Series Introduction: Successful self-determination and secession

In a series of blogposts, I will outline a number of self-determination and secessionist movements which have succeeded in their aims. These writings should be considered in the context of the ongoing situation in Scotland. I will mostly focus my analysis to post-1945 Europe. It is hoped that this will maintain the relevance for comparison to present-day Scotland. Given this spatiotemporal scope, much of the series will focus on the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and its sphere of influence.

 

For those in favour of a socialist Scottish republic, it may be an uncomfortable truth that both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were socialist states. Another uncomfortable truth is that the quality of life often regressed in the newly independent states.

 

One may infer that socialism must be undesirable if such strong and successful independence movements emerged within socialist states; also, that secession always leads to socioeconomic regression. However, such inference would be foolish. Whilst historical events can provide food for thought regarding present-day politics, ultimately there are no universal patterns to the historical process.

 

Nonetheless, it is not my intention to ignore the uncomfortable truths mentioned above. For the purposes of this introduction, it will suffice to briefly reflect on a quote attributed to Winston Churchill; “Bolshevism must be strangled in its cradle”. Evidently, Bolshevism was not strangled to death in its cradle: the Soviet state lasted from 1917 until 1991.

 

Following the October Revolution in Russia, 1917 – in which the Tsarist regime was overthrown – the new Soviet Republic withdrew all Russian involvement from the ongoing world war. Prior to the revolution, the Russian Empire had been allied with the British, Japanese, and French Empires, and others. The first world war is usually understood as a clash between these Entente Allies and the Central Powers who included the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman (Turkish) Empires. However, after the October 1917 Russian Revolution, both the Allies and the Central Powers, as well as anti-communist Russian forces and others such as the USA and nationalists fighting in foreign lands in the hope of gaining support for their cause of independence, all waged war against the communists in Russia.

 

The metaphorical baby of Bolshevism was indeed strangled – but it lived, emerging from that war victorious in 1923. However, continuing Churchill’s analogy, a baby which has survived attempted murder by strangulation will likely suffer from severe health difficulties growing up. This goes some of the way in explaining why the Soviet Union was a deeply flawed state.

 

It was the prerogative of numerous nations to seek autonomy within and independence from the Soviet Union and its influence. It would be wrong to draw from this any conclusions about the ideology of socialism.

 

Returning to the purpose of this series of blogposts – to provide useful lessons of historical precedent for the Scottish independence movement – issues of historical Russian politics are academic. Rather, the lesson which will be most useful is HOW nations successfully asserted themselves. Again, there are no universal patterns to the historical process. Nations have achieved their independence through a wide variety of ways. Some of these strategies of self-determination would be more feasible in Scotland than others. However, all are worthy of our attention. The upcoming series will provide further details of these events, focusing on one nation at a time.

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Maps are from the following article by Ferenc Glatz, in which he argues that WW1, WW2 and the Cold War can be considered as one prolonged conflict in Europe; and that this conflict is still ongoing in Southwest Asia (the Middle East).

http://real.mtak.hu/22060/1/Glatz_2014_Europes_great_war_u_132830.16826.pdf