Defection
giving up of allegiance to one state for allegiance to another in a manner considered illegitimate by the first state
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way that is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, cause, or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.
This term is also applied, often pejoratively, to anyone who switches loyalty to another religion, sports team, political party, or other rival faction. In that sense, the defector is often considered a traitor by their original side.
International politics
The physical act of defection usually occurs in a manner that violates the laws of the nation or political entity from which the person is seeking to depart. By contrast, mere changes in citizenship, or working with allied militia, usually do not violate any law.
For example, in the 1950s, East Germans were increasingly prohibited from traveling to the western Federal Republic of Germany, where they were automatically regarded as citizens according to exclusive mandate. To enforce the policy, the Communist German Democratic Republic erected fortifications along the Inner German border, beginning in 1952, and the Berlin Wall in 1961. When people tried to defect from the GDR, they were to be shot on sight. Several hundred people were killed along that border in their Republikflucht attempt.
The public source identifies “Defection” as giving up of allegiance to one state for allegiance to another in a manner considered illegitimate by the first state. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Defection, giving and allegiance.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Defection”, the useful work is to connect “giving up of allegiance to one state for allegiance to another in a manner considered illegitimate by the first state” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q332988. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1952 and 1961.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Defection”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Defection primary sources, Defection archive and Defection research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Defection”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Defection” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.