Secessionism and the European Union

Secessionist (also called, nationalist, or pro-independence) political parties exist in many countries in the developed world; they raise—and then spend—a lot of money, win votes in elections, and their elected officials serve in seats in local, regional, and national parliaments. Yet, despite all of this effort, there has not been a successful case of secession since 1921 when the Irish Free State effectively seceded from the United Kingdom (UK). Perhaps the biggest issue is that these secessionist political parties have rarely been popular enough to form a government even amongst their core ethnic group. This is further compounded by the fact that secessionist parties have historically been unable to win support from immigrants or people outside their core ethnic and/or linguistic group. Given this context, four central questions are posed in this study including: whether—and also why—any of the secessionist parties have transitioned from ethnic-based to civic-based policy platforms? Why have these secessionist parties not yet achieved independence? And, what role does the European Union (EU) play in facilitating or deterring secession in independence-seeking regions within member states?This study examines three different cases—Flanders in Belgium, Scotland in the UK, and Catalonia in Spain—to investigate how secessionist political parties are approaching the issue of independence. All of the cases are different with respect to history, governmental structure, and economic situation. Yet all of the cases are similar in some ways—they are close to the same size (in terms of population), operate within mature democratic political systems, have distinct secessionist political parties, and all reside within member states of the EU. Categorically, in all cases, there are also shared influences of the ability of the region to secede: institutions, interests, and ideas.

Duerr traces the proper contours of a complex and multifaceted picture, allowing the reader to never lose their orientation in an authentic labyrinth of interviews, percentages and statistical data. In addition, thanks to an excellent use of transcripts of conversations with the principal leaders of the various secessionist parties, the author also manages to highlight the instruments of political struggle adopted by the various movements and how they intend to pursue their goals.... In a time of deep economic and social crisis, in a European context increasingly marked by mistrust and anti-systemic orientations characterised by the strong idea of leaving the Community path, the work of Duerr is a real beacon in the darkness. The author, in fact, not only provides an interesting point of view in one of the most controversial discussions in recent political science debates, also drawing a parallel history of the most important secessionist parties in Western Europe, but in doing so he provides his readers one of the most important contributions to the nationalism studies that have been published over the last twenty years. The success of Duerr also lies in having immediately decided to abandon the magniloquent and often intricate tones typical of some European political science literature, in favour of a flexible choice of language, easily understandable by the common reader, unaccustomed to international politics treaties or comparative political science essays...[T]he formula adopted by Duerr has been successful: easy language, a solid comparative approach (enriched, as already mentioned, by interesting interviews), a good amount of data in support of his arguments and a wide knowledge of the secessionist subject.... Secessionism and the European Union: The Future of Flanders, Scotland, and Catalonia remains an important and timely book, which deserves a wide readership. It will surely be of interest not only to scholars of political science but also to general readers with an interest in European contemporary history and politics., Secessionism and the European Union is a significant contribution to the literature on the evolving agendas of sub-state European parties, particularly those that have come to adopt the objective of independence.... The book is highly accessible, divided as it is into many short sections., The old countries of Europe, once thought to be settled, are in danger of breaking apart—a development which would completely scramble the geopolitical calculus of this region and of the world. Dr. Glen Duerr does a masterful job in explaining the roots and reasons behind three of the most successful secessionist movements: Scotland, Flanders and Catalonia. In clear, accessible language, Duerr looks at the changing nature of national identities in these regions as they steer a transition from a narrowly based ethnic nationalism to a more inclusive civic nationalism. We have long needed a book like this. It will be invaluable for anybody interested in nationalism, international relations, and European studies., In this timely book, Glen Duerr provides a thoughtful discussion of a crucial actor in the contemporary politics of secessionism in Western Europe: the secessionist party. Informed by several interviews with party representatives and officials, Duerr's study is an important contribution to the literature on nationalism.

Glen M.E. Duerr is assistant professor of international studies at Cedarville University.