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CHAPTER 52 Europe Political Geography I and separatism Separatism , in political geography , refers to an attempt by a region of a country to separate from that country and gain independence . A related term is , which describes any situation where one country dissolves into more than one country . The Cold War ended with the of the Soviet Union , in which one country dissolved into fifteen countries . Two other countries dissolved at the end of the Cold War and Yugoslavia . Both countries had , symbolically visualized in this photo formed at about by David Goehring on the same time , and for similar reasons . The and have different cultures , identities , and languages , but they also have a lot in common . Both nations are Slavic and historically Catholic . Both had been part of . The two nations formed a union in 1918 as the result of a sort of safety in numbers mentality . Surrounded by larger , more powerful states , the and figured that by unifying they would be better equipped to resist foreign domination . Yugoslavia was formed in the same year , when a number of small southern Slavic nations Church , gawk , border with the ( Yugoslavia means Land of the Southern ) unified out of Czech Photo by , a similar safety in numbers motivation . 253
254 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL The and divided peacefully in 1993 so peacefully , in fact , that the dissolution was referred to as the Velvet Divorce . Things did go so smoothly in Yugoslavia . In 1991 and 1992 , four countries declared independence from Yugoslavia , and . dominated much of what was left of Yugoslavia ( and , in fact , kept the name Yugoslavia for a few years ) What followed was Europe bloodiest conflict since World War II . The term ethnic cleansing was coined in the former Yugoslavia in the , as these newly separate states sought to cleanse their countries of minorities . Those who resisted were often killed . Nowhere was the fighting fiercer than in . The Muslim held a slim majority in the new country , but there were ( and still are ) large Serb and minorities in . All three groups fought for political and territorial control , with and backing their ethnic Ethnic Groups of Yugoslavia . Cartography . brethren in the civil war . The fighting continued in different areas for about a decade , leaving more than dead . In 2006 , voted to separate from , becoming the sixth country to emerge from Yugoslavia . an enclave in , declared independence in 2008 , although its independence is not recognized by many countries in the international community , including , of course , The fragmentation of the European political map might not have ended . There are a few areas in Europe that have discussed the possibility of future independence . The most likely candidate is Scotland . For several centuries , Scotland has been united with England , Wales , and Northern Ireland in what is officially known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ( the UK , or Britain for short ) Still , the Scots have long maintained a strong separate national identity . Calls for Scottish independence intensified in the after Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of Britain . Scotland is , for the most part , a very politically liberal part of Britain , and the conservative Thatcher was not popular there . In 1997 , Scotland established its own parliament . It still sends representatives to the British parliament in London , but the Scottish parliament has control over many of its own domestic affairs . In 2014 , Scottish voters took part in a national Scottish Independence . Photo by Garry Knight referendum seeking full independence . Polls showed that a On . number of Scots liked the idea of independence , but felt that there were too many questions about how Scotland and the rest of the UK would divide the country resources and liabilities . In spite of support by the man in the photo , the referendum was defeated 55 to 45 . After Britain recent exit from the European Union , however , there have been renewed calls for independence , since Scottish voters overwhelmingly voted to remain part of the EU . Recent polls show that the majority of Scots now favor independence . It is possible , even probable , that Scotland will gain independence sometime in the next few years .
EUROPE POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY 255 Cleaned by from Noun The likely country to gain independence in Europe is , a region in northeastern Spain centered on the city of Barcelona . has , in the past , been free from Spanish rule and , when it has been , it has often enjoyed a good deal . As a result , has always had a unique and separate identity from Spain , and even has its own unique dialect . Many favor independence based on these cultural and historical factors alone , but economics plays a role as well . Barcelona has long been the economic dynamo of Spain , and many in the city feel that the rest of Spain is essentially economic dead weight . In 2017 , the Catalonian provincial government held an independence referendum , which passed , leading the Catalonian parliament to declare independence . Spain government declared the referendum illegal ( and , in the eyes of most neutral legal experts , it was ) At the moment , there is no clear path forward for Catalonian independence , but there is clearly support for it . There have been similar rumblings in northern Italy . Like , northern Italian regions like are the economic engines of their country , and feel limited by political corruption and economic stagnation in the rest of Italy . At this point , a genuine move for independence by northern Italy seems unlikely , but not impossible . Residents in Flanders ( northern Belgium ) have had similar discussions , but , similarly , independence does not seem imminent . Many residents in the Basque Country in northern Spain , and also of the French island of have made more strident calls for independence , but is unlikely that either region possesses the economic or political clout to achieve such a thing . Did You Know ?
Serbs , and Croatians all speak the same language , and have a shared cultural history . The primary difference among them is religion most are Muslim , most Serbs are Orthodox , and most Croats are Catholic . The Czech Republic has adopted a shorter version for its country name . This sort of thing is not unusual . The People Republic of China is generally simply called China , after all . Even so , the suggests that the new name was added primarily because it fit better on sports jerseys . For a nifty GIF of the history of , go to
256 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Goehring , David . Accessed June , Attribution Generic ( BY ) Knight , Garry . 2018 . 2074 Scottish Independence . Attribution Generic ( BY ) James . 2020 . Ethnic Groups of the Former Yugoslavia . College of . College of GIS Class . samuel . 2018 . Generic (