HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
|
 1
|
|
|
This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
"Separatists" redirects here. For other uses, see Separatists (disambiguation).
| The Politics series |
|---|
| Subseries of Politics |
| Politics Portal |
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.
Contents |
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, the Sicilian separatists of EVIS in Italy until 1946, 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 referendums 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 referendums and division if all member states agreed.
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.
A wide spectrum of different intensities of separatist feeling and activity occurs in history:
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 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.
See also: List of unrecognized countries
See: List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
Ethnic separatism refers to groups that attempt to separate themselves culturally and economically or racially, though not always seeking political autonomy.
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".
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 bronze race and La Raza Cósmica.
Black separatism is the belief that those who are of black 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-Black races. Black separatists groups are "Racialists".
Black separatism is the belief the Black people should live separately from other races. See also: Identity politics
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).
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.
| Types of Segregation | |
|---|---|
| Religious segregation | Bosnia and Herzegovina · Northern Ireland |
| Ethnic segregation | Australia · Bahrain · Brazil · Dominican Republic · Fiji · France · Malaysia · Palestinian Territories · Nazi Germany · Poland · Rhodesia · South Africa · United States |
| Gender segregation | Islam · Afghanistan · Saudi Arabia |
| Related topics | Discrimination · Apartheid · Apartheid laws · Desegregation · Desegregation busing · Anti-miscegenation · Nativism · Jim Crow laws · Black codes · Ghetto benches · Nuremberg Laws · Pillarisation · Racial profiling · Racism · Religious intolerance · Separate but equal · Separatism · Sexism · Tourist apartheid · Xenophobia |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
