of today's Timbuktu was probably permanently flooded. In the deeper parts of Azawad, there were large lakes, partly recharged by rainfall, partly by exposed groundwater . Seasonal lakes and creeks were fed by overflow of

3572-741: The 18th century. The English word nation from Middle English c. 1300, nacioun "a race of people, large group of people with common ancestry and language," from Old French nacion "birth ( naissance ), rank; descendants, relatives; country, homeland" (12c.) and directly from Latin nationem (nominative natio (nātĭō), supine of verb nascar « to birth » ( supine  : natum) ) "birth, origin; breed, stock, kind, species; race of people, tribe," literally "that which has been born," from natus , past participle of nasci "be born" ( Old Latin gnasci ), from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups. In Latin, natio represents

3666-417: The French assumed control of the land between the 14th meridian and Miltou, South-West Chad , bounded in the south by a line running from Say, Niger to Baroua. Although the Azawad region was French in name, the principle of effectivity required France to hold power in those areas assigned, e.g. by signing agreements with local chiefs, setting up a government, and making use of the area economically, before

3760-592: The Great , in particular, drew on biblical language in his law code and that during his reign selected books of the Bible were translated into Old English to inspire Englishmen to fight to turn back the Norse invaders. Hastings argues for a strong renewal of English nationalism (following a hiatus after the Norman conquest ) beginning with the translation of the complete bible into English by

3854-564: The Jews of the late Second Temple period provide "a closer approximation to the ideal type of the nation ... perhaps anywhere else in the ancient world." Susan Reynolds has argued that many European medieval kingdoms were nations in the modern sense, except that political participation in nationalism was available only to a limited prosperous and literate class, while Hastings claims England's Anglo-Saxon kings mobilized mass nationalism in their struggle to repel Norse invasions. He argues that Alfred

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3948-427: The MNLA and Ansar Dine took control of the regional capitals of Kidal and Gao along with their military bases. On 1 April, Timbuktu was captured. After the seizure of Timbuktu on 1 April, the MNLA gained effective control of most of the territory they claim for an independent Azawad. In a statement released on the occasion, the MNLA invited all Tuaregs abroad to return home and join in constructing institutions in

4042-523: The MNLA had decided to withdraw from the pact with Ansar Dine. In a new statement, dated on 9 June, the MNLA used the name State of Azawad (French: État de l'Azawad ). The MNLA produced a list of the 28 members of the Transitional Council of the State of Azawad ( French : Conseil de transition de l'État de l'Azawad , CTEA) serving as a provisional government with President Bilal Ag Acherif to manage

4136-537: The Malian army. The whole Northern region was captured within a month prior to the Islamists offensive against the South. The rebels' main presence centered around their headquarters in Kidal . Islamists began slowly regrouping in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains until the French and African coalition launched an offensive to eliminate the Islamist leadership and recover foreign hostages being held by them. Tuareg nomadic groups such as

4230-520: The Nation . In her book Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity , Liah Greenfeld argued that nationalism was invented in England by 1600. According to Greenfeld, England was “the first nation in the world". For Smith, creating a 'world of nations' has had profound consequences for the global state system, as a nation comprises both a cultural and political identity. Therefore, he argues, "any attempt to forge

4324-584: The Saharan salt of Taghaza , and North African cloth and horses. The Askia dynasty held leadership of the empire until 1591, when internal fights weakened the dynasty's grip. Morocco attacked the region in 1591. The Saadi ruler of Morocco , Ahmad I al-Mansur , sent the Morisco General Judar Pasha into the area. Searching for gold, he led an expedition of 4,000 Andalusian Moriscos , 500 mercenaries and 2,500 auxiliaries, including slaves, dubbed

4418-603: The Tuareg movement and northern Mali as a whole is the Maliki branch of Sunnism, in which traditional opinions and analogical reasoning by later Muslim scholars are often used instead of a strict reliance on hadith as a basis for legal judgment. Ansar Dine follows the Salafi branch of Sunni Islam. They strongly object to praying around the graves of Malikite 'holymen', and burned down an ancient Sufi shrine in Timbuktu, which had been listed as

