Independence Movements in Subnational Island Jurisdictions

The dynamics for any moves for political independence in the 21st century are very different from those of the 20th. The aspirations of former colonies to independence are grinding to a halt; the rationale for selfdetermination is increasingly driven by strategic and pragmatic economic arguments, and not so much by nationalist appeals. Meanwhile, creative governance, fiscal vicissitudes and membership of supra-national bodies have ushered in examples of ‘sovereign states’ that approximate suzerain entities. Are independence movements active today aspiring to a different kind of sovereignty from their 20th century predecessors, one that secures autonomy at home, but which maintains a special relationship with a larger, richer, country? This collection critically reviews the origins, policies and aspirations of independence movements from the world’s subnational island jurisdictions, where a distinct and separate geography tends to facilitate the emergence of an equally distinct political and cultural identity. These island territories are the world’s top candidates for achieving sovereign status. And yet various factors are preventing them from making the final push towards independence.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

Eve Hepburn (PhD, European University Institute, Florence) is Deputy Director of the Academy of Government and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, U. K.; Co-Editor of the Journal of Regional & Federal Studies; and Co-Convenor of the European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on Federalism and Regionalism.

Godfrey Baldacchino (PhD, Warwick, UK) is Canada Research Chair (Island Studies) at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada; Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Malta, Malta; Executive Editor, Island Studies Journal; and Vice-President, International Small Islands Studies Association.