Exile means to be away from one's home (i.e. city, state or country), while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. It can be a form of
punishment and
solitude. It is common to distinguish between
internal exile, i.e., forced resettlement within the country of residence, and
external exile,
deportation outside the country of residence. Although most commonly used to describe an individual situation, the term is also used for groups (especially ethnic or national groups), or for an entire government. Terms such as
diaspora and
refugee describe group exile, both voluntary and forced, and
government in exile describes a government of a country that has been forced to relocate and argue its legitimacy from outside that country. Exile can also be a self-imposed departure from one's homeland. Self-exile is often depicted as a form of protest by the person that claims it, to avoid persecution or legal matters (such as tax or criminal allegations), an act of shame or repentance, or isolating oneself to be able to devote time to a particular pursuit. Article 9 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile."
