Regionalists Against Secession: The Political Economy of Territory in Advanced Democracies

Abstract

Secessionism and regionalism are two alternative strategies for territorial minorities. While secessionists emphasize the right to self-determination, regionalists stress limited autonomy within an indivisible state. If voters are rational, secessionist parties will be stronger in regions that could benefit economically and politically from independence, and regionalist parties will be stronger in regions that would benefit from cultural autonomy but not independence. Statistical tests confirm that regionalist-voting territories differ systematically from secessionist-voting territories, and that regionalism can be a reaction against secessionist mobilization elsewhere.