Independence Movements in Democracies

Nationalism remains a force even within long-established democracies, where some regions with distinct identities seek greater autonomy or independence. In Canada, the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec held two referendums on sovereignty: in 1980, about 60 percent voted no, and in 1995 the 'no' side won by only about one percentage point. Canada's Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that Quebec could not secede unilaterally, but that a clear majority on a clear question would oblige negotiations.

In the United Kingdom, Scotland held an agreed independence referendum in 2014, in which about 55 percent voted to remain. In Spain, the Catalan regional government held a referendum in October 2017 that Spain's Constitutional Court had suspended as unconstitutional; the subsequent declaration of independence was not recognized, and Spain imposed direct rule temporarily.

These cases raise difficult questions on which reasonable people disagree: who counts as 'the people' entitled to decide, how secession should be decided, and how to balance regional identity with national unity and constitutional law.