At present, it feels like there is quite a lot of underlying tension in the world, often resulting from long-running territorial disputes. A few examples of this that spring to mind include recognition of Taiwanese independence, and the status of both Crimea and Kashmir. Apologies if this makes these issues too simplistic, but I feel like, if a referendum that was agreed by all sides to be free and fair was held, could this result then be used to draw a line under these issues and allow the world to move on? An example of this could be the Falkland Islands: ownership of the islands has been disputed for hundreds of years now between Great Britain and Argentina. However, a 2013 referendum on whether the Islands would remain a British Overseas territory (voted on by the people who lived there) resulted in over 99% of people voting to preserve the status quo. Regardless of the past, what should be top priority in territorial disputes is the will of the people who live there, here and now; and, in the Falkland Islands, they overwhelmingly rejected becoming an Argentine territory; a result which can, and should, be respected and accepted by all, as stated by the people living there and most affected by the issue.
Although referenda often don't have as decisive a result as the one in the Falkland Islands, it gives an example nevertheless. I would therefore like to think that similar votes could be held in Taiwan (on unification with the People's Republic of China; or continued independence); Crimea (on whether it forms part of Russia or Ukraine); or Kashmir (on whether it forms part of India of Pakistan) to draw a line under these issues that undermine global instability and international relations. Such votes could be overseen by all sides, including objective external powers, that could be agreed by all concerned parties, and the referendum results would hopefully allow peaceful progress to be made around the globe with issues that have hitherto threatened conflict and complicated global relationships.
