PLSC 379: Self-Determination, Secession & Accommodation​ 

Last Taught. Spring 2025. With Deepika Padmanabhan

​

​

There are over 130 active separatist movements in the world today. In the last decade, seventeen referendums were organized in fourteen different territories. Referenda are not the only response states use to address secession challenges within their territory. The repertoire of counter-secession strategies is wide, ranging from some form of recognition to assimilation, displacement, and repression. Improving our understanding of the causes of these conflicts and the political economy of these conflicts, as well as learning about states’ choice for one or another response, is not only academically relevant but important for domestic and international realpolitik. 

​

This seminar provides specialized instruction, combining a theoretical and an applied approach to the topic of self-determination and secession. Crucially, the class employs case studies as a pedagogical tool to inspect the complexities of secession conflicts in multinational countries with different geographical locations, security considerations, size, and other factors that make the comparison more enriching. The cases center on an advanced Western democracy (Spain – Catalonia) and a leading country in the Global South (India –Tamil Nadu). Exploring the nuances of the cases provides students with a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of these conflicts.