Separatism

Separatism is a term usually applied to describe the attitudes or motivations of those seeking independence or "separation" of their land or region from the country that governs them. To a lesser extent, separatism may also refer to social isolation or involvement in cliques. The term separatist movements usually refers to social movements that aspire to autonomy for a particular group of people from a dominant political institution under which they suffer, although separatism can also be enforced by a ruling political power, as occurred in South Africa under apartheid. The grounds for separation can be regional, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, or gender — or a combination of these factors.

Political and administrative separatism

Political separatism may involve attempts to obtain sovereignty and to split a territory or a group of people (usually a people with a distinctive national consciousness) from one another, or one nation from another. One type of example involves colonies gaining independence from a metropolis. Separatist groups themselves often reject the term separatism: they may consider it pejorative, and prefer more neutral terms such as self-determination.

Separatist movements often operate using strictly constitutional and peaceful methods. The province of Quebec in Canada has, with the exception of the October Crisis of 1970, fostered a mostly peaceful separatist movement since the 1960s. Broadly peaceful movements ended in the break-up of Czechoslovakia and of the Soviet Union. Singapore also peacefully seceded from the Malaysian Federation. The formation of the Confederate States of America in 1861 occasioned major warfare only after a series of arguably constitutional and orderly secessions.

Separatism can also often take the form of a violent response to a past military takeover. Around the world many groups espouse separatism as the "only" way to achieve their goal of national liberation. These include the Basque ETA from Basque Country, divided in France and Spain states, Sikh separatists in India during the 1980s, the IRA in Ireland since the 1910s, and the Front de Libération du Québec in the 1960s, culminating in the October Crisis in 1970. These guerrilla campaigns can also lead to full-blown civil wars, as has happened in Chechnya.

Violence usually diminishes when there exist political means that would-be separatists can use to gain more political and economic autonomy within the current constitutional order. Free elections and referenda sometimes help to reduce tensions. Very few countries acknowledge their potential divisibility, however. The wars erupting with the break-up of Yugoslavia for instance, despite constitutional provisions in the former Yugoslavia that theoretically allowed referenda and division if all member states agreed.

Motivations for separatism

Separatist movements often have at least a superficial basis in nationalism or in religious fervour. More often than not, however, feelings of inadequate political clout and perceived economic (dis)advantage play an important role. Economics proved a factor in the break-up of Czechoslovakia; a principal cause involved Slovakia's reluctance to abandon state-run industries, the core of its economy. Bohemia and Moravia -- the areas of the future Czech Republic -- had a greater willingness to experiment with the idea of a free market, and thus the countries parted.

Quebec also provides an example of how political marginalisation can lead to separatist ambitions. Throughout the first century of Canadian Confederation from 1867, a small minority of Anglophone Montrealers dominated the province politically and economically. Rejection of this status quo led to the growth of Quebec separatist groups in the 1960s and 1970s, which pledged to form an independent state that could better serve French Canadian interests.

Spain's Basque areas, which have not had independence for centuries, developed violent separatist groups in reaction to violent oppression by Francisco Franco's regime (furthermore, the Basque language, despite being minoritary, provides a basis for Basque nationalism, as in some other instances throughout the world). A similar pattern emerged in Ethiopia, where Eritrean rebels expressed from anger at despotism and corruption.

The nations of the northern Italian peninsula maintained political independence for centuries (for example Veneto had a separate identity from the 10th to 19th centuries as the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa acted independently for the best part of seven centuries. The separatism of northern Italy has not only economic roots, but also linguistic (associated with the Gallo-romance language group) and cultural ones.

Degrees of separation

A wide spectrum of different intensities of separatist feeling and activity occurs in history:

Some separatist movements engage in armed struggle using conventional military forces. Many countries in the Americas gained their independence in this manner between 1775 and 1825.

Many separatists, lacking pro tem the resources to fight openly, fall back on guerrilla tactics (and thus run the risk of their opponents dismissing them as terrorists). Basque separatism falls into this category; Algeria built up its independence in this manner; Chechen separatism has moved in this direction since the diminishing of open warfare in the Caucasus.

In cases where an occupying power has rigid control and overwhelming capabilities, separatist movements have little choice but to go "deep underground". Tsarist authorities in Poland in the 19th century, for example, generally gave little scope to Polish irredentists to bear arms and sometimes suppressed the use of their language and the practice of their cultural activities in public. But Polish separatism on "Russian" soil did not die, it merely waited for more favorable times.

Where permitted, separatism can advance its aims through constitutional means, particularly via parliamentary representation. Irish separatism took this form for much of the 19th century.

India provides the classic case of the use of passive resistance to advocate separatism and political independence. The methodology and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi proved important in this regard.

Separatism through cultural distinction can gnaw away at a super-national hegemony. Separatism in Cornwall has often operated in this manner, and it proved effective in the Baltic region prior to World War I.

Intellectually-based separatism has emerged in cases such as Cascadia. The idea of an independent Cascadia may or may not grow and take on some other intensity of separatist activity.

Temporary or intermittent dissatisfaction with a national or regional situation can provoke flickering feelings of separatism that rise and fall in popularity. The New England region of New South Wales provides a case in point.