4512-481: The Tuareg people. Despite this, the Islamists targeted MNLA checkpoints and other military installations with suicide bombers in retaliation. In-fighting also occurred when Chadian intervention forces were accused of firing upon Tuareg civilians. A peace deal was reached in June 2013 between the MNLA and the Malian government. It gave the military lease over Tuareg rebel-held land and provided Tuareg with greater autonomy which

4606-664: The Wycliffe circle in the 1380s , positing that the frequency and consistency in usage of the word nation from the early fourteenth century onward strongly suggest English nationalism and the English nation have been continuous since that time. However, John Breuilly criticizes Hastings's assumption that continued usage of a term such as 'English' means continuity in its meaning. Patrick J. Geary agrees, arguing names were adapted to different circumstances by different powers and could convince people of continuity, even if radical discontinuity

4700-461: The betterment of Azawad. When asked about the speculated alliance between the MNLA and the Ansar Dine, Ag Acharatoumane said he "personally did not know of the alliance" and referred back to the distance Azawadi locals kept from them. On 14 February 2013, the MNLA renounced its claim of independence for Azawad and asked the Malian government to start negotiations on its future status. The MNLA ended

4794-467: The capacity to be a state. Sometimes, a state wishing to achieve independence from a dominating power will issue a declaration of independence ; the earliest surviving example is Scotland 's Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, with the most recent examples being Azawad 's declaration of independence in 2012 and Catalan declaration of independence in 2017. Declaring independence and attaining it, however, are quite different. A well-known successful example

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4888-568: The case of India (1947), to a violent war as in the case of Algeria (1962). In some cases, a country may also have declared independence, but may only be partially recognized by other countries; such as Kosovo (2008), whose independence Serbia , from which Kosovo has seceded, has not formally recognized . Autonomy refers to a kind of independence which has been granted by an overseeing authority that itself still retains ultimate authority over that territory (see Devolution ). A protectorate refers to an autonomous region that depends upon

4982-572: The ceasefire in September of the same year after government forces reportedly opened fire on unarmed protesters. According to the Scottish explorer and scientist Robert Brown , Azawad is an Arabic corruption of the Berber word Azawagh , referring to a dry river basin that covers western Niger, northeastern Mali, and southern Algeria. The name translates to "land of transhumance ". On 6 April 2012, in

5076-442: The children of the same birth and also a human group of same origin. By Cicero , natio is used for "people". Black's Law Dictionary defines a nation as follows: nation , n. (14c) 1. A large group of people having a common origin, language, tradition, and usage constitutes a political entity. • When a nation is coincident with a state, the term nation-state is often used.... ... 2. A community of people inhabiting

5170-551: The claim would be definitive. On 15 December 1893, Timbuktu, by then long past its prime, was annexed by a small group of French soldiers, led by Lieutenant Gaston Boiteux. The region became part of French Sudan (Soudan Français), a colony of France. The colony was reorganised and the name changed several times during the French colonial period. In 1899 the French Sudan was subdivided and the Azawad became part of Upper Senegal and Middle Niger (Haut-Sénégal et Moyen Niger). In 1902 it

5264-409: The declaration of independence. The MNLA was estimated to have up to 3,000 soldiers. ECOWAS declared Azawad "null and void", and said that Mali is "one and [an] indivisible entity". ECOWAS said that it would use force, if necessary, to put down the rebellion. The French government indicated it could provide logistical support. On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced

5358-445: The differences between earlier ways of perceiving group identities and more contemporary attitudes, stating they are "trapped in the very historical process we are attempting to study". Similarly, Sami Zubaida notes that many states and empires in history ruled over ethnically diverse populations, and "shared ethnicity between ruler and ruled did not always constitute grounds for favour or mutual support". He goes on to argue ethnicity

5452-506: The diverse theories about the nature of global politics in the post– Cold War period. Some theorists and writers argued that human rights , liberal democracy and capitalist free market economics had become the only remaining ideological alternative for nations in the post–Cold War world. Specifically, Francis Fukuyama , in The End of History and the Last Man , argued that the world had reached

5546-506: The eve of the 10th century. Hugh Poulton argues the development of Old Church Slavonic literacy in the country had the effect of preventing the assimilation of the South Slavs into neighboring cultures and stimulated the development of a distinct ethnic identity. A symbiosis was carried out between the numerically weak Bulgars and the numerous Slavic tribes in that broad area from the Danube to

