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Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession,^[1] separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy.^[2] Some groups refer to their organizing as independence, self-determination, partition or decolonization movements instead of, or in addition to, autonomist, separatist or secession movements.^{[citation needed]} While some critics may equate separatism and religious segregation, racial segregation or sexual segregation, separatists argue that separation by choice is not the same as government-enforced segregation and may serve useful purposes.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Motivations for separatism[link]

Groups may have one or more motivations for separation, including^[8]:

• emotional resentment of rival communities
• protection from ethnic cleansing and genocide
• justified resistance by victims of oppression, including denigration of their language, culture or religion
• propaganda by those who hope to gain politically from intergroup conflict and hatred
• the economic and political dominance of one group that does not share power and privilege in an egalitarian fashion
• economic motivations: seeking to end economic exploitation by more powerful group or, conversely, to escape economic redistribution from a richer to a poorer group
• preservation of threatened religious, language or other cultural tradition
• destabilization from one separatist movement giving rise to others
• geopolitical power vacuum from breakup of larger states or empires
• continuing fragmentation as more and more states break up.
• feeling that the perceived nation was added to the larger state by illegitimate means
• the perception that the state can no longer support one's own group or has betrayed their interests

Governmental responses[link]

How far separatist demands will go toward full independence, and whether groups pursue constitutional and nonviolent or armed violence, depend on a variety of economic, political, social and cultural factors, including movement leadership^[9] and the government’s response.^[10] Governments may respond in a number of ways, some of which are mutually exclusive. Some include:^[11]

• accede to separatist demands
• improve the circumstances of disadvantaged minorities, be they religious, linguistic, territorial, economic or political
• adopt “asymmetric federalism” where different states have different relations to the central government depending on separatist demands or considerations
• allow minorities to win in political disputes about which they feel strongly, through parliamentary voting, referendum, etc.
• settle for a confederation or a commonwealth relationship where there are only limited ties among states.

Some governments suppress any separatist movement in their own country, but support separatism in other countries.

Types of separatist groups[link]

Separatist groups practice a form of identity politics - “political activity and theorizing founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups.” Such groups believe attempts at integration with dominant groups compromise their identity and ability to pursue greater self-determination.^[12] However, economic and political factors usually are critical in creating strong separatist movements as opposed to less ambitious identity movements.^[10]

See more complete lists of historical and active autonomist and secessionist movements, as well as a list of unrecognized countries.

Religious[link]

Religious separatist groups and sects want to withdraw from some larger religious groups and/or believe they should interact primarily with co-religionists.

• English Christians in the 16th and 17th centuries who wished to separate from the Church of England and form independent local churches were influential politically under Oliver Cromwell, who was himself a separatist. They were eventually called Congregationalists.^[13] The Pilgrims who established the first successful colony in New England were separatists.^[14]
• Christian separatist groups in Indonesia,^[15] India^[16][17] and South Carolina (United States).^[18][19]
• Zionism sought the creation of the state of Israel as a Jewish homeland. Simon Dubnow, who was ambivalent toward Zionism, formulated Jewish Autonomism which was adopted in eastern Europe by Jewish political parties such as the Bund and his own Folkspartei before World War II.^[20] Likewise, this would result in further religious separatism between the Jewish Israelis and Muslim Palestinians following the Balfour Declaration.
• The Partition of India and (later Pakistan and Bangladesh) arose as a result of separatism on the part of both Hindus and Muslims, as well as strong national identities on both sides.
• Muslim groups may seek to separate from each other, especially the Sunni and Shiite sects in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other nations.
• Russia, China, India, Thailand and the Philippines have Muslim-separatist groups.
• Some British Muslims seek to have Sharia law recognized in predominantly Muslim areas of Britain.^[21]
• Indonesia currently has both Christian and Muslim separatist groups.^[22]
• Some Sikhs in India sought an independent nation of Khalistan during the 1970s and 1980s. The Khalistan movement inside India largely ended with the Indian military Operation Blue Star against Sikh militants and the retaliatory assassination of the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. However, some outside India still support such a movement.^[23]

Ethnic[link]

Silesians demonstrating in Katowice (in Silesia).

