Is Self-Determination Contagious? A Spatial Analysis of the Spread of Self-Determination Claims

25 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2014

See all articles by Kathleen Cunningham

Kathleen Cunningham

University of Maryland, Dept. of Government and Politics; PRIO

Date Written: August 22, 2014

Abstract

Self-determination claims have abounded in the international system since the end of WWII. But these claims have not emerged everywhere. About half of the states in the international system face some challenge related to self-determination today. Why do some states face these demands while others do not? I argue that ethno-national self-determination is one of many identities that individuals can find affinity with. While an international norm related to self-determination has developed globally, its use as a basis for political claims has diffused regionally. Diffusion of self-determination occurs through observation of others using self-determination as a basis of organization, generating a sense of legitimacy, sensitivity to related grievance, and perceptions of tangible benefits related to self-determination identification. I test this empirically on global data on self-determination claims from 1960 to 2005 and find evidence of spatial diffusion, suggesting that self-determination is, to some extent, contagious.

Keywords: self-determination, contagion

Suggested Citation

Cunningham, Kathleen, Is Self-Determination Contagious? A Spatial Analysis of the Spread of Self-Determination Claims (August 22, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2485190 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2485190

Kathleen Cunningham (Contact Author)

University of Maryland, Dept. of Government and Politics ( email )

3140 Tydings Hall
College Park, MD 20742
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.gvpt.umd.edu/kcunningham/

PRIO ( email )

Oslo
N-0260 Oslo
Norway

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