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The two genotypes of secession:Explaining non-nationalist independence claims in federal-authoritarian regimes
Title / Series / Name
Democratization
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Authors
Editors
Keywords
Secession
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
Federalism
Political transitions
Geography, Planning and Development
Political Science and International Relations
Soviet Union
Yugoslavia
Federalism
Political transitions
Geography, Planning and Development
Political Science and International Relations
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27829
Abstract
In the literature on secession, there is broad agreement on the important role of ethno-nationalist mobilization. However, during the breakup of the formerly communist federations in 1989-1992, ethno-nationalist mobilization only partly explains the secessionist claims that occurred. This study highlights a second, non-nationalist type of secessionist claim in the context of transitions from authoritarian rule. It builds on the classical model of transitions, and extends it to federal-authoritarian states. According to this argument, sub-state government initiatives for regime change can turn into a federal conflict, and result in secessionist claims with no ethno-nationalist motives. Empirically, this article provides a congruence analysis, scrutinizing the timing of the declarations of sovereignty and independence of the 23 constituent republics of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, based on a secondary analysis of the literature. While the first republic-level governments to declare independence were dominated by ethno-nationalists, regime conflict played an important role in a second, possibly decisive stage of the dissolution of the three communist federations.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2025-07-16
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1080/13510347.2025.2511764