Devolution in Europe

This week’s reflection essay is based on the topic of devolution in Europe.  Looking at the map, “Europe: Foci of Devolutionary Pressures”, it is evident that there are many regions within this realm experiencing this phenomenon.  In fact, in the last years and months, there has been reported in the news media several such cases, including, but not limited to: a) Catalonia, a region of Spain, voted for independence; b) In September 2014, Scotland’s population went to the poles to decide if they would become independent from United Kingdom, a proposal that was defeated by a very small margin of votes; and, c) Ukraine is currently experiencing the loss of territory to Russia by the annexation of Crimea by this country, and the secession of some territories with significant ethnic Russian separatist groups supported by the government of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.

After reading Chapter # 1 of our textbook (Europe), making emphasis on the most important points made in the section, “Diminishing State Power and New Regionalism” of our course textbook (de Blij and Muller 2010: 60), and using reputable sources and articles published in one of the most prestigious media source in the world, the British Broadcast Corporation News (BBC.com) only, compose an essay summarizing the reasons why these regions are trying to secede to create independent nations, or to gain at-least greater autonomy to make their own decisions, while answering the following questions:

• According to the source/s you consulted, what are the main reason/s why these populations would like to break-up from these countries?
• Do this/these source/s mention any explanation/s based on cultural or ethnic characteristics? For example, speaking a different language? Which one? Professing a different religion?  Which one?  Economic disparities? Explain. 
• What are the common characteristics of these separatist movements?

Your answer should reflect knowledge of the topic applying the concepts learned in our course, and, most importantly, using your own words.  Explain each question in no less than 200 words each.  You must use titles to separate each answer.  Essays that are less than 600 words in total will lose points.  This word count does not include your name, PID, the title of your work, or if you copy the questions in your work.

• NOTE : You must format your work according to the required Technical Aspects described in the course syllabus:
  • 12-point font (Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond, or Book Antiqua);
  • one-inch margins all around;
  • double-spaced
  • numbered pages

Any written assignment that does not include all the required technical aspects will receive a 10-point deduction in their grade.

Bibliography

BBC News.  2018.  Catalonia profile – Overview.  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20345071 (Links to an external site.) , site last visited October 6, 2019.

BBC News.  2012.  Scotland profile.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/7219799.stm (Links to an external site.) , site last visited October 6, 2019.

BBC News.  2018.  Ukraine country profile.  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18018002 (Links to an external site.) , site last visited October 6, 2019.

de Blij, Harm J. and Peter O. Muller.  2010.  Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts.  14th edition.  New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.