Governing Partially Independent Nation-Territories

Table of Contents

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Introducing Partially Independent Nation Territories

   David A. Rezvani, Jan Sundberg

   Abstract

   As self-determination movements assert themselves throughout the world in places as diverse as Catalonia, Gilgit-Baltistan, Hong Kong, Kashmir, New Caledonia, the Palestinian Territories, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Xinjiang, as well as a multitude of other areas across the globe, it is worth inquiring about the benefits of autonomy arrangements that have distinct minority populations. The aim of this book is to examine whether partially independent territories in Northern Europe have managed to develop regional nation building and have enhanced the quality of government. Northern Europe provides an exceptional testing ground for examining such issues. Because it is characterized by high standards of living, liberal democracy, and a certain cultural resemblance, such factors are held relatively constant as compared to other parts of the globe so that quality of governance issues can better be examined.

3. Chapter 2. Credibility Explanations for the Success of Ethnoautonomy Arrangements

   David A. Rezvani

   Abstract

   Are autonomous arrangements that have ethnically distinct minority populations (hereinafter referred to as ethnoautonomy) better off dividing and sharing powers with a central government, or would it be better for them to sever their ties and become fully independent? The past two decades have produced a useful debate regarding this question. Pro-ethnoautonomy scholars emphasize the virtues of autonomy arrangements that have distinct minority populations. They stress their economic advantages, and their meaningful levels of self-determination. On the other hand, still other anti-ethnoautonomy scholars reject the virtues of autonomy. They assert that ethnoautonomy is associated with poverty and violence. They also argue that autonomy can be unfairly exploited by one side or another given inevitable power differentials. This chapter seeks to explain why the pro and anti-ethnoautonomy literatures provide such starkly different assessments. The argument here will be that these distinct views can be explained by the presence (or absence) of constitutional entrenchment credibility mechanisms (which are capabilities that make allocated powers very difficult to change and take away). Even as anti-ethnoautonomy scholars assert their skepticism, they include within their assessment weak autonomy polities that have weak or nonexistent credibility guarantees; the powers of such polities can be taken away by executive fiat or the simple majority decision of a core state or central government legislature. As this chapter will demonstrate, the problems that such scholars observe do not come from autonomy itself. Instead, they emanate from the weakness of the credibility guarantees of the polities that they include within their assessment. By contrast to anti-ethnoautonomy scholars, scholars that accept the virtues of ethnoautonomy tend to exclude such weak autonomy cases and instead assess polities with meaningful constitutional entrenchment.

4. Chapter 3. The Quality of Large and Small Nation Territory Governments

   Jan Sundberg, Stefan Sjöblom

   Abstract

   In approaching the aim of our book, several implications of definitions and concepts have crossed the fairway in search for an obstacle-free course to follow. We have launched the nation territory concept to clarify the specific nature of the territories we focus on. Saying that, we have put in much effort to demonstrate the limitations of concepts like autonomy, federacy, and self-government. Autonomy refers to a wide range of units from core states to individuals living in states. As the concept of autonomy is too broad for our purposes, we only use it in general terms when positioning our work in the general research field. Federacy comes close to a useful conceptualization, but unfortunately federacy gives fatal associations because it is a sub-form of a federal arrangement. Our four cases of interest are far from federal arrangements, and therefore it is more reliable to follow a distinct concept that fits completely with our demands for accuracy. The use of self-government in our study explicitly relates to government in nation territories, in contrast to arrangements of self-government in a core state such as local government or other forms of decentralized units/regions lacking entrenched authority to legislate.

