The United Kingdom looks older and more stable, but Scotland today is controlled by a political party that wants to repeal the 1707 Act of Union, with the future to be determined by a Scottish referendum in 2014. Spain after the Franco dictatorship stabilized itself by granting autonomy to its regions, which in many ways now behave like independent units.
意大利和德国也形成于19世纪，由众多小型和中型政治单元组成。英国看起来历史更久也更稳定，但眼下苏格兰执政党正在寻求废除1707年统一法，苏格兰的命运将由2014年全民公投决定。西班牙在告别弗朗哥独裁时代后通过给予地区自治权而实现了稳定，各自治区如今可以视为独立的单元。