ABSTRACT
Just as many nations are engaged in internal political changes, others are seeking changes in their external relations. There are numerous examples of nations actively forming new political identities in relation to the United Nations and neighboring states. In 2011 the Palestinians turned directly to the United Nations to establish a new status as a state after years of failed negotiations with the Israeli government. The peoples of south Sudan declared their independence from Sudan and took a seat at the United Nations as the state of South Sudan. Nations’ political initiatives often threatened neighboring states, but tended to infuse the international community with even greater diversity, demanding greater political sophistication in states’ governments and their conduct of foreign affairs. The Lummi Nation, Catalan Nation, and the Federation of Micronesia broadened their political options, by pressing for a negotiated elevation of political status. Testing the waters, these and other nations defined Associated Nation status, Independently Federated Nation status, and Independent Nation-State status as steps toward full political development.