Ethnic separatism is based more on cultural and linguistic differences than religious or racial differences, which also may exist. Notable ethnic separatist movements include:

• the Kurdish people whose lands and peoples were divided between Turkey, Syria, Iraq after World War I. Also the Kurdish region in Iran.
• the Tuareg separatists in Niger and Mali.^[24]
• the Soviet Union’s dissolution into its original ethnic groupings which formed their own nations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
• Chechen separatism in the Caucasus, currently the Republic of Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation (Russian rule).
• Silesian separatism in Poland and Czech Republic.
• Armenian separatists of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.
• South Ossetia and Abkhazia separatism in Georgia.
• Italy's Venetian, Sardinian and Sicilian separatists; separatist movements of Northern Italy called Padania.
• Spain’s Basque, Galician and Catalan separatists.
• "Celtic Nations"^[25] in the British Isles have created various separatist movements from the United Kingdom described as Scottish independence, Welsh Nationalism, Irish Republicanism and Cornish Nationalism.
• France's Basque, Catalan, Corsican, Breton and Savoyan separatists.
• Bavarian separatism in Germany, despite the Bavarian Land is referred to as the Bavarian Free State.
• Czechoslovakia’s split into ethnic Czech and Slovakian republics in 1993.
• the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia dissolution into ethnic (and religious) based Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
• Belgium granting Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia greater autonomy.
• In the Netherlands some Frisians covet an autonomous country or area (Friese beweging).
• Switzerland’s division into cantons along geographical, religious and linguistic lines.^[26]
• French-speaking Quebec debating and voting on separation from Canada over several decades. It is unclear if this is a matter of ethnic, linguistic or territorial nationalism.
• Africa’s hundreds of ethnic groups^[27] are subsumed into 53 nation states, often leading to ethnic conflict and separatism,^[28] including in Angola, Algeria, Burundi, Congo and The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur in Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, Western Sahara and Zimbabwe.
• The Nigerian civil war (also known as the Biafran war) during the 1960s among Igbos, Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba; today’s ethnic and oil-related conflict in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
• Conflicts in Liberia between African-Liberians and Americo-Liberians, Africans who immigrated from the Americas after being freed from slavery.
• Conflicts between Zulus and Xhosa in South Africa during and after apartheid.^[29]
• Boere-Afrikaner separatists.
• Anjouan's separatism in Union of Comoros as the island is a separate community from that of Comoros.
• Separatist movements of Pakistan including Balochistan movement, Sindhudesh movement and Pashtunistan movement.^[30]
• Separatist movements of India including Separate Statehood movement of Telangana,^[31] Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and Insurgent groups in Northeast India^[30][32]
• Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority separatism in Tamil Eelam.
• Burma (Union of Myanmar)’s ethnic Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Shan, Wa separatism.
• Azeri separatists in Iran want to re-unite the provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Zanjan and Ardabil with Azerbaijan.
• Free Papua Movement in West Papua, Indonesia.
• China's Tibet has a separatist government in exile.^[33]
• Maori separatism in New Zealand.
• The breakup of the Habsburg Empire into ethnic-based states.
• The breakup of the Ottomon Empire into ethnic based states.
• Ethnic-based separatism among Turkic groups in Xinjiang (Uighurs).
• Hispanic (mostly Chicano) separatism, as embodied in the Chicano Movement (or Chicano nation) in the United States sought to recreate Aztlán, the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecs comprising the Southwestern United States which is home to the majority of Mexican Americans.^[34] They drew on the Latin American concepts of racial identity such as the bronze race and La Raza Cósmica. Today a small Raza Unida Party continues with similar goals.

Racial[link]

The examples and perspective in this section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2011)

Some groups seek to separate from others along racialist lines. They oppose inter-marriage with other races and seek separate schools, businesses, churches and other institutions or even separate societies, territories and governments.

• Black separatism (or black nationalism) is a reaction to slavery in the United states and has been advanced by black leaders like Marcus Garvey and the Nation of Islam. Critical race theorists like New York University's Derrick Bell and University of Colorado's Richard Delgado argue the American legal, education and political party systems are rife with racism. They support efforts like all-black schools and dorms and question the efficacy of government-enforced integration.^[35] In 2008 statements by Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr. revived the issue of the current relevance of black separatism.^[36]
• Latin American concepts of racial identity such as the bronze race and La Raza Cósmica found in the small separatist Raza Unida Party. The Chicano Movement (or Chicano nation) in the United States sought to recreate Aztlán, the mythical homeland of the Aztecs comprising the Southwestern United States.^[37]
• White separatism in the United States and Western Europe seeks separation and survival of the white race and limits to immigration by non-whites. According to two sociologists writing in the year 2000, most separatists now reject any ideology of white supremacy, though advocacy groups continue to demonize such separatist groups.^[38]
• Most North American and many other Native American groups already have a high degree of autonomy. Complete separatism is advocated by some members of the Canadian First Nations, American Indian Movement, Republic of Lakotah (Lakota Sioux people in South Dakota), the Navajo or "Na-Dene" Nationalists in Arizona and tribal groups in Eastern Oklahoma, most notably the Cherokee people of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.^{[citation needed]}

