There is an elephant in the room with (1) - I have a lot of popular support - that people don't talk about. It is a problem that is the cause of most violent conflicts today.

And the problem is this: Yes, let's say we accept that popular support is the source of legitimacy. But popular support among who? What should the divisional unit even be?

The Alabamans don't want to have their policies dictated by a Californian's vote. A deep Red community within California may even want their government to "get their hands off" interfering with their life.

Meanwhile, the Kurdish minorities in Turkey and Iraq demand autonomy from Turks' and Arabs' votes. Catalonia and Hong Kong want autonomy. Who gets to separate, and why? Yes, more votes within the voting arena wins - but what are the boundaries of that voting arena, and what is the basis for it?

The world has never arrived at a satisfactory answer for this. In the 20th century, the international community applied a strongly racial logic, separating nations post-WW2 and post-colonialism on the basis of race (and sometimes, religion). But this was always deeply flawed because of multiculturalism. So what is the rightful divisional unit? There is no solid answer.