Politics Of Separatism

This book proposes and tests a ‘theory of separatism’ to determine if there are key commonalities as to why separatist movements rise and what fuels them. In the post-Cold War period separatism has been on the rise. Today, there are more than 100 active separatist movements, with around 70 of them engaging in violence. This book focuses on examples from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to highlight the commonalities found across the case studies. It examines the idea of separatism, to better understand what drives movements to break away from preexisting states; demonstrates the factors which produce both violent separatism and the rise of armed non-state actors; and shows the options for the resolution of such conflict, based on considering claims for separatism from the perspectives of separatist movements. This book will be applicable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of International Relations and International Politics as well as Conflict/Peace Studies, Anthropology and Post-Colonial Studies.

This book investigates the roots of ethnic separatism in the Russian Federation and post-Soviet Georgia. It considers why regional leaders in both countries chose violent or non-violent strategies to achieve their political, economic, and personal goals.

Fresh insights into gendered politics in Cameroon

This book tries to theorize the evolution of identity politics leading to separatist mentalities in India. Constructed ideas of identity have been posing a threat to humanity in the name of separatism. It is now one of the biggest threats to the Indian nation-building process. The Indian government has invested crores of rupees to secure the unity of India. In spite of that, many parts of India are now demanding separate statehood or sovereign nation-state. Demands vary according to the motif, mode and magnitude. But behind every demand for full or partial political autonomy, their remains some unequal treatment which occurs in the eco-socio-political sphere and separatist movements often take place. This Study revolves around two movements led by Rajbanshis and Gorkhas in the Northern part of West Bengal. In the tiny and strategically important North Bengal region, numerous movements are ongoing for getting separate statehood, some notables of which are 'Gorkhaland', 'Kamtapur', and 'Greater Cooch Bihar' movements. Why and how this area is facing this kind of activism is the main thrust of this study. With statistical data and historical references, the authenticity of the claim of 'marginalization' tried to validate. The question of Bengali hegemony and backwardness of North Bengal is also discussed elaborately. This book thus can be an ideal reference copy for the social scientists as well as administrative officials working in/on North Bengal/Northeast India/ ethno-regional separatist movements. This book covers the hundred-year history of movements of two important ethnic groups (Rajbanshis and Gorkhas) of India and touched three most crucial issues–viz. identity, marginality and separatism.

Bands, bonds, and affections -- Secession all the way down : libertarians opt out -- "A slave republic" : secession and southern slavery -- White devils and Black separatists -- "Dykes first" : lesbian separatism in America -- Exodus as secession : achieving God's terrestrial kingdom.

This volume examines the various aspects of territorial separatism, focusing on how and why separatist movements arise. Featuring essays by leading scholars from different disciplinary perspectives, the book aims to situate the question of separatism within the broader socio-political context of the international system, arguing that a set of historical events as well as local, regional, and global dynamics have converged to provide the catalysts that often trigger separatist conflicts. In addition, the book marks progress towards a new conceptual framework for the study of territorial separatism, by linking the survival of communities in international politics with the effective control of territory and the consequent creation of new polities. Separatist conflicts challenge conventional wisdom concerning conflict resolution within the context of international relations by unpacking a number of questions with regard to conflict transformation. Through the use of case studies, including Cyprus, the Rakhine state in Myanmar, the Shia separatism in Iraq, the Uighurs in China and the case of East Timor, the volume addresses key issues including the role of democracy, international law, intervention, post-conflict peacebuilding and the creation of new political entities. The book will be of much interest to students of Intra-StateConflict, Conflict Resolution, International Law, Security Studies and International Relations.

This book offers a broad perspective of revolutionary territorial politics by putting secession in the context of other forms of revolutionary territorial politics. This allows for a more complex and profound account of secession and offers the reader a conceptual approach to politics of revolutionary discontent with territorial status quo. Second, the book provides a multidiscoursive approach which combines the efforts of constitutional and comparative constitutional law scholars with international lawyers, EU lawyers and specialists in international relations. This allows for multifaceted and, in that regard, more adequate, balanced and rich analysis of secession and the other forms of revolutionary territorial politics.

The boundaries between secessionism and separatism are often blurred, and in many cases study of secessionism encompasses that of separatism and vice versa. Recognising this inherent relationship, this book provides a comparative survey of recent attempts at secession and separatist movements from across Europe and Asia, and assesses the responses of the respective host governments. The essays address two main questions which arise from the relationship between state governments and secessionist movements: first, how secessionist or separatist movements gather support and mobilize their target populations and second, how central political authorities respond to the challenges that secessionist or separatist movements pose to their capacity to control the country. With political analysis of recent cases ranging from the Balkans, the USSR, the UK and the Basque Country, to Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Tibet and Taiwan, the authors identify both similarities and differences in the processes and outcomes of secessionist and separatist movements across the two distinct regions. This volume will be an invaluable resource for those who wish to understand the dynamics of secessionist movements and as such will appeal to students and scholars of Asian and European politics, comparative politics, international relations and conflict studies. It will also be helpful to practitioners and policy-makers who wish to understand and contribute to the resolution of such conflicts.