5. Chapter 4. ‘Good Governance’ and Entrenched Self-Government in Scotland: A Success?

   Malcolm Harvey

   Abstract

   The inclusion of a chapter on self-government in Scotland in this volume alongside the Åland Islands, the Faroe Islands and Greenland might, at first glance, be puzzling. The population of Scotland, at just under five and a half million people, is around 100 times that of the largest Greenland (56,000 inhabitants) and almost 200 times that of the smallest (Åland Islands, 30,000). Indeed, Scotland’s population is much closer to that of Finland (5.5 million) and Denmark (5.8 million), the core states from which the small Nordic autonomies derive their self-government. Nevertheless, there are some basic similarities across the cases which aid in our comparative attempts here. Each of the Nordic cases ‘are the result of top-down creation of autonomy under core state supremacy’ (Sundberg & Sjöblom, 2021) which was replicated in the United Kingdom (UK) under the constitutional reforms of the New Labour government in the late 1990s. In each of the cases, although the establishment of autonomous institutions initially seemed to pacify resident populations, bottom-up demand for further autonomy has increased—and, indeed, in the case of Scotland, led to a referendum on secession in 2014. In the Nordic cases, the degree of autonomy is high (Ackrén, 2009) and this is also comparable with the Scottish case. Also apparent is the degree of asymmetry within the core state. The cases here have more autonomy than other component parts of the core states, which also provides a further factor for analysis. And they each have movements that desire further autonomy and even secession from the core state. Of less relevance politically though still of note is that the Faroe Islands—and, indeed, Greenland—are closer to Scotland than they are to the core state (Denmark). Scotland does tend to take note of political developments within its Nordic neighbours. There were expressions of admiration for the ‘Nordic Model’ in 2014’s independence referendum—but this admiration was largely confined to the spending side of the ledger, with limited support for increasing taxation as a means of paying for vastly improved public services (Harvey, 2015; Keating & Harvey, 2014).

6. Chapter 5. The Capacity of Self-Government in Greenland

   Maria Ackrén, Uffe Jakobsen

   Abstract

   Greenland has had a history filled with interesting junctures of development. First, Greenland was a Danish colony 1721–1953, and then integrated as a county (amt) in the Danish Kingdom. Secondly, the issue of EEC triggered Greenland to aim for Home Rule and in 1979 this was realized after a referendum, where 75 percent was in favor of such an outcome. Thirdly, in the 2000s an evaluation of the Home Rule system was on the agenda to develop the Home Rule into a wider form of self-government, which was realized with the Self-Government Act in 2009. This chapter will elucidate how the self-government works internally in Greenland. What are the capacities that Greenland has and what opportunities can be evolved within or outside the Danish context? The outline is to use David Easton’s classical model with input, output, and outcome where several indicators will be included, such as, the evolution of the party system, the principle of parliamentarism, the executive, legislative and judicial branches, and the issue of independence and how this is experienced by the population. The idea is to give the reader a wider view of how this partial independent territory operates, functions and is organized.

7. Chapter 6. Faroese Self-Government: A Disputed But Evolved Model

   Hallbera West

   Abstract

   Faroese self-government is based on the Home Rule model from 1948. The model has a strong internal autonomy dimension with devolved powers for governing activity, but more constrained powers related to international activity. Even though, the constitutional status of the model’s entrenchment mechanisms are disputed, the political reality is a de-facto independent political system with distinct political institutions and a high degree of control over the legislative process. The chapter provides an overview of the development of the Faroese self-government system and a presentation of the distinct parts of the political system, the old political traditions and young executive administrative system. Moreover, the chapter focuses on different output and outcome factors, like the higher number of Faroese legislative rules, control systems, promising social and economic indicators, and the overall supporting citizen attitudes towards the political institutions.

8. Chapter 7. The Quality of Self-Government in the Åland Islands

   Jan Sundberg, Stefan Sjöblom

   Abstract

   The system of self-government in the Åland Islands is a compromise put into effect after a potential conflict between Sweden and Finland in the aftermath of World War I. The international peace negotiations in Paris could not solve this escalating conflict, so the League of Nations in Geneva took over the negotiation process in order to find a reasonable solution acceptable to both Finland and Sweden. The conflict was settled between these two countries, but the people in Åland were deeply disappointed when their demand for a merger with Sweden was ignored by most member states in the League on Nations. A deep rift and lack of trust thus dominated the relationship between Finland and Åland in the years to come. Finland offered Åland self-government in 1920, and Sweden demanded guarantees for the unilingual Swedish language status of the islands.

9. Chapter 8. Is It Better for Nation Territories to Stand on One or Two Feet?

   Jan Sundberg, Stefan Sjöblom

   Abstract

   Our study examines how nation territories operate in Scotland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Åland Islands. Before winning the de jure status of entrenched self-governments, each nation territory was de facto a distinct region. Rather than abiding by established procedure for forming federations, each region strived for a light separation from the unitary state of which they were an integral part. Borders between states are artificial, and certain borders conform better to a homogeneous population in terms of language and culture. If a border meets the linguistic and cultural needs of a local population, then a unitary state model is the best solution for successful government. However, in our four cases the language and culture of the region clearly deviated from the national norm. The unitary state model encourages the birth of a nation-state that enhances the difference of a de facto region with a different language or cultural community.

10. Backmatter