ИСТИНА

Independence movements in Scotland, Catalonia or Flanders are usually labeled “separatist conflicts” and lumped together with conflicts in Kosovo or Abkhazia. In my paper I argue that conflicts in developed democracies should be studied as a separate phenomenon because of fundamental differences in their causes and methods. The difference results from the role of security issues in the formation of separatist agendas. Separatism in developing countries is driven by existential insecurity. Minorities challenge state structures because the central government represents a threat either to the physical survival of their members or to the existence of their non-material assets, such as culture or language. In Western Europe the development of national minority rights and devolution have taken discrimination off the agenda. On the contrary, citizens enjoy such level of security that makes the issues of power and territory largely irrelevant to the state's raison d'etre. The state is seen not so much as a provider of security as a provider of economic and social well-being. So the regions that can maximize their well-being by seceding do not see the reason of not doing it.