Rump state

A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, irredentism, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d’état or revolution on part of its former territory.^[1] In the latter case, a government stops short of going in exile because it still controls part of its former territory. For example, after the Qing government assumed control over most of China, the previous Ming regime turned to resistance in the south until its eventual conquest.

Rump states in fiction

• In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, the Galactic Empire declines to a rump state in Foundation and Empire during the century gap between "The General" and "The Mule" as a result of a coup attempt and the sacking of the city-world of Trantor, the imperial capital.
• In the Elric saga, the formerly world-spanning empire of Melniboné has declined and shrunk to an island with a single city.

See also

• List of rump states

General:

• Puppet state
• Government in exile
• List of historical unrecognized states

References