Analyse the Cause and Consequences of Separatism

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Analyse the reasons for separatism within and/or across national boundaries and discuss its consequences (40 marks) Separatism is an attempt by a regional group within a country or across the borders of one or more countries, to gain more political control from central governments over the areas in which they live. There are many different reasons for why separatism occurs around the world, these can include: the feeling of being economically depressed compared to other areas within the same country; the fact that some people feel that they are in a peripheral location to economic and political care; the desire to protect and build upon a minority language or religion and the feeling or being mistreated due to being an ethnic minority (e.g. the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka). Separatism can lead to a wide range of consequences that range from the collapse of governments and civil wars to, more political disputes and peaceful protests. Separatism does not have to be aggressive. Good introduction to the topic, defines separatism and outlines the causes and consequences. It would be good to mention some real examples too, for example the case studies used in the essay could have been mentioned in appropriate places - see example in italics. The Sri Lankan civil war is a prime example of where Separatism has led to aggressive consequences, in this case the acts of the Tamil Tigers (a separatist group) led to a civil war that spanned over three decades. The Sri Lankan civil war was fundamentally caused by ethnic discrimination between the ethnic majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority that populated the north and northeast of the island. When the British owned Sri Lanka they turned the country into the tea making capital of the world and brought with them a vast amount of wealth and benefits to certain groups. These certain groups where the Hindu Tamils of Sri

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