ABSTRACT
A glance at any historical atlas will reveal that the political map of the world has been transformed many times over the centuries. Even the most ancient states such as China or Morocco, whose core identity has been preserved for millennia, seldom if ever occupy exactly the same territory as when they were first established. In most parts of the world, and at most times, the main driver of territorial fusion has been conquest, often reinforced by dynastic marriage and/or commercial exchange. Conversely the main driver of territorial fission has been imperial decline, often accelerated by geopolitical opportunism. By this I simply mean that insurgencies have sometimes succeeded when the rebels against established authority were either supported by a powerful neighbour as a neutral buffer between themselves and a rival empire, or were able to play off two powerful neighbours against one another, or exploit their control over high mountain passes or strategic choke points, in order to preserve their independence. There was a time, for example, before it became a Japanese prefecture, when the island kingdom of Okinawa maintained at least quasi independence under the simultaneous protection of China and Japan. 1
