Dissolution in politics is when a state, institution, nation, or administrative region ceases to exist, usually separating into two or more entities. This can be carried out through armed conflict, legal means, diplomacy, or a combination of all or any of the three. It is not to be confused with secession, where a state, institution, nation, or administrative region leaves; nor federalisation where the structure changes but is not dissolved. There have been several dissolutions in history, while others have been proposed or advanced as hypotheticals.