Secessionist Movements and Ethnic Conflict: Debate-Framing and Rhetoric in Independence Campaigns

Discourses creating ethnically exclusive identities can alienate minorities and lead to inter-ethnic tensions and violent conflict, while an ethnically inclusive discourse can contribute to inter-ethnic peace. Using discourse analysis, this book examines how the process of secession affects internal ethnic relations and analyzes how politicians interpret events and present arguments with the intention to mobilize their constituencies for independence. With in-depth case studies on the Slovenian, the Croatian and the Montenegrin independence movements, and by looking at cases from Indonesia and Spain, the author investigates why different mobilizational frames were used in secessionist settings and demonstrates how different modalities of identity construction led to different outcomes in terms of inter-ethnic relations. Huszka demonstrates how in some cases of self-determination elites push for a higher level of sovereignty in the name of economic advancement, whereas in other cases, self-determination movements refer to ethnic identity and human rights issues. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, history, nationalism, ethnic conflict and discourse analysis.