Separatist movements arise when cultural differences align with geographic boundaries

Evidence

Deep divisions within a country can lead to massive violence or threaten the country’s existence. This latter threat and movements for autonomy or separation are most likely to arise when cultural differences coincide with differences in geographic location. If culture and geography do not coincide, they may be made to coincide through either genocide or forced migration. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 374

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces ‘cleft country’ and ‘fault line’ concepts that the chapter builds on. The genocide/forced migration point is a stark causal claim.
• XREF: connects to: The world’s ethnic diversity and natural resource wealth coincide geographically with extractive violence — Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism…, 1376