In 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Illinois at a Republican state convention. Included in his speech were the words: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This speech referred to the differences between the North and the South on the question of slavery. He continued: “I believe that this government cannot continue permanently8” if the two halves cannot agree. The United States cannot be a prosperous country until there is unity. Strong difference within a country does not guarantee stability, whether it is slavery, strong religious or ethnic differences. This latter problem certainly concerns many countries today. Throughout history, difficulties have been noted due to the mismatch of ethnicities with national borders, notably in countries such as Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. 6.7 This causes competition and conflict between the two ethnic groups, leading to government instability if the two groups cannot be equally represented. Just as the North and South could not be equally represented as part of a single United States of America with conflicting views on slavery, it is difficult to equally represent each part of 'a strong and ethnically diverse country. Another example of this conflict is the island of Cyprus. While it would be convenient to call it the country of Cyprus, only half of the island is considered as such by the rest of the world. Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided, Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south. On March 18, 2011, the leaders of Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cyprus met to discuss unification. 4 Despite the efforts made, we can affirm that although reunification seems plausible, it is not probable. News Centre, March 18, 2011. Web, May 19, 2011. .5 Hanes, Samuel 2011. “Europe,” World Geography (class).6 Hanes, Samuel 2011. “South Asia.” World geography (course). University of Maine, Orono.7 Hanes, Samuel 2011. “Southwest Asia and North Africa.” University of Maine, Orono.8 “Lincoln's House Divided Speech.” . Independence Hall Association, 2005. Web. May 19, 2011. .9 Moran, Michael. Cyprus: a European anomaly, 2010. Print.10 Zaphiris, Panayiotis “History of Cyprus”. From Cyprus” Cyprus Tourism Organization. Web. May 23 2011. .