How Self-Determination Shaped the Modern World
 

Fifty independent countries existed in 1920. Today, there are nearly two hundred. One of the motivating forces behind this wave of country-creation was self-determination. This is the concept that nations (groups of people united by ethnicity, language, geography, history, or other common characteristics) should be able to determine their political future.

Explore more about how these countries came to be and whether the map is set in stone.