Internet quiz

“There are just eight states on earth which both existed in 1914 and have not had their form of government changed by violence since then.” -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

What are the eight? (No googling the quote.)

Comments

  1. I think that there is no such state in Asia nor South America nor Africa. Europe's map has changed a lot and had 2 wars, a lot of coups.

    Let's say :
    - Switzerland
    - Great britain
    - Norway
    - United States of America
    for sure.

    Maybe also Sweden. If you count the british dominions (were they States ?) I would add Australia, New-Zealand and Canada.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, Norway had a fascist puppet state in the 1940s! The one you missed is a bit of a surprise: South Africa! The apartheid regime was not violently overthrown.

      Delete
    2. I knew I could have a problem with Sweden, but obviously I made a confusion with Norway.

      About South Africa (I lived in Pretoria from 2011 to mid 2014) I was thinking about it, but since the ANC waged a peoples's war for 2 decades with tens of thousands of casualties, I couldn't think it was non violent.

      By the way, I wrote an article after Mandela's death on that topic, for the french Institut Turgot.

      Since I know you learned French, I give you the link, I hope you won't mind.
      http://blog.turgot.org/index.php?post/Braun-Mandela

      Delete
    3. Yes, I thought South Africa was a little problematic as well, but those were Moynihan's answers, not mine. Thanks for the link!

      Delete
  2. UK, Canada, US, Australia, NZ, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland?? (I failed history.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iceland was not a state yet! The rest you got.

      Delete
    2. Didn't know Iceland wasn't a state in 1914. And we sort of invaded Iceland in the 1940's too, I think, though didn't really change its government.

      The anglosphere predominates in the list, is the lesson I draw.

      Delete
    3. Nick, it struck me too, how dominant the Anglosphere is in this list: even South Africa!

      Delete
  3. Before peeking at the others ...

    Canada
    USA
    Gr Britain(? Ireland might be a problem here)
    The better neutrals in ww2 Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco.
    Mexico(?)


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought Ireland was a problem for Moynihan's list as well, but I guess cleaving off part of a country by violence didn't count.

      Delete
  4. Doh! Oz and NZ of course! Stupid to have missed those.

    ReplyDelete
  5. US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Liechtenstein.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would guess with Liechtenstein, the issue was the post WWI settlement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein#20th_century

      Delete

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