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The Symbolic StateMinority Recognition, Majority Backlash, and Secession in Multinational Countries |
eBook Available
A comprehensive re-examination of multinational state politics through the lens of symbolic institutions.
The nation-state is a double sleight of hand, naturalizing both the nation and the state encompassing it. No such naturalization is possible in multinational states. To explain why these countries experience political crises that bring their very existence into question, standard accounts point to conflicts over resources, security, and power. This book turns the spotlight on institutional symbolism.
When minority nations in multinational states press for more self-government, they are not only looking to protect their interests. They are asking to be recognized as political communities in their own right. Yet satisfying their demands for recognition threatens to provoke a reaction from members of majority nations who see such changes as a symbolic repudiation of their own vision of politics. Secessionist crises flare up when majority backlash reverses symbolic concessions to minority nations. Through a synoptic historical sweep of Canada, Spain, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, The Symbolic State shows us that institutions may be more important for what they mean than for what they do.
A major contribution to the study of comparative nationalism and secession, comparative politics, and social theory, The Symbolic State is particularly timely in an era when the power of symbols - exemplified by Brexit, the Donald Trump presidency, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement - is reshaping politics.
When minority nations in multinational states press for more self-government, they are not only looking to protect their interests. They are asking to be recognized as political communities in their own right. Yet satisfying their demands for recognition threatens to provoke a reaction from members of majority nations who see such changes as a symbolic repudiation of their own vision of politics. Secessionist crises flare up when majority backlash reverses symbolic concessions to minority nations. Through a synoptic historical sweep of Canada, Spain, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, The Symbolic State shows us that institutions may be more important for what they mean than for what they do.
A major contribution to the study of comparative nationalism and secession, comparative politics, and social theory, The Symbolic State is particularly timely in an era when the power of symbols - exemplified by Brexit, the Donald Trump presidency, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement - is reshaping politics.
Details
Part of the Democracy, Diversity, and Citizen Engagement Series (number 7 in series)
272 Pages, 6 x 9
6 diagrams, 16 tables
ISBN 9780228008064
November 2021
Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook
"The Symbolic State is a theoretically and empirically ambitious book that challenges scholars of decentralization and secessionism to consider the distinctive dynamics that occur within multinational states. In particular it challenges broad-brush theories of federalism and 'indirect rule' that assume a universal relationship between territorial concessions and self-determination demands. The phenomenon is far more complex and contingent than much of the existing research acknowledges." Jason Sorens, Saint Anselm College and author of Secessionism: Identity, Interest, and Strategy
“This is a book of many virtues and it should be celebrated.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism
“An innovative perspective on secessionist claims in multinational states. … Basta’s contribution opens up new ways to address secessionist claims in multinational states, the symbolic sway of institutional recognition, and the importance of unambiguous signalling by majority groups in the run-up to secession. In particular, by analysing processes and the symbolic meaning of institutions, he provides a useful contribution to the scholarship on multinational states and comparative politics.” Europe/Asia Studies
“Basta’s study represents a much welcomed, needed, and highly recommendable book for multiple strands of scholarship, not just for the comparative study of multinational states, but even on the state as well as comparative politics in general." Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
“This is a book of many virtues and it should be celebrated.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism
“An innovative perspective on secessionist claims in multinational states. … Basta’s contribution opens up new ways to address secessionist claims in multinational states, the symbolic sway of institutional recognition, and the importance of unambiguous signalling by majority groups in the run-up to secession. In particular, by analysing processes and the symbolic meaning of institutions, he provides a useful contribution to the scholarship on multinational states and comparative politics.” Europe/Asia Studies
“Basta’s study represents a much welcomed, needed, and highly recommendable book for multiple strands of scholarship, not just for the comparative study of multinational states, but even on the state as well as comparative politics in general." Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
Karlo Basta is lecturer of politics and co-director of the Centre on Constitutional Change at the University of Edinburgh.
Tables and Figures vii
Acknowledgments ix
1 In Search of Theories of the Multinational State 3
2 Theoretical Bottlenecks 18
3 Decentralization, Symbolic Recognition, and Secessionist Crises 35
4 Canada and Quebec from the Quiet Revolution to the 1995 Referendum 63
5 Spain and Catalonia from the Transition to the 2017 Secession Crisis 86
6 Yugoslavia and Croatia from the Re-emergence of the National Question to the Break-up 111
7 Czechoslovakia from the Velvet Revolution to the Velvet Divorce 138
8 The Multinational State and the Analytic Imagination 158
Appendix 181
Notes 189
References 211
Index 251
Acknowledgments ix
1 In Search of Theories of the Multinational State 3
2 Theoretical Bottlenecks 18
3 Decentralization, Symbolic Recognition, and Secessionist Crises 35
4 Canada and Quebec from the Quiet Revolution to the 1995 Referendum 63
5 Spain and Catalonia from the Transition to the 2017 Secession Crisis 86
6 Yugoslavia and Croatia from the Re-emergence of the National Question to the Break-up 111
7 Czechoslovakia from the Velvet Revolution to the Velvet Divorce 138
8 The Multinational State and the Analytic Imagination 158
Appendix 181
Notes 189
References 211
Index 251
