# We must cut down on the number of nations **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401 "2013-10-28T00:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/41 "2013-10-28T17:03:09Z")
Poland and Lithuania managed to get along swimmingly for [a few hundred years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland-Lithuania). I say we let them try it again. ETA: Funny that both **Alessan** and I chose the word “swimmingly” ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/42 "2013-10-28T17:05:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Portugal and Brazil If my one and only Brazilian friend is anything to go by, this would be a HUUUGE no no. She has to leave the room when the Portuguese football team appear on TV. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/43 "2013-10-28T17:22:06Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > On the whole, though, I think the task is hopeless. We would be best advised to just hunker down and wait for the q-bomb to hit. Well, if it starts to get down to the line, we may just have to assign everyone to the next country down alphabetically. This would have the advantage of nobody having to merge economies with Zimbabwe. I for one welcome our new Uruguayan countrymen! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/44 "2013-10-28T17:26:02Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > If my one and only Brazilian friend is anything to go by, this would be a HUUUGE no no. She has to leave the room when the Portuguese football team appear on TV. Man. Doesn’t _anyone_ like the Portuguese? ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/45 "2013-10-28T17:27:35Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I propose the new country of Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, although the new nation may be immediately thrown into civil war between the Oxford and non-Oxford comma factions. That might worry their neighbors in the (Dominica)[sup]2[/sup]n Republic. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/46 "2013-10-28T17:34:59Z")
I don’t think it can be done. Personally, I think the evil aliens are planning to incinerate us next year anyway, and they’re just fucking with our heads. waitaminute, what temperature scale are they using? If it’s one that has water freezing at 0 and boiling at five trillion units, we might not even notice it… ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/47 "2013-10-28T17:36:43Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > That might worry their neighbors in the (Dominica)[sup]2[/sup]n Republic. I blame the (Dominican) Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/48 "2013-10-28T17:53:13Z")
I think its long past time in which the US rejoins the UK again. I’d suggest that all Latin countries pair up using similarity of food as a criteria. All the burrito countries would join together and distance themselves from the taco and salsa countries ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/49 "2013-10-28T17:53:29Z")
It seems to me that countries that border each other often also hate each other. Therefore, I suggest painting the world with a four-colour map and uniting countries of the same hue. Just as long as we can be purple. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/50 "2013-10-28T18:04:43Z")
Germany+Austria. Sorry Austria, but the time for pretending you’re not Southeast Germany is over. Canada+USA. Sorry Canada, but the time for pretending you’re not Northern America is over. Australia+New Zealand. Sorry New Zealand, but you know the drill. Mexico+Guatemala. Heck, mix and match Central and South America, pretty much anyone could partner with anyone, except Columbia+Venezuela. Only problem is Brazil, and they could just annex Paraguay. Spain+Portugal. France+Luxemburg. It’s the Alsace-Lorraine all over again. Sorry Luxemburg, you’re now Northern Strasbourg. Belgium+Netherlands. Yeah, sorry Walloons. You should have joined France when you had the chance. Italy pairs with, in a wild card, Greece. Hello Magna Grecia. Balkans? Whatever, mix and match. Poland+Lithuania. Obvious. Czech+Slovakia. Now we only have to come up with a name for the new country. Norway+Sweden. Again, stop pretending to speak different languages and being different countries. China+Mongolia. Russia+Belorus. South Korea+North Korea. Yes, there will be a war. The war will be over in a year. Japan. Well, Japan is going to have to be partnered with a micronation. Pick a random Pacific island. Vietnam+Laos. Thailand+Cambodia. Malaysia+Indonesia. The pattern in all these is there are two basic forms of integration. One where a small, even micro country gets absorbed into a large country. Another is a union of more or less equals. Countries that can’t merge with a neighbor can find a micronation. Or put it another way, micronations are going to be pretty much extinct after a year, they all get conquered. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/51 "2013-10-28T18:05:44Z")
I want to be green! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/52 "2013-10-28T18:10:27Z")
France-Monaco and Italy-San Marino seem like logical choices. Or we could have a Organization of Tiny European Countries (OTEC) and lump Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco together, like a land-locked Micronesia. We’ll throw in Vatican City just to make it an even number. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/53 "2013-10-28T18:34:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Man. Doesn’t _anyone_ like the Portuguese? They are [England’s oldest ally](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance), if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/54 "2013-10-28T18:42:28Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Tuvalu is a country - it’s been independent of the UK since 1978. Scotland, on the other hand, is not a nation state, so it’ll have to be Ireland joining with the Norwegians to loot and pillage. Let me rewrite: **Originally Posted by deadtwo99** : “What about poor Tuvalu?” They could join with Cocos (Keeling) Islands to become .cc.tv, **although the latter is not a country**. And Uruguay is already Argentina’s Canada. If it were France/Andorra, they wouldn’t even have to fight over who is the new leader! (Andorra’s co-leaders are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell in Spain) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/55 "2013-10-28T19:15:03Z")
We should merge Russia and China. We’ll cut down on evil superpower Anti-American nations by 50%! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/56 "2013-10-28T19:37:14Z")
I would vote in the U.S. referendum to request assimilation by the Canadians. Under their constitution. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/57 "2013-10-28T19:57:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Or we could have a Organization of Tiny European Countries (OTEC) and lump Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco together, like a land-locked Micronesia. We’ll throw in Vatican City just to make it an even number. Oh no, but then their own [tiny Olympics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_of_the_Small_States_of_Europe)would cease to be a real international sporting event! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/58 "2013-10-29T10:33:09Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Finland suffered for centuries under Swedish domination, Iceland under Danish, and Norway under Danish then Swedish Personally, speaking as a Norwegian, I’m all for the creation of a Scandinavian superstate. If we got ourselves de-balkanized, as it were, we could be a player on the international scene. Picture it: Swedish arms industry, Danish design, and Norwegian… I don’t know, lutefisk? No, wait, oil. Yeah, that was it. Heck, yeah. We’ll conquer Europe. And, not least, maybe I’ll finally have a chance to root for a national soccer team that’s actually capable of winning something. Although, for some reason, this doesn’t seem to be a popular viewpoint around here. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/59 "2013-10-29T10:47:02Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > We should merge Russia and China. We’ll cut down on evil superpower Anti-American nations by 50%! Poor, poor Mongolia. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401/60 "2013-10-29T11:05:41Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Oh no, but then their own [tiny Olympics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_of_the_Small_States_of_Europe)would cease to be a real international sporting event! Oh that is hilarious. I had no idea such a thing existed. On the bright side, if we de-balkanize the Balkans, Scandinavia, the Baltics, and assorted other European clusters we’ll finally solve that pesky Eurovision bloc voting problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-must-cut-down-on-the-number-of-nations/672401.md?page=4)