Framing National Identity in Independence Campaigns: Secessionist Rhetoric and Ethnic Conflict

Abstract

During secessionist mobilization in a multiethnic environment, the use of a discourse that excludes minorities can create internal enemies; meanwhile, co-opting minorities through inclusive framing can turn them into allies. From the standpoint of what sort of identity constitutes the basis of a nationalist movement, my fundamental argument is that the most crucial factor is whether there is a widespread perception of internal threat associated with the presence of a local minority. The chance of such perceptions of a threat emerging among the majority increases if the minority is politically linked to the center or a neighbor that is hostile to the movement. Yet, this explanatory model can show only a tendency depending on the structural setting; it cannot explain the timing and nature of identity shifts. I demonstrate that it is possible to include previously excluded minorities into the national collective through a reframing of national identity, and that the explanation of ethnic exclusion cannot be reduced to a simple ethnic security dilemma.