Article Title
From Pipedream to Possibility: How European Integration has Helped Secessionist Movements
Abstract
The European project has brought the states of Europe ever closer together while inadvertently strengthening secessionist movements that seek to fracture the very states it has brought together. Through integration, many of the benefits a region with a potential desire for independence gains from remaining a part of its host state are transferred to the European level. Current academic consensus argues that European integration has overall harmed secessionist movements, but since the UKs decision to leave the EU, this argument has become outdated and no longer holds the strength it once did. This article uses current academic literature on the topic as well as statements from European politicians and separatist political parties to explore and compare the cases of secessionist movements in Scotland, Catalonia, and Flanders. While chosen for their strength and their diversity in circumstances, these independence movements are united in being transformed from pipedreams to possibilities thanks to European integration.
DOI
10.5642/urceu.202101.04
Rights Information
2021 Austin E. Bicknell
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Bicknell, Austin E.
(2021)
"From Pipedream to Possibility: How European Integration has Helped Secessionist Movements,"
Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union:
Vol. 2021, Article 4.
DOI: 10.5642/urceu.202101.04
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2021/iss1/4