The New Catalonia: A Guide to Bougainville's Fight for Independence

In the 21st Century, it is very rare to see a new country spring up. This makes sense, now that all of the imperial powers have stopped colonizing and that there are no new continents to discover, new countries rarely pop up. Only two new countries have officially been created and joined the United Nations since 2000: Timor Leste in 2002, and the most recent country to join the UN was South Sudan in 2011. One might also argue that Kosovo counts and has a valid argument. Still, since only about half of the UN member states recognize it, it's a very grey and murky area. Montenegro also is a very grey zone, but it usually doesn't get counted because it left The Union of Serbia & Montenegro; it also doesn't really get counted. But all of these exceptions show just how controversial the creation of a new country really is and always will be. That's also what made the peaceful secession of Bougainville so surprising.

The History of Bougainville

In 2019 the island of Bougainville, with a population of 300'000 people, just off the coast of Papua New Guinea, held a non-binding referendum on its future. With an 87% voter turnout, over 98% of voters made their opinions clear: Independence. 

This is not the first time Bougainville had tried to secede from Papua New Guinea. Since their independence from Australia in 1949, secession has always been a hot topic on the island. More recently, in the 1990s, they fought a ten-year bloody civil war that ended when Papua New Guinea made them an autonomous state in 1998, bringing an end to the conflict.

Papua New Guinea's view on the matter

In 2019 with tensions as high as ever, the Papua New Guinean government did something unthinkable: They agreed to a non-binding referendum. In other words, there would be a referendum, but Papua New Guinea would not be obligated to act, and they could ignore it if they wanted to. This came as a surprise to experts, though. Papua New Guinea's most precious natural resource, copper, is located on the island. No one seriously expected Papua New Guinea to give it up so easily.

There is one loophole in this process, though. Since this referendum was non-binding, Papua New Guinea will dictate the process. They have set the official date for secession in 2027. As long as Bougainville pays the agreed sum of money to Papua New Guinea by 2027, then Bougainville will be an independent country and separate from Papua New Guinea.

The long road to UN recognition

After Independence Day, though, the work for this small island nation will be cut out. International recognition is hard to come by, and even a seat in the UN could be difficult to secure. Despite all this, Papua New Guinea has announced that they will recognize the young island nation if all goes to plan. The USA has tweeted their support towards Bougainville and has hinted at officially recognizing them.

When Bougainville wants to get a seat at the Headquarters of the United Nations, in that case, it will have to fulfill two objectives: have two-thirds of all of the countries in the UN recognize it, and none of the 'Big Five' will veto the country’s entry. The 'Big Five' is a nickname given to the five permanent members of the UN security council. These are China, The United States, Russia, Great Britain, and France. Suppose any of these five countries declare you illegitimate. In that case, you are not allowed to join unless they, for whatever reason, decide to think that you are legitimate. This is the main reason stopping Kosovo from entering as Russia and China both see Kosovo as a part of Serbia. This is why Taiwan will never join the UN as only 12 countries recognize it, and none of those countries are one of the big five. None of that matters anyway, as China is unlikely ever to recognize what it considers a runaway territory that is rightfully part of China.

Nowadays, in the 21st Century, it's very rare to see a new country spring up. This makes sense, now that all the great powers have stopped playing the colony game and that there are no new continents to discover, new countries rarely pop up. Only two new countries have OFFICIALLY been created and joined the United Nations since 2000: Timor Leste in 2002. The most recent new country to join the UN was South Sudan in 2011. You might also argue that Kosovo counts and has a valid argument. Still, since only about half of the UN member states recognize it, it's a very grey and murky area. Montenegro also is a very grey zone, but it usually doesn't get counted because it left The Union of Serbia & Montenegro; it also doesn't really get counted. But all of these exceptions show just how controversial the creation of a new country really is and always will be. That's also what made the peaceful secession of Bougainville so surprising.

Seeing as Bougainville has gone a more official route and after conducting a referendum and negotiating with Papua New Guinea and getting the support of the United States will undoubtedly help them to gain international recognition, which they will be undoubtedly looking for, especially in the long run.