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Voters in Scotland have turned down independence for now, but separatist movements continue across Europe, possibly threatening to dismantle Spain, France, and Belgium as well as the UK. The next milestone will be an independence vote on Nov. 9 in Catalonia, the region on the northeast coast of Spain which includes Barcelona; separatists are expected to win handily, but the vote is not binding on the Spanish government. Slate has a neat map showing what a completely redrawn Europe would look like, if accommodations were made for all movements that have joined a loose collective called European Free Alliance; a more complete but visually less satisfying map, including EFA holdouts such as Northern Ireland, appears in Wikipedia. The Washington Post has thumbnail descriptions of eight movements.
(Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday September 23 2014, @07:28PM
I fail to see how splitting the EU up into smaller chunks based on ethnic boundaries inside of existing countries would strengthen anything. All I would expect it to do is add more of the red-state/blue-state stuff that the USA has to deal with.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday September 23 2014, @07:57PM
It would strengthen the EU.
Once these little states got out from under the thumb of whoever they perceive as their current unjust masters they would realize that they can not survive on their own, and they would join to the EU as equal participants.
The red/blue stuff in the US is purely a temporal issue, and one you only object to because it prevents complete domination of your personal point of view. What you view as something wrong and divisive is actually strength.
One of the reasons the US has assumed the status it has in the world is that it was a collection of small states where no big one could dominate any of the others. With the increased power of the federal government this is slowly being erased, by people who want to use the Federal Government to impose their view on everyone. If fact that pretty much half of the people in the country disagree with what ever opinions you hold dear upsets you, its a sign that some personal growth is long overdue.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Tuesday September 23 2014, @09:42PM
I am way happier with how I can see the system run (and fail, but everyone can see that, and it's easier to fix) in a country whose entire population is only one fifth of the city where I was born and grew up.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday September 24 2014, @04:19PM
Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I said no such thing.
I object to the polarization of politics because it prevents people from working together. That each side seeks to "dominate" in politics is the entire problem here. This is exactly the problem you are trying to solve over there in the EU. I agree that splitting countries up into smaller units will help prevent the big groups from trying to stomp on the rights of the small groups.
In the US the polarization at the national level isn't state-vs-state it is cultural and ethnic groups within each state. The red/blue split developed because certain states tend to be dominated by one group or another. Federal courts and the constitution are the only thing that keep the dominant groups from being too abusive. However there is still a mix of political and philosophical mindsets in each state. I do not know enough about EU politics if this equally applies to the EU or not.
The United State's dominance in world power is more due to the fact that it did not get bombed back to the stone age like nearly every other major power during WWII.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh