1.5. Research Methodology and Research Structure
1.5.2 Research Structure
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observation sessions that researchers will further go on to examine. The particular method of progressive focusing in qualitative analysis will be applied to the present dissertation.
Progressive focusing is “the process by which a qualitative analyst interacts with the data and gradually refines her focus.”61
This thesis will be looking at the data established by the SNP and interpreting the data to create a more rounded analysis to be put in the context of the globalization-separatism debate.
This method of analysis is beneficial to this thesis considering most of the information which will be gathered is text, and not numbers. The only numbers which will be involved stem from the outcome of the results of the referendum, figures derived from economic wealth of the countries and the numbers expounded by the SNP in their argumentations regarding the benefits of independence.
1.5.2 Research Structure
The structure of my research will be split into a total of five chapters with the layout reading like this:
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Separatism
• Chapter 3: Globalization
• Chapter 4: Scotland
• Chapter 5: Conclusion
Chapter 1, the introduction, will detail the research background and motivation, a comprehensive literature review, research methodology and structure, and scope and limitations of this thesis.
61 Schutt, R. K. (2011), ‘Qualitative Data Analysis,’ in Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research, 7th Edition, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: SAGE Publications, p. 322
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Chapter 2 will discuss the causes of separatism and secession in the forms of economic inequality and ethnicity. The definitions of the concept of separatism and secession will be detailed in Chapter 1. Deciphering the root causes of economic inequality and ethnicity for separatism and secession will aid the separatism-globalization debate considering if a country has a separatist movement, it is most likely due to economic inequality or ethnicity or both, therefore, in the case of economic inequality, countries may want to achieve independence because they are economically stable and wish to become even more globalized in the process of independence and therein lies the reasoning for the importance of these causes for the separatism-globalization debate.
Chapter 3, Globalization, will present the current situation regarding the spread of globalization and the effect that globalization has had on the international community. It will further delve into the globalization-separatism debate where the relationship between separatism and globalization will be explored and the questions of whether a separatist movement supporting globalization but vying for independence at the same time will be able to achieve independence in the international community surroundings.
Chapter 4 describes the situation of Scotland and the argumentations provided by the SNP for the independence of Scotland. The argumentations will be split into six sections of:
Democratic, Economic, Social, International, Cultural and Environmental, with evidence supported by the SNP in their White Paper. In addition to this, the legitimacy of the Scottish referendum will be debated and the case of Scotland will be placed in the context of the globalization-separatism debate and tie up the arguments made in both Chapters 2 and 3.
Lastly, Chapter 5 will be the conclusion where analysis and a conclusion of all the contentions present in this thesis will be linked and personal insights will be shared.
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1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study
1.6.1 Scope
In this study, the intention is to only research the globalization-separatism debate with Scotland being placed at the centre of the discussion to analyse whether a separatist movement which supports globalization and independence at the same time could become independent.
This thesis will remain un-biased throughout the entire study and does not intend to take any sides on whether voting for independence will be either beneficial or detrimental to both the nation and international society as a whole. The effects from the conclusions of the votes will not be discussed in this thesis and future predictions as to whether future referendums will be held by Scotland will not be iterated either. The aim of this thesis is to purely focus only on the past and present of the events that have occurred in Scotland and not to provide any future estimates or calculations.
1.6.2 Limitations
Limitations of a study are the characteristics and methodology that impact and influence the interpretation of findings from the research conducted in this thesis. They place constraints in the generalization process, applications to practice, and/or utility of findings that will bind on the method that the researcher has initially chosen to design the study or approaches used to establish internal and external validity.
The methodological limitations that this thesis expects to encounter while writing this thesis come in the forms of minimal prior research studies on this topic. Other limitations that this study may encounter will be language barriers; and cultural bias. Minimal prior research studies on this topic will be a difficulty when writing this thesis since the referendum that this thesis intends to discuss occurred in the year of 2014 thus, it is still relatively new. Research
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studies on Scotland have been increasing since recent events however, again, accessibility will not be as easy as newer books are always harder to gain.
Lastly, there is the possibility of cultural and other types of bias as a limitation. Bias can be negative or positive thus, when proof-reading this paper, this thesis will have to take extra precautions to ensure that this thesis has ordered events, people, and places accurately and eliminated all words which can have a positive or negative connotation. This thesis guarantees that no bias shall come to pass in this study.
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In Chapter 1, this thesis discussed the implications of the terms encompassed under the concept of separatism and in this Chapter, we are going to go a step further and deliberate the causes of separatism and secession. Currently, there is not yet one comprehensive theory which deciphers all the sources of separatism; however literature does suggest that some countries, more than others, are more susceptible to having separatist movements.62 There are two main ideas, derived from the definitions of separatism, which scholars have demonstrated in order to identify when a country is more likely to hold a separatist movement, the first being that there has to be one, non-dominant group with a separate cultural identity;63 and the second being, these groups must find a possibility to form into an active organization and overcome the metropolitan state.64
The two ideas described above can be considered prerequisites of a separatist movement, considering there are an array of other factors which illustrate that there is more to the story of separatist movements than meets the eye. Other issues which tend to mobilize separatist movements are the arguments for “greater autonomy, such as civil rights, participation in government, better working conditions, use of language and freedom of religion.”65 These contentions, which separatist movements have, demonstrate that there are more factors which cause separatist movements to mobilize. Further factors, in detail, which might facilitate the rise of separatism are “territorial concentration of a minority group’s population;”66 “historical or current loss of autonomy;”67 and “inter-group economic inequality.”68 These more detailed
62 Cameron, D. R., Ranis, G., and Zinn, A. (2006), Globalization and Self-Determination: Is the Nation-State Under Siege? Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy, Abingdon: Taylor & Francis, p. 237
63 Bartkus, V. O. (1999), The Dynamic of Secession, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
64 Sambanis, N., and Zinn, A. (2006), “From Protest to Violence: An Analysis of Conflict Escalation with an Application to Self-Determination Movements,” Manuscript, New Haven: Yale University Press
65 Cameron, D. R., Ranis, G., and Zinn, A. (2006), Globalization and Self-Determination: Is the Nation-State Under Siege? Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy, Abingdon: Taylor & Francis, p. 237
66 Toft, M. D. (2003), The Geography of Ethnic Violence: Identity, Interests, and the Indivisibility of Territory, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
67 Cameron, D. R., Ranis, G., and Zinn, A. (2006), Globalization and Self-Determination: Is the Nation-State Under Siege? Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy, Abingdon: Taylor & Francis, p. 237
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factors are the ones which this thesis will be focusing on in this chapter. This thesis finds that it is because of ethnicity and economic inequality that groups ask for greater autonomy and in turn, develop into the separatist movements that are known today. There is much debate between scholars as to whether these two factors actually generate separatist ideas in countries. Opinions are very much divided, therefore these arguments and theories will be explored before analysis will be conducted in Chapter 4.
Some scholars view economic inequality and ethnicity to be factors that are a given when conducting research on separatism while others have a different interpretation and place great importance on economic inequality and ethnicity as factors which drive separatist movements to appear. After extensive research, this thesis is going to argue that economic issues and ethnicity are all factors which affect the separatist movement in Scotland, and these factors play a huge role in the globalization-separatism debate in the context of Scotland; this will be explored in Chapter 4 of this thesis.
2.1 Is Economic Inequality a Cause for Separatist Identity?
Similarly, as with the concept of separatism, scholars’ views differ drastically. Some scholars view economic inequality to be a core cause for separatist identity, while others do not, and then, there are some who fluctuate in the middle, who view economic inequality as important for separatist identity but cannot determine it to be a root cause. Even though there are so many diverse opinions floating around, this thesis has taken the direction that economic inequality does indeed have a direct effect as a cause for separatist identity in the case study of Scotland and this will be illustrated in Chapter 4.
