Revanchism (French:revanchisme, fromrevanche, "revenge") is a policy or political doctrine aimed at a revenge or the reversal of the losses incurred in previous political or military defeats, most commonly, the incurred territorial losses. The termrevanchism originated in 1870s France in the aftermath of theFranco-Prussian War among nationalists who wanted to avenge the French defeat and reclaim the lost territories ofAlsace-Lorraine.[1][2]
Revanchism draws its strength from patriotic andretributionist thought and is often motivated by economic or geopolitical factors. Extreme revanchist ideologues often represent a hawkish stance, suggesting that their desired objectives can be achieved through the positive outcome of another war. It is linked withirredentism, the conception that a part of the cultural and ethnic nation remains "unredeemed" outside the borders of its appropriatenation-state.[3]
Revanchist politics often rely on the identification of anation with a nation state, mobilizing sentiments ofethnic nationalism to claim territories outside of where members of the ethnic group currently live. Such claims are often presented as being based on ancient or evenautochthonous occupation of a territory since "time immemorial".
Argentina considers the British-controlledFalkland Islands to be part of theTierra del Fuego Province. In 1994, Argentina's claim to the territories was added toits constitution.[4]
During theinterwar period, the Argentine fascist ideologyNacionalista and organizations such as theAlliance of Nationalist Youth openly supported plans to annexUruguay,Paraguay,Chile and some southern and eastern parts ofBolivia, which they claimed belonged to Argentina via past territories of theViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
Some Mexican nationalists consider theSouthwestern United States to be Mexican territory that must be returned.[5][6] The territory belonged to Mexico until 1836 when Texas established itself as its own nation. Texas citizens then voted to join the United States in theTexas annexation (1845) leading to the 1846–48Mexican–American War and, as a consequence of the war, theMexican Cession of further territory that now constitutes much of the western US.
In 1865, as theAmerican Civil War ended,Maximilian "was actively recruiting Confederate refugees to colonize northern Mexico and bring their slaves with them.Grant foresaw that Maximilian was creating a base from which diehard rebels would carry on a revanchist war against the United States and create an obstacle protecting Maximilian's empire against invasion by U.S. forces".[7]
The People's Republic of China (PRC) has used historical claims in theSouth China Sea (SCS) as justification for island building activities and revised territorial claims. The "nine-dash line" map extends the area that the PRC identifies as within its sovereign territory disregarding several international laws of the sea. In addition to civil and military confrontations in the SCS, other territorial disputes have affected Japan,[8] India,[9] andTaiwan. See alsoChinese irredentism.
Saddam Hussein's government sought to annex several territories. In theIran–Iraq War (1980–1988), Saddam claimed thatIraq had the right to hold sovereignty to the east bank of theShatt al-Arab river held byIran.[10]
The Iraqi government, echoing claims made byIraqi nationalists for years, justified theIraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 by claiming thatKuwait had always been an integral part of Iraq and only became an independent nation due to the interference of the British government.[11]
It has been suspected thatSaddam Hussein intended to invade and annex a portion of Saudi Arabia'sEastern Province on the justification that the Saudi region ofAl-Hasa had been part of theOttomanprovince of Basra that the British had helped Saudi Arabia conquer in 1913.[12]
The Philippines maintains a "dormant claim" on portions ofNorth Borneo as part of its territory, which is currently administered as part ofMalaysia'sSabah state. The Philippines' territorial claim is based on the disputed territory being formerly administered by theSultanate of Sulu under the 1878 Lease Agreement signed between the Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Azam andBaron de Overbeck ofNorth Borneo Chartered Company[13][14]
The 21st century has seen a domestic trend inTurkish politics, where the revival of Ottoman traditions and culture has been accompanied by the rise of theJustice and Development Party (AKP, founded in 2001) which came to power in 2002, along with claims to territory once held by theOttoman Empire. The use of the ideology by Justice and Development Party has mainly supported a greater influence of Ottoman culture in domestic social policy which has caused issues with the secular and republican credentials of modern Turkey.[15][16] TheAKP have used slogans such asOsmanlı torunu ("descendant of the Ottomans") to refer to their supporters and also their former leaderRecep Tayyip Erdoğan (who waselected President in 2014) during their election campaigns.[17] These domestic ideals have also seen a revival of neo-Ottomanism in the AKP's foreign policy. Besides acting as a clear distinction between them and ardent supporters ofsecularism, the social Ottomanism advocated by the AKP has served as a basis for their efforts to transform Turkey's existingparliamentary system into apresidential system, favouring a strong centralised leadership similar to that of the Ottoman era. Critics have thus accused Erdoğan of acting like an "Ottomansultan".[18][19][20]
The rise in Ottomanism has also been accompanied by claims to sovereign Armenian territory, with prominent examples including in 2015, a crowd of Turkish youth rallying in Armenian populated districts of Istanbul chanted "We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries."[21] In September 2015, a 'Welcome' sign was installed inIğdır and written in four languages, Turkish, Kurdish, English, and Armenian. The Armenian portion of the sign was protested by an ultra-nationalist Turkish group who demanded its removal.[22][23] In October 2015, the Armenian writing on the 'Welcome' sign was heavily vandalized.[24] The Armenian portion of the sign was ultimately removed in June 2016.[25] The Mayor of Igdir also claimed that the existence of the Armenian state was a "historical mistake", and that Armenia is actually Turkish territory, illegally occupied by Armenians, waiting to be re-integrated into Turkey.[25]
The instance of revanchism that gave these groundswells of opinion their modern name came in the 1870s. French revanchism was a deep sense of bitterness, hatred and demand for revenge against Germany, especially because of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine following defeat in theFranco-Prussian War.[26][27] Paintings that emphasized the humiliation of the defeat came in high demand, such as those byAlphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville.[1]
Georges Clemenceau, of theRadical Republicans, opposed participation in thescramble for Africa and other adventures that would divert the Republic from objectives related to the "blue line of theVosges" inAlsace-Lorraine. After the governments ofJules Ferry had pursued a number of colonies in the early 1880s, Clemenceau lent his support toGeorges Ernest Boulanger, a popular figure, nicknamedGénéral Revanche, who it was felt might overthrow the Republic in 1889. Thisultranationalist tradition influenced French politics up to 1921 and was one of the major reasons France went to great pains to woo theRussian Empire, resulting in theFranco-Russian Alliance of 1894 and, after more accords, theTriple Entente of the three great Allied powers ofWorld War I: France, Great Britain, and Russia.[28][2]
French revanchism influenced theTreaty of Versailles of 1919 following the end of World War I, which restored Alsace-Lorraine to France and extracted reparations from the defeated Germany. The conference was not only opened on the anniversary of the proclamation of theGerman Empire; the treaty also had to be signed by the new German government in the same room, theHall of Mirrors.
