A different appetite for sovereignty? Independence movements in subnational island jurisdictions

Baldacchino, Godfrey; Hepburn, Eve

doi:10.1080/14662043.2012.729735

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…On the one hand, new countries will probably emerge as there are still subnational regions and stateless nations asserting for full sovereignty and recognition (e.g., New Caledonia, Kurdistan) (Baldacchino and Hepburn 2012, Veenendaal and Corbett 2014). On the other hand, the pursuit of sovereignty has sharply declined in the last decades (e.g., Basque Country, Scotland) (Baldacchino and Milne 2006, Baldacchino and Hepburn 2012), some once sovereign and recognized countries have been (re)united (e.g., Germany, Yemen) and political blocks have been formed with different levels of supranational unification (e.g., Turkic Council, European Union). If small territories gained sovereignty, we wonder whether the creation of protected areas would slow down (hypothesis #1) or accelerate (hypotheses #2 to #4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature protection across countries: Do size and power matter?

Baldi

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

9Protected areas are one of the most effective tools for nature conservation. 10Consequently, almost all countries have agreed to set increasingly demanding goals for 11 the expansion of their protected area systems. However, there is a large disparity among 12 countries, and research on the cultural drivers of differences remains quite unexplored. 13Here, we explore the relationship between protected extent and a limited spectrum of 14 socio-economic characteristics, making focus on size and power features. Protected 15 areas under strict conservation categories (I to IV, IUCN) were considered for 195 16 countries, and relationships were modeled by means of LOESS regressions, violin plots, 17 and a random forest ensemble learning method. Larger and more powerful countries (in 18 terms of land area, gross domestic product, or military expenditure) protect less and in 19 relatively smaller units than smaller and less powerful countries. Out of the twenty most 20 extensive countries of the world, only two exceed 10% of protection. This situation is 21 problematic since an effective growth of the global protected area network depends on 22 the willingness of larger and more powerful countries. We propose different hypotheses 23 a posteriori that explain the role of size and power driving protection. These hypotheses 24 involve direct mechanisms (e.g., the persuasive capacity of large countries) or 25 mechanisms that mediate the interactions of some others (e.g., tourism contribution to 26 GDP and insularity). Independently of mechanisms, our results emphasize the 27

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature protection across countries: Do size and power matter?

Baldi

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It could be a matter of economic self-interest, with ties to a metropolitan state (often a former coloniser) providing a safety net or steady supply of resources-or from another perspective, a lack of economic capacity and extant skills may prevent SNIJs from making the leap from non-sovereign to sovereign status, given the additional responsibilities that seem concomitant with acting like a state in today's world (Ferdinand, Oostindie, & Veenendaal, 2020;Pöllath, 2018). It could be that island populations simply are not interested, that sovereignty has lost its cachet (Baldacchino & Hepburn, 2012). Sometimes the demographic impacts of settler colonialism complicate Indigenous efforts to exercise selfdetermination, as is the case in New Caledonia (Korson, 2018), which held an independence referendum in 2018.…”

Section: Island Sovereignty and Non-sovereignty In The Early 21 St Cementioning

confidence: 99%

Unravelling economic dependence and independence in relation to island sovereignty: The case of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Grydehøj¹

2020

ISJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Economic challenges are often invoked in discussions of island sovereignty and nonsovereignty. This paper explores the perceived link between a subnational island jurisdiction's ability to achieve economic independence and its ability to achieve political independence. In the popular and political discourse, it is frequently argued that island territories-sovereign island states and subnational island jurisdictions (SNIJs)-ought to reduce their economic dependence on patron states. Such ideas are often entangled in colonial relationships, and the scholarship suggests no correlation between economic independence and political sovereignty. I use the case of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) to illustrate the conceptual complexity and ambiguity of economic dependence and economic independence. Media and political discourses emphasise that because Kalaallit Nunaat is economically dependent on its former coloniser Denmark, this SNIJ is incapable of exercising its autonomy or becoming a sovereign state, yet these discourses simultaneously argue that Kalaallit Nunaat should not create economic dependencies on other states, such as China and the USA. This discursive construction ignores the real power dynamics at play in the relationships between Kalaallit Nunaat, Denmark, and other states. I argue that the concepts of economic independence and economic dependence are unsuitable as indicators of readiness or unreadiness for island political independence.

show abstract

“…This is particularly the case in culturally plural island territories, because as Dennis Austin highlights, "when small island communities are mixed (. Yet even to a greater extent than intra-island conflicts, relations between multiple islands united in a single political jurisdiction are likely to be fraught with tensions and antagonism (Baldacchino & Hepburn, 2012;LaFlamme, 1983). .)…”

Section: Effects Of Islandnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands of democracy

Veenendaal

2018

Area

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

From a comparative political perspective, island jurisdictions stand out as having exceptionally democratic regimes in comparison with mainland or continental polities. Irrespective of their geographical location, levels of economic development or constitutional status (sovereign or nonsovereign), with only a few exceptions, island jurisdictions around the world have democratic political institutions. While some scholars have explained this relationship on the basis of colonial history, international political dynamics or the geographical isolation and remoteness that stem from being an island, others have argued that the smallness of islands explains the correlation, meaning that size is actually the causal factor that explains the prevalence of democratic governance. In this paper, an original account of the relationship between islandness and democracy is provided, foregrounding the informal political dynamics that can be observed in island territories around the world. To do this, the specific nature, dynamics and varieties of democratic governance in island jurisdictions are examined. Most island nations have adopted the political‐institutional framework of former colonial powers or metropolitan states, and these have only rarely been modified to suit the (small) island context. Yet due to the greater social intimacy and interconnectedness of island societies, these formal institutional frameworks are likely to be complemented or overshadowed by a set of powerful informal political dynamics, which means that a large part of the political process is conducted outside of the official political channels. These informal politics have mixed effects on the quality of democratic governance, as face‐to‐face relations offer both opportunities and drawbacks for democratic transparency and accountability. The last analytical section of the paper examines the interaction between formal institutional structures and the prevalent informal political dynamics in island territories, and argues that this interplay perhaps provides the best explanation for the survival of democratic institutions in island territories.

show abstract

A different appetite for sovereignty? Independence movements in subnational island jurisdictions

Cited by 33 publications

References 16 publications

Nature protection across countries: Do size and power matter?

Nature protection across countries: Do size and power matter?

Unravelling economic dependence and independence in relation to island sovereignty: The case of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Islands of democracy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About