68 Horowitz, D. L. (1985), Ethnic Groups in Conflict, Berkeley: University of California Press
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discussing separatist movements. Metta Spencer and Petr Pithart are two of those scholars who do not view economic inequality as a root or catalyst for separatist movements. They voice the case of Czechoslovakia to back up their claims where, “the outcome was clearly detrimental to the Slovaks’ economic interests.”69 Spencer and Pithart argue that economic inequality as a factor is not a universal phenomenon and it is not a factor which is of the utmost importance to every separatist movement considering they might still do it even if it is damaging to their economy.Bertrand Roehner, argues along the same lines where he states, “The development of separatist movements…do not spring from economic motives...”70 and to back up his claim he believes that other factors are the cause for separatist movements and not economic factors,
“economic situation is almost irrelevant either as cause or consequence. The feelings of identification with a group are psychological phenomena whose roots lie in geography and history, and have little correlation with standard of living.”71 Roehner goes further to demonstrate the impossibility of a relationship between economic inequality and separatism,
“Like the achievement of stardom, the emergence or success of a separatist struggle depends sequentially upon a large number of special circumstances among which are the emergence of a charismatic leader, external support, a favourable international context, etc. Each of these factors in turn depends on a set of more or less random conditions which make any kind of prediction impossible.”72 Scholars arguing against the link between economic inequality and separatism base their arguments on the fact that there are many other factors to facilitate a separatist movement, it is difficult to pinpoint down economic inequality as a factor considering there are separatist movements who still separate from their metropolitan state despite the fact that separation may cause an economic downturn for them.
69 Spencer, M., ed. (1998), Separatism, Democracy and Disintegration, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., p. 202
70 Roehner, B. M. (2002), Separatism and Integration, A Study in Analytical History, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman
& Littlefield, p. 10
71 Roehner, B. M. (2002), Separatism and Integration, A Study in Analytical History, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman
& Littlefield, p. 11
72 Roehner, B. M. (2002), Separatism and Integration, A Study in Analytical History, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman
& Littlefield, p. 15
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There are scholars who sit in the middle of the debate about economic inequality being linked to separatism, these scholars find that income inequality could be a factor but it may not be a cause of separatist movements occurring. Milica Bookman is one of these scholars; however, Bookman does state the importance of the perception of income inequality: “The regions that have relatively lower incomes tend to believe that their region receives an insufficient share of capital investment, enjoys insufficient autonomy in the decision-making over their resources or in their representation at the center, is subject to biases in pricing policies and allocation of foreign exchange regulation, and receives a small share of foreign investment, aid, and other forms of foreign intervention. The perception by the population in the relatively high-income regions tends to be that they receive insufficient capital and budget allocations while making high contributions to the central budget. Numerous countries in the world contain both high- and low-income regions that have made these respective claims.”73 Bookman reveals that he does deem the perception of economic inequality as important but it is not necessarily definite.
Bookman’s point about the perception of economic inequality being important can be demonstrated through relatively high-income regions beginning separatist movements and this can be well exemplified by the cases in Europe. Separatism does not always occur because of lower-income regions, higher-income regions also feel unfairly treated with the distribution of wealth when they have to contribute more to the metropolitan state to support other regions.
European countries have seen a steady rise in the amount of higher-income regions generating separatist movements due to the savage cuts and measures being imposed by central governments on behalf of the troika international organizations – the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.74 Spain, Belgium, and Italy are a few of the European countries in which the higher-income regions are vying for independence.
73 Bookman, M. Z. (1992), The Economics of Secession, New York: St. Martin’s Press, p. 94-95
74 International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), “The Rise of Separatist Agitation in Europe,” World Socialist Web Site, October 30th 2012, https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/10/pers-o30.html [Last Accessed:
November 7th 2015]
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In Spain, there are two powerful movements centered in the Basque and Catalan regions who wish to become independent. These regions are two of Spain’s richest regions in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.75 Catalonia has been one to watch recently because they are currently fighting to implement a referendum, just like Scotland has, to ask voters to vote “yes” or “no” to independence. In the previous few years, more than a million Catalans – that’s one in seven – marched under the banner “Som una Nacio. Nosaltres decidim” – “We are
a nation, we decide.”