5640-550: The formation of the Pashalik of Timbuktu . While initially controlling the Morocco – Timbuktu trade routes, Morocco soon cut its ties with the Arma. Subsequent pashas lost their grip on Timbuktu. By 1630, the colony was independent and the leadership had become indigenised through intermarriage and local alliances. Songhay never regained control and smaller taifa kingdoms were created. The Tuareg temporarily took control in 1737. During

5734-565: The independence of Azawad: Mali is an anarchic state. Therefore, we have gathered a national liberation movement to put in an army capable of securing our land and an executive office capable of forming democratic institutions. We declare the independence of Azawad from this day on. In the same interview, Assarid promised that they would respect the colonial frontiers that separate the region from its neighbours; he insisted that Azawad's declaration of independence had international legality. No foreign entity recognised Azawad. The MNLA's declaration

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5828-587: The jihadis. Ag Acharatoumane further asserted that the death of Muammar Gaddafi destabilised the political landscape for Sahelians from Mali and Niger to such a degree that it was described as "disastrous." The Tuareg rebels allegedly went into a "survival mode" for five years after his death which were fraught with socio-political and socioeconomic crises. Disorganised and unaware of moderate militias, some joined jihadi groups but left when acquainted with better options; they aimed to join movements that were "good" in nature and organised for humanitarian causes for

5922-561: The late 20th century, many social scientists argued that there were two types of nations, the civic nation of which French republican society was the principal example and the ethnic nation exemplified by the German peoples. The German tradition was conceptualized as originating with early 19th-century philosophers, like Johann Gottlieb Fichte , and referred to people sharing a common language, religion, culture, history, and ethnic origins , that differentiate them from people of other nations. On

6016-480: The majority thought and felt was likely to have been minor". A significant early use of the term nation , as natio , occurred at Medieval universities to describe the colleagues in a college or students, above all at the University of Paris , who were all born within a pays , spoke the same language and expected to be ruled by their own familiar law. In 1383 and 1384, while studying theology at Paris, Jean Gerson

6110-566: The media the new long name of Azawad was used in this pact. But this new name is not clear – sources list several variants of it: the Islamic Republic of Azawad (French: République islamique de l'Azawad ), the Islamic State of Azawad (French: État islamique de l'Azawad ), the Republic of Azawad . Azawad authorities did not officially confirm any change of name. Later reports indicated

6204-462: The movement, signed the Azawadi declaration of independence, which also declared the MNLA as the interim administrators of Azawad until a "national authority" could be formed. The proclamation was never recognised by any foreign entity, and the MNLA's claim to have de facto control of the Azawad region was disputed by both the Malian government and Islamist insurgent groups in the Sahara . At this time,

6298-400: The new State of Azawad. The Gao Empire owes its name to the town of Gao . In the ninth century AD, it was considered to be the most powerful West African kingdom. In the early 14th century, the southern part of the region came under the control of the Mali Empire . King Musa I peacefully annexed Timbuktu in 1324, as he returned from his famous pilgrimage to Mecca . With the power of

6392-515: The new state. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared Northern Mali an independent state that they named Azawad on 6 April 2012 and pledged to draft a constitution establishing it as a democracy. Their statement acknowledged the United Nations charter and said the new state would uphold its principles. In an interview with France 24 , an MNLA spokesman declared

6486-745: The north, to the Aegean Sea to the south, and from the Adriatic Sea to the west, to the Black Sea to the east, who accepted the common ethnonym " Bulgarians ". During the 10th century the Bulgarians established a form of national identity that was far from modern nationalism but helped them to survive as a distinct entity through the centuries. Anthony Kaldellis asserts in Hellenism in Byzantium (2008) that what

6580-483: The other hand, the civic nation was traced to the French Revolution and ideas deriving from 18th-century French philosophers. It was understood as being centred in a willingness to "live together", this producing a nation that results from an act of affirmation. This is the vision, among others, of Ernest Renan . There is an ongoing debate about the future of nations − about whether this framework will persist as

6674-570: The others, and a Knight has charge of each one of these hostels, and provides for the necessities of the inmates according to their religion", as the Spanish traveller Pedro Tafur noted in 1436. In his article, "The Mosaic Moment: An Early Modernist Critique of the Modernist Theory of Nationalism", Philip S. Gorski argues that the first modern nation-state was the Dutch Republic , created by

