Political Downsizing: The Re-Emergence of Self-Determination, and the Movement Toward Smaller, Ethnically Homogenous States

Abstract

The end of the Cold War brought about the third wave of nation-state creation/dissolution similar to that experienced after the First World War and the decolonization period of the mid-20th Century. This paper examines the forces driving heterogeneous state break-ups as well as those threatening larger federations and the political devices, such as robust federalism and devolution of power, that such states have employed to hold themselves together.

Keywords: federation, nation-state, devolution, self-determination, Basque country, Brittaney, Kurdistan, Russian federation, Quebec, Corsica, Chiapas, Chechnya, Tibet, Cold War, decolonization, Africa, Wilson, separatist movement

JEL Classification: K33