76In the year of 2015, pro-independence parties are pushing ahead to hold a
referendum to become an independent state after winning an absolute majority of the seats in the regional parliament on the September 27th vote.77 As research has suggested, the reason behind this push for independence is due to economic inequality and the economic crisis which hit in 2008 as Spain’s economic crisis hit Catalonia especially hard with unemployment rates of just under 20% in 2014 when the whole sum of unemployment rates for Spain was 24%.78 Catalonians feel unfairly treated by the central government because Catalonia accounts for around 20% of Spain’s GDP but only makes up 16% of the Spain’s population;79 they feel that they are giving much more than the central government gives back. As demonstrated by the example of Catalonia in Spain, it can be illustrated that it is both high-income regions and low-income regions alike which both create separatist movements; it is the perception of being treated unfairly in terms of economic inequality which leads them to implement separatist movements.Ralph Premdas takes a wide approach to economic inequality as he explains that it is not as simple as just one factor being involved in separatist movements, he deems it as being a multiplicity of factors and they are interchangeable with each case study. He has constructed his
75 BBC News, “Catalonia’s Push For Independence from Spain,” November 3rd 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29478415 [Last Accessed: November 7th 2015]
76 Glover, J., “Spain: Why Prosperous Catalans May Beat Rebellious Basques to the Exit,” The Guardian, April 1st 2011, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/01/spain-catalonia-independence [Last Accessed: November 7th 2015]
77 BBC News, “Catalonia’s Push For Independence from Spain,” November 3rd 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29478415 [Last Accessed: November 7th 2015]
78 BBC News, “Eurozone Crisis Explained,” September 28th 2012, http://www.bbc.com/news/business-17549970 [Last Accessed: November 7th 2015]
79 BBC News, “Catalonia’s Push For Independence from Spain,” November 3rd 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29478415 [Last Accessed: November 7th 2015]
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own framework, in which he states the creation of two categories: primordial and secondary. He defines primordial causes as “those cleavages in a society that are deep and serve to define the very identity of a group.”80 Factors that he places under primordial causes include: “(i) language;
(ii) religion, (iii) race; (iv) values or culture; (v) territory or homeland or region…”81 Whilst he argues that secondary factors “are features which have been recently acquired or experiences.
They serve as the triggering mechanism of collective consciousness felt by a group as it proceeds to define its demands. They include (i) neglect; (ii) exploitation; (iii) domination and internal colonialism; (iv) repression and discrimination; and (v) forced annexation.”82 Premdas contends that separatist movements are a mixture of primordial and secondary factors and each movement will contain a combination of these factors therefore, the focus of factors may alternate from one separatist movement to another. Thus, he claims that whilst economic inequality is a factor which contributes to separatist movements, it may not be the case for every movement as some might not place any emphasis on economic inequality at all. However, this thesis argues that for the cases of Scotland and Quebec, Premdas’s argument will not apply considering economic inequality is one of the main focuses for their separatist movements.
On the other side of the spectrum are those who do support the relationship between economic inequality and separatism. They believe that economic inequality does lead to separatism, as Gurr states, “the politics of identity are based most fundamentally on persistent grievances about inequalities and past wrongs, conditions that are part of the heritage of most minorities in most countries.”83 Gurr further exemplifies the definition for economic inequality as, “groups are said to be subject to economic discrimination to the extent that their members are or have been systematically limited in access to desirable economic goods, conditions, or positions that are open to other groups in their society.”84 As can be seen, Gurr finds that
80 Premdas, R. R. (1990), “Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective,” in Premdas, R. R., Samarasinghe, A., and Anderson, A. B., Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective, New York: St. Martin’s Press, p. 20
81 Premdas, R. R. (1990), “Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective,” in Premdas, R. R., Samarasinghe, A., and Anderson, A. B., Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective, New York: St. Martin’s Press, p. 20
82 Premdas, R. R. (1990), “Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective,” in Premdas, R. R., Samarasinghe, A., and Anderson, A. B., Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective, New York: St. Martin’s Press, p. 20
83 Gurr, T. R., ed. (2000), People Versus States, Minorities at Risk in the New Century, Washington, D.C.: United
83 Gurr, T. R., ed. (2000), People Versus States, Minorities at Risk in the New Century, Washington, D.C.: United