Explaining Separatist Violence Multi-Faceted, Dynamic Fluidity

DOI: 10.5176/2251-2853_PSSIR13.10

Authors: Matthew J. Webb

Abstract:

This paper explores the dominant explanatory accounts of separatist violence, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each. It then proposes an alternative understanding modeled upon causality in the natural sciences suggesting that the search for a dominant or primary cause of separatist violence should be abandoned in favor of an alternative understanding that recognizes the multi-faceted, dynamic fluidity of these conflicts.

Keywords: secession, separatism, violence, explanatory