Introduction

I am marking the 15th anniversary of the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum approaches with this information source, designed to inform the reader about referendums in the world, past and future, where a non-state has sought permission from the local population to achieve statehood, join another state, or achieve a status with attributes of statehood.  The purpose is not to understand the politics of each referendum (although this will inevitably be discussed) but to review the rules, campaigns and results.  Hopefully, it will better inform people who are undergoing a referendum on how they are conducted around the world.