Separatist Movements: A Global Reference Brian Beary In a world that is becoming more globalized and in which borders and nation states appear less relevant, the number of peoples fighting to have their own country or to retain their identity within a country is rising as awareness of ethnic and cultural identity is sharpening. There are approximately two dozen hot spot separatist movements that have erupted into violent conflict and destabilized both their own and neighboring countries, in addition to many others that are mostly confined within their own countries' borders. Putting these separatist movements under the microscope is essential to understanding the geopolitical context of our world. This reference handbook profiles 59 ongoing separatist movements across six major regions around the world, with attention given to not only prominent movements, such as the Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sikhs in India, but also lesser-known peoples such as the Saami in the Arctic and the Inuit in Canada. Each of the essays includes a description of the movement and a summary of their core aspirations - political, cultural and economic; the movement’s history and origins; leadership - political parties, individuals, and militant groups; and current status. A selection of maps accompanies