A German revanchist movement developed in response to the losses of World War I.Pan-Germanists within theWeimar Republic called for the reclamation of the property of a German state due to pre-war borders or because of the territory's historical relation to Germanic peoples. The movement called for the reincorporation of Alsace-Lorraine, thePolish Corridor and theSudetenland (seeBohemia,Moravia,Silesia—parts of theAustrian Empire andAustria-Hungary until its dismemberment after World War I). Those claims, supported byAdolf Hitler, led toWorld War II, with theinvasion of Poland. This irredentism had also been characteristic of theVölkisch movement in general and of thePan-German League (Alldeutscher Verband). TheVerband wanted to uphold German "racial hygiene" and were against breeding with, in their eyes, inferior races like theJews andSlavs.[29]
Greek revanchism refers to the political sentiment or movement advocating for the restoration or reclaiming of territories historically or culturally once associated withGreece, but currently under the control of other states. Stemming from unresolved territorial disputes, Greek revanchism often manifests in nationalist rhetoric, diplomatic tensions, and occasional military confrontations. Historical grievances, such as thepopulation exchanges between Greece and Turkey followingWorld War I, also fuel revanchist sentiments.[30] While Greek revanchism has influenced foreign policy decisions and public discourse, it remains a contentious and complex issue in the broader context of regional geopolitics and international relations.[31]
The idea ofGreater Hungary is associated with Hungarian revisionist aims at least to regain control overHungarian-populated areas in Hungary's neighbouring countries. The outcome of theTreaty of Trianon of 1920 is to this day remembered in Hungary as theTrianon trauma.[32] According to a study, two-thirds of Hungarians agreed in 2020 that parts of neighbouring countries should belong to them.[33]
In the 1920s and 1930s,Poland was trying to reclaim ethnic Polish lands that had been seized by German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires:
Poland counted herself among the revisionist powers, with dreams of a southward advance, even a Polish presence on theBlack Sea. The victim of the revisionist claims of others, she did not see the Versailles frontiers as fixed either. In 1938 when the Czech state was dismembered at theMunich conference, Poland issued an ultimatum of her own to Prague, demanding the cession of theTeschen region; the Czech government was powerless to resist.[34]
Theannexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation in April 2014, together with accusations by Western and Ukrainian leaders that Russia is supportingseparatist actions by ethnic Russians in the secessionistDonbas region, has been cited by a number of political observers in the West as evidence of a revanchist policy on the part of the Kremlin and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.[35][36] Theinvasion ofUkraine in 2022 has the same origins.[37][38]
Some Russian nationalists considerAlaska to be Russian territory that must be returned.[39] Alaska waslegally sold to the United States by Russia in 1867.
Spain cededGibraltar to Britain under the terms of theTreaty of Utrecht of 1713. Spain's claim to Gibraltar became government policy under the regime of the dictatorFrancisco Franco and has remained in place under successive governments following the Spanish transition to democracy.[40]
Sweden lostFinland to Russia at the conclusion of theFinnish War (1808–09), ending nearly 600 years of Swedish rule. For most of the rest of the 1800s there was talk, but few practical plans and little political will, of reclaiming Finland from Russia. Since Sweden was never able to challenge Russia's military might on its own, no attempts were made.
During theCrimean War in 1853 to 1856, the Allied nations initiated talks with Sweden to allow troop and fleet movements through Swedish ports to be used against Russia. In return, the Allies would help Sweden reclaim Finland with the help of an expeditionary force. In the end, the plans fell through and Sweden never became involved in the fighting.
On 24 March 2021, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy signed theDecree No. 117/2021 approving the "strategy of de-occupation and reintegration of thetemporarily occupied territory of theAutonomous Republic of Crimea and the city ofSevastopol", complementing the activities of theCrimean Platform.[41] On 10 May 2022, Ukrainian Foreign MinisterDmytro Kuleba said that "In the first months" of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine "the victory for us looked like withdrawal of Russian forces to the positions they occupied before February 24 and payment for inflicted damage. Now if we are strong enough on the military front and we win the battle for Donbas, which will be crucial for the following dynamics of the war, of course the victory for us in this war will be the liberation of the rest of our territories", includingDonbas andCrimea.[42]
La Nación Argentina ratifica su legítima e imprescriptible soberanía sobre las Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur y Sandwich del Sur y los espacios marítimos e insulares correspondientes, por ser parte integrante del territorio nacional.
Decree No. 117/2021 of March 24 on enactment of the relevant decision of the National Security and Defense Council was published on the website of the Head of State.
