Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/229403 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2021/2
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Does secessionism lead to social polarization? Despite much research on independence movements, their relationship to polarization, a key mechanism theorized as increasing the chances of violent conflict, remains less understood. We argue that secessionist conflicts can polarize along both policy and ethnic group lines even when they take the form of non-violent disputes. However, polarization does not necessarily lead to violence. We explore the case of Catalonia, a region that experienced a deep secessionist crisis in the last months of 2017, using novel data from a panel survey fielded across two key time periods and embedded experiments. We find a society with great levels of affective polarization in that pro- and anti-independence advocates have strong negative views of one another. In addition, there is spillover in terms of the assessment of associated language groups. However, there is a group of moderates in between the two policy poles that limit the extent of this polarization. Contrary to common wisdom, these moderates have very stable preferences. Our results contribute to the understanding of the underexplored polarization dynamics of secessionist movements, particularly in places where high-intensity violence (i.e. terrorism, civil war) has not yet occurred.
Subjects: 
Catalonia
conflict
independence movements
polarization
secessionism
JEL: 
D72
D74
H89
Y80
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-936-5
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-sa Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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