Gender[link]

Separatist feminism is women’s choosing to separate from male-defined, male-dominated institutions, relationships, roles and activities.^[39] Lesbian separatism advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Some separatist feminists and lesbian separatists have chosen to live apart in intentional community, cooperatives, and on land trusts.^[40] "Gay" separatism including both lesbians and gay men holds they should form a community distinct and separate from other groups.^[41][42]

See also[link]

Political science portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Graham K. Brown, “Horizontal Inequalities, Ethnic Separatism and Violent Conflict: The Case of Aceh, Indonesia”, United Nations Human Development Report 2005 (PDF).

• Anthony Cordesman, “Pandora’s Box: Iraqi Federalism, Separatism, “Hard” Partitioning, and US Policy”, Working Draft, Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 9, 2007 (PDF).

• James Millard, “Violent Separatism in Xinjiang: A Critical Assessment”, East-West Center[1], 2004 (PDF).

• Michelle Ann Miller (2004). "The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam law: a serious response to Acehnese separatism?". Asian Ethnicity 5 (3): 333–351. doi:10.1080/1463136042000259789. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/caet/2004/00000005/00000003/art00005.

• Ryan Griffiths, "Globalization, Development and Separatism: The Influence of External and Internal Economic Factors on the Strategy of Separatism" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA's 49th AAnnual Convention, Bridging Multiple Divides, Hilton San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA, March 26, 2008 (PDF).

• Pascal Boniface, “Ideals or Interest: 'Pandora’s box’", Le Monde Diplomatique, January 1999.

The word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a vulgar to describe the anus, often pejoratively used to refer to people.

History[link]

The word arse in English derives from the Germanic root *arsaz, which originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ors — meaning buttocks or backside.^[1] The combined form arsehole is first attested from 1500 in its literal use to refer to the anus. The metaphorical use of the word to refer to the worst place in a region, e.g., "the arsehole of the world") is first attested in print in 1865; the use to refer to a contemptible person is first attested in 1933.^[2] In the ninth chapter of his 1945 autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright quotes a snippet of verse that uses the term: "All these white folks dressed so fine / Their ass-holes smell just like mine ...". Its first appearance as an insult term in a newspaper indexed by Google News is in 1965.^[3] As with other vulgarities, these uses of the word may have been common in oral speech for some time before their first print appearances. By the 1970s, Hustler magazine featured people they did not like as "Asshole of the Month."^[4] In 1972, Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers recorded his song "Pablo Picasso," which includes the line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole."

Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised MTV awards show in 1989.^[5] However, there were PG-13 and R rated films in the 1980s that featured use of the word, such as the R-rated The Terminator (1984), the PG-13-rated National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), and the PG-rated Back to the Future (1985). By 1994, however, vulgarity had become more acceptable, and the word was featured in dialog on the long-running television series NYPD Blue, though it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of South Park), the word is partially bleeped out — ironically, as "assh—", with the profane half of the word intact.

Semantics[link]

The word is mainly used as a vulgarity, generally to describe people who are viewed as stupid or incompetent or detestable.^[6]

This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages).^[7] This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.^[8]

The English word ass (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name Equus asinus) may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In the United States, and, to a lesser degree, in Canada, the words arse and ass have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the English-speaking world, ass still only refers to the donkey, rather than the arse (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of arse that is quite similar to ass.^[9]

Political usage[link]

In 2000, during a Labor Day event, then candidate George W. Bush made an off-hand remark to his running mate, Dick Cheney, that New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." The gaffe was caught on microphone and led to a political advertisement chiding Bush for "using expletives ... in front of a crowd of families," produced for Democratic opponent Al Gore.^[10]

In February 2004, American media reported that during a rally of supporters, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Bush "an asshole" for believing his aides in supporting a coup against Chavez in 2002.^[11] The word in the original Spanish was "pendejo", and in news coverage the word was widely, though incorrectly, translated as "asshole"; the meaning of the word varies substantially in Latin America, and in Venezuela its meaning is closer to "fool".^[12] The following year, in September, Nightline host Ted Koppel said to Chavez on national television, "I'm going to perhaps shock you a little, but these are your words. You called President Bush an asshole," to which Chavez replied, "I've said various things about him. I don't know if I actually used that word."^[13]

See also[link]

• Arse
• The No Asshole Rule
• Sexual Slang
• Profanity

References[link]