Irredenta (Noun)
Meaning
A region that is related ethnically or historically to one country but is controlled politically by another.
Classification
Nouns denoting spatial position.
Examples
- The Sudetenland was an irredenta for Germany in the interwar period, with many Germans living in the region and calling for reunification with the Fatherland.
- The Kurdish territories in southeastern Turkey are considered an irredenta by many Kurds, who claim that the region should be part of a unified Kurdish state.
- The disputed territory of Kashmir has long been an irredenta for Pakistan, which claims that the region's Muslim majority population should be under its control.
- The city of Trieste was an irredenta for Italy after World War I, with many Italians living in the city and calling for its return to Italian control.
- The Golan Heights are considered an irredenta by Syria, which claims that the region was unjustly annexed by Israel in 1967.