16 segments of European states that threaten to break away – or have already effectively done so

Some people thought that the European Union project would dampen down pressures for bits of European nation states to seek secession. The idea was that we would have a ‘Europe of the regions’ with citizens less concerned about which country they beloged to. It hasn’t happened like that.

In EU nations both large and small, there are many cases of sections of the country wanting not simply more autonomy but actual independence. The break-up of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union has added to the multiplicity of territories seeking nation state status.

The “Guardian” newspaper today has an interactive map identifying no less than 16 places that want to be countries in their own right – see here.

I have mixed feelings about such developments. On the one hand, as a democrat I favour self-determination if citizens feel oppressed. On the other hand, as an internationalist I oppose sectarianism and fear that separatism often heightens rather than resolves differences of ethnicity or language.

I am reminded of a conversation I once had with someone in Tel Aviv when we discussed whether Iraq would or should fragment into three new states. The conversation led me to write a short essay for my web site in which I addressed the questions: How do we define a nation state? Who decides whether a territory is to constitute a state? How do we deal with those who do not identify with the state?

You can read my essay here.


 




XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>