6768-572: The portion of Mopti Region claimed and occupied by the MNLA). The population figures are from the 2009 census of Mali , taken before Azawadi independence was proclaimed. Since the start of the Tuareg rebellion in January 2012, an estimated 250,000 former inhabitants have fled the territory. The area was traditionally inhabited by the settled Songhay , and the nomadic Tuareg , Arabs , and Fulas ( Fula : Fulɓe ; French: Peul ). The ethnic composition of

6862-426: The present landscape. The MNLA in its declaration of independence announced the first political institutions of the state of Azawad. It included: Although the MNLA claimed responsibility for managing the country "until the appointment of a national authority" in their declaration of independence , it has acknowledged the presence of rival armed groups in the region, including Islamist fighters under Ansar Dine ,

6956-526: The rebels. A day later, 2,000 protesters joined a new rally against separatism. According to Ramtane Lamamra , the African Union 's peace and security commissioner, the African Union has discussed sending a military force to reunify Mali. He said that negotiations with terrorists had been ruled out, but negotiations with other armed factions were still open. Azawad, as proclaimed by the MNLA, includes

7050-480: The regions in 1950 (at that time, Kidal Region was a part of Gao Region) and in 2009 is shown in the adjacent diagrams. The languages of Northern Mali include Hassaniya Arabic , Fulfulde and Songhay , Tamashek . French, though not spoken natively, is widely used as a lingua franca, as well as negotiations with the government of Mali and foreign affairs. Most are Muslims , of the Sunni orientations. Most popular in

7144-539: The remainder of the 18th century, various Tuareg tribes, Bambara and Kounta briefly occupied or besieged the city. During this period, the influence of the Pashas , who by then had mixed with the Songhay through intermarriage, never completely disappeared. The Massina Empire took control of Timbuktu in 1826, holding it until 1865, when they were driven away by El Hadj Umar Tall 's Toucouleur Empire . Sources conflict on who

7238-519: The sole exception. He viewed them as the "true proto-nation" that provided the original model of nationhood through the foundational example of ancient Israel in the Hebrew Bible , despite losing their political sovereignty for nearly two millennia. The Jews, however, maintained a cohesive national identity throughout this period, which ultimately culminated in the emergence of Zionism and the establishment of modern lsrael. Anthony D. Smith wrote that

7332-487: The term " nation state " could be used to distinguish larger states from small city states , or could be used to distinguish multinational states from those with a single ethnic group. The broad consensus amongst scholars of nationalism is that nations are a recent phenomenon. However, some historians argue that their existence can be traced to the medieval period. Adrian Hastings argued that nations and nationalism are predominantly Christian phenomena, with Jews being

7426-458: The terrain: "Much of the land is the Sahara desert at its most inhospitable: rock, sand dunes and dust scored by shifting tracks." Some definitions of Azawad also include parts of northern Niger and southern Algeria , adjacent areas to the south and the north though in its declaration of independence, the MNLA did not advance territorial claims on those areas. Traditionally, Azawad has referred to

7520-467: The trend Huntington identifies, including economic globalization , a rise in importance of multinational corporations , the internationalization of financial markets, the transfer of socio-political power from national authorities to supranational entities, such as multinational corporations, the United Nations and the European Union and the advent of new information and culture technologies such as

7614-459: Was a short-lived unrecognised state lasting between 2012 and 2013. Azawagh ( Azawaɣ ) is the generic Tuareg Berber name for all Tuareg Berber areas , especially the northern half of Mali and northern and western Niger . The Azawadi declaration of independence was declared unilaterally by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012, after a Tuareg rebellion drove

7708-422: Was carried out by Islamists killing over 30 unarmed men. There was a referendum scheduled for 2017 on gaining autonomy and renaming the northern regions into "Azawad". However, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita shelved the plans for the referendum on constitutional reforms that were met with opposition and ignited regular street protests. The local climate is desert or semi-desert . Reuters wrote of

7802-556: Was elected twice as a procurator for the French natio . The University of Prague adopted the division of students into nationes : from its opening in 1349 the studium generale which consisted of Bohemian, Bavarian, Saxon and Polish nations . In a similar way, the nationes were segregated by the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem , who maintained at Rhodes the hostels from which they took their name "where foreigners eat and have their places of meeting, each nation apart from

