Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

From Pipedream To Possibility: How European Integration Has Helped Secessionist Movements, Austin E. Bicknell

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

The European project has brought the states of Europe ever closer together while inadvertently strengthening secessionist movements that seek to fracture the very states it has brought together. Through integration, many of the benefits a region with a potential desire for independence gains from remaining a part of its host state are transferred to the European level. Current academic consensus argues that European integration has overall harmed secessionist movements, but since the UKs decision to leave the EU, this argument has become outdated and no longer holds the strength it once did. This article uses current academic literature on the …