Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-250) and index.
Contents:
In Search of Theories of the Multinational State -- Theoretical Bottlenecks -- Decentralization, Symbolic Recognition, and Secessionist Crises -- Canada and Quebec from the Quiet Revolution to the 1995 Referendum -- Spain and Catalonia from the Transition to the 2017 Secession Crisis -- Yugoslavia and Croatia from the Reemergence of the National Question to the Breakup -- Czechoslovakia from the Velvet Revolution to the Velvet Divorce -- The Multinational State and the Analytic Imagination.
Summary:
"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."-- Provided by publisher.
Series:
Democracy, diversity, and citizen engagement series ; 7
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.