7896-419: Was immediately rejected by the African Union , who declared it "null and no value whatsoever". The French Foreign Ministry said it would not recognise the unilateral partition of Mali , but it called for negotiations between the two entities to address "the demands of the northern Tuareg population [which] are old and for too long had not received adequate and necessary responses". The United States also rejected

7990-535: Was in control of Timbuktu and Kidal, the three biggest cities of northern Mali. Ansar Dine continued its offensive against MNLA positions and overran all remaining MNLA held towns by 12 July with the fall of Ansongo . In December 2012, the MNLA agreed on Mali's national unity and territorial integrity in talks with both the central government and Ansar Dine. In January 2013, a minor insurgency began when Islamist fundamentalist groups attempted to take control of all of Mali. France and Chad sent troops in support of

8084-708: Was in control when the French colonizers arrived: a 1924 article in the Journal of the Royal African Society mentions the Tuareg, the historian Elias N. Saad in 1983 suggests the Soninke Wangara , while the Africanist John Hunwick wrote in 2003 that several states competed for power 'in a shadowy way' until 1893. After European powers formalized the scramble for Africa in the Berlin Conference ,

8178-560: Was in severe conflict with Timbuktu after its conquest. Askia Mohammad I created a golden age for both the Songhay Empire and Timbuktu through an efficient central and regional administration that allowed sufficient leeway for the city's commercial centers to flourish. With Gao as the capital of the empire, Timbuktu enjoyed a relatively autonomous position. Merchants from Ghadames , Awjilah , and numerous other cities of North Africa gathered there to trade gold and slaves in exchange for

8272-600: Was interviewed by the French language news outlet TV5Monde , during its "Le journal Afrique" or "African Journal" segment, about hostile events that occurred between the MNLA and other separatist groups against jihadi extremists in 2012. He claimed that jihadi groups, and the Ansar Dine in particular, had been in the region of Azawad for 10 years before the circumstances which led to the Azawadi declaration of independence. Locals had heard of their extremist views in respect to sharia then subsequently distanced themselves from

8366-554: Was never the primary basis of identification for the members of these multinational empires. Paul Lawrence criticises Hastings's reading of Bede, observing that those writing so-called 'national' histories may have "been working with a rather different notion of 'the nation' to those writing history in the modern period". Lawrence goes on to argue that such documents do not demonstrate how ordinary people identified themselves, pointing out that, while they serve as texts in which an elite defines itself, "their significance in relation to what

8460-489: Was not to be considered "definitively partitioned". The peoples who constitute a major share of the population of northern Mali, such as Songhai and Fulani, considered themselves to be Malian and had no interest in a separate Tuareg-dominated state. On the day of the declaration of independence, about 200 Malian northerners staged a rally in Bamako, declaring their rejection of the partition and their willingness to fight to drive out

8554-557: Was originally formulated in a 1992 lecture at the American Enterprise Institute , which was then developed in a 1993 Foreign Affairs article titled "The Clash of Civilizations?", in response to Francis Fukuyama 's 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man . Huntington later expanded his thesis in a 1996 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order . Huntington began his thinking by surveying

8648-473: Was renamed as Senegambia and Niger (Sénégambie et Niger), and in 1904 this was changed again to Upper Senegal and Niger (Haut-Sénégal et Niger). This name was used until 1920 when it became French Sudan again. French Sudan became the autonomous state of Mali within the French Community in 1958, and Mali became independent from France in 1960. Four major Tuareg rebellions took place against Malian rule:

8742-486: Was requested after the MNLA revoked their Independence claim. This allowed the northern part of the country to participate in the Malian presidential elections the same month. The ceasefire didn't last long before Malian troops clashed with rebels in skirmishes. In February 2014, a massacre of a Malian general's family who were ethnic Tuareg led to an ethnic conflict between Fulani Islamists and Tuareg MNLA separatists. A massacre deliberately targeting Tuareg majority civilians

8836-513: Was the lived reality. Florin Curta cites Medieval Bulgarian nation as another possible example. Danubian Bulgaria was founded in 680-681 as a continuation of Great Bulgaria . After the adoption of Orthodox Christianity in 864 it became one of the cultural centres of Slavic Europe. Its leading cultural position was consolidated with the invention of the Cyrillic script in its capital Preslav on

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