2014: Year of the Separatists?

From guest blogger Tim Nau.

Separatism may have suffered a major set-back in Québec last week, but it’s alive and well in Europe.

The European Free Alliance currently lists 35 member-organizations, all of which are trying to achieve autonomy or out-and-out independence for regions now parts of larger nation-states. Since the Alliance excludes organizations it doesn’t consider democratic and socially progressive, a full list of separatist groups would be much longer.

The map of Europe would look very different if all the various regional movements were to succeed. France, for instance, would be reduced to about half its present size and six new countries might appear on its periphery: Corsica, Brittany, Catalonia, Occitania, Savoy and Elsass-Lothringen. Elsewhere in Europe, we might have to get used to such new or resurrected states as Flanders, Moravia, Silesia, Bavaria and the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

To be sure, some of the regional movements are weak at present, but others have made impressive gains: Flemish, Corsican, Galician, Welsh and Scots separatists are represented in the European Parliament, and the regional governments of Scotland and Catalonia are now in the hands of separatists. Next September, the people of Scotland will be asked to decide whether that country should end its long association with England, and in November a similar vote in Catalonia could result in a break with Spain. Right now the polls indicate most Scots favour retaining the British connection, while in Catalonia the majority seem to favour independence – but September and November are still a long way away.

Whatever happens in Britain and Spain, it’s clear that separatism is neither a strictly Canadian phenomenon, nor a passing fad. It’s ubiquitous in the Western world and it’s here to stay.