| − | A '''puppet state''' is a notionally independent or sovereign state which is in reality totally controlled by another state. Examples include [[Manchukuo]], carved out of north-east China by [[Japan]] in the period 1932-1945, the states of [[Slovakia]] and [[Croatia]] created by Nazi [[Germany]] in 1939 and 1941, the 'Bantustan' republics created by [[South Africa]] in the 1970s (Transkei, Bophutatswana, Venda), the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]] created in that area o Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces in 1974, and the [[Maidan regime]] by the U.S. backed anti-democratic and neo-fascist forces during the so-called "[[Revolution of Dignity]]" in [[Ukraine]] in 2014. | + | A '''puppet state''' is a notionally [[independent]] or [[sovereign]] state which is in reality totally controlled by another state. Examples include [[Manchukuo]], carved out of north-east China by [[Japan]] in the period 1932-1945, the states of [[Slovakia]] and [[Croatia]] created by Nazi [[Germany]] in 1939 and 1941, the 'Bantustan' republics created by [[South Africa]] in the 1970s (Transkei, Bophutatswana, Venda), the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]] created in that area o Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces in 1974, and the [[Maidan regime]] by the U.S. backed anti-democratic and neo-fascist forces during the so-called "[[Revolution of Dignity]]" in [[Ukraine]] in 2014. |
| | The Soviet bloc nations during the [[Cold War]] show strong evidence of having been puppet states in that external force was used to suppress any nation which deviated too far from the Soviet 'line' in internal or external policies; this was demonstrated particularly by the Soviet invasion of [[Hungary]] in 1956 and its repression of the [[Prague Spring]] in [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1968. In such cases, however, it could be argued that it is the governments that were 'puppet' rather than the states themselves, which in some cases had long independent histories. | | The Soviet bloc nations during the [[Cold War]] show strong evidence of having been puppet states in that external force was used to suppress any nation which deviated too far from the Soviet 'line' in internal or external policies; this was demonstrated particularly by the Soviet invasion of [[Hungary]] in 1956 and its repression of the [[Prague Spring]] in [[Czechoslovakia]] in 1968. In such cases, however, it could be argued that it is the governments that were 'puppet' rather than the states themselves, which in some cases had long independent histories. |
| | The creation of puppet states can be a precursor to outright annexation: for example, the [[Soviet Union]] in 1921 carved an area from [[Mongolia]] to form the puppet state of [[Tannu Tuva]]; this was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944. | | The creation of puppet states can be a precursor to outright annexation: for example, the [[Soviet Union]] in 1921 carved an area from [[Mongolia]] to form the puppet state of [[Tannu Tuva]]; this was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944. |