The separatism of micronations can veer towards the non-serious. Areas such as the Hutt River Province or Sealand can declare independence and set up constitutions and institutions - issuing stamps, banknotes and passports - without necessarily greatly upsetting their metropolitan power or changing the balance in voting blocs at the United Nations. Such examples can serve as vehicles for political or economic protest without necessarily threatening existing nation-states. Jocular and short-lived entities such as the so-called Republic of Hawera come and go. In some cases separatism can almost become a farce - a far cry from the bloodshed that full-blown nationalism can occasion.

Fickle separatisms

Separatism can change in form, intensity and direction over time. Belgium fought a bloody war for nationhood in 1830. However, in the late twentieth century, Belgium became one of the vanguard countries in forming the multi-national European Union. Its capital Brussels became also the capital city of the European Union. But at the same time, Belgium itself was transformed into a federal state, with the regions of Flanders (Dutch-speaking) and Wallonia (French-speaking) gaining a degree of autonomy. Texan separatism came to fruition in 1836, as it gained independence from Mexico, but then faded with the state's annexation to the United States in 1845. Still, Texas sovereigntists support the notion of an independent Texas to this day. Much of the population of British India, prior to 1947, agitated for an independent state, only to experience Islamic separatism in the formation of Pakistan, which in turn later fell victim to Bengali separatism as the independent state of Bangladesh 1971 was established.

Countries dismembered by separatist movements c. 2006

Pakistan — 1971 split into the People's Republic of Bangladesh (former [[East Pakistan]) and The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (former West Pakistan)
Czechoslovakia — split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
Ethiopia — separation of Eritrea
Indonesia — separation of East Timor
Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia — split into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Soviet Union — split into Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
Croatia — independence of the Republic of Serb Frontier in 1991 (united the Serbian Autonomous Region of the Frontier, Serbian Autonomous Region of Western Slavonia and Serbian Autonomous Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Srem. Republic of Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Srem — after the fall of Republic of Serb Frontier in 1995, its most eastern provinces of Baranya, Eastern Slavonia and Western Srem created this UN-demilitarizing state which was in 1998 incorporated peacefully into Croatia; Republic of Dubrovnik — was an attempt by the Yugoslav government in 1991-1992 not to allow it to become a part of independent Croatia
- Republic of Serbian Krajina — after its fall in 1995, its most eastern provinces of Baranja, Eastern Slavonia and Western Srem created the Republic of Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Srem, a UN-demilitarizing state which was in 1998 incorporated peacefully into Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina — Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, later changed name to Republika Srpska which still stands today; Republic of Western Bosnia which was created out of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia in 1995 and later annexed by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia from 1993 to 1994 when it became a part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Republika Srpska — the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, which existed from 1993, in 1995 it was transformed into the Republic of Western Bosnia, which was soon annexed to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia and Montenegro — Montenegro seceded from the union in 2006, leaving both Serbia and Montenegro independent

Other Historical separatist movements

British India — Pakistan (India) - Land of the Indus Valley and the Republic of India (Bharat) - Land of the Gangetic Valley Civilsation
West Bengal (India) and East Bengal (Bangladesh) - Land of the Bengal Delta
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia — Macedonian NLA - National Liberation Army
Malaysia — Singapore
Federation of Pakistan — state of East Pakistan (Independent Bengal)
Russia — Poles, Finns, Chechens

Entities which have proclaimed independence without gaining international recognition as independent countries

States with separatist movements

See: List of active autonomist and secessionist movements

Ethnic/racial separatism

Ethnic separatism refers to groups that attempt to separate themselves culturally and economically or racially, though not always seeking political autonomy.

White separatism

White separatism is the belief that those who are of white or Caucasian race should have separate institutions or even separate societies, territories, governments, and should not intermarry or have children with those considered to be of non-white races. White separatists groups are "racialists".

Latino separatism

One of the currents of the 1960s Chicano Movement in the United States was politically separatist. Its proponents sought to recreate Aztlán, the mythical homeland of the Aztecs as a Chicano nation comprising the Southwestern United States. To further this aim, they drew on the Latin American concepts of racial identity such as the brown race and La Raza Cósmica.

Black separatism

Black separatism is the belief the Black people should live separately from other races.

Religious separatism

Religious groups whose members believe they should not interact with anyone except co-religionists tend to break into plethoras of sects. Religious separatism has become a particular feature of those Protestant churches in which ecclesiastical government and theological authority resides at the local, congregational level. Probably, the most famous example of Protestant Separatists were the Pilgrims who established the first successful colony in New England. They differed from Puritans who believed the Church of England could be redeemed through purification. The Separatist Pilgrims instead believed the Church was beyond redemption and therefore sought complete separation.

Compare the religious landscape of 16th-century Europe with that of 21st-century North America. And see shunning as a potential tool of separation.

Those who advocate a strict separation of church and state often term themselves "separationists" (with "accommodationists" as the converse).

Gender and sexuality

Separatist feminism suggests that the political disparities between men and women cannot be readily resolved, and encourages women to direct their energies toward other women rather than men. A branch of separatist feminism known as lesbian separatism advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Not all separatist feminists advocate complete avoidance of men, but instead may refuse to participate in male-dominated institutions. Some advocate permanent separation, while others see it as a period necessary for personal growth. A number of small women-only communities with a separatist philosophy have emerged since the 1970s, sometimes allowing male children up to a certain age such as puberty. Depictions of women-only societies in fiction can be found throughout history, including stories of Amazons, or the 1915 utopian novel Herland.

Some contemporary queer and transgender writers and activists have critiqued gender as a form of separatism that artificially divides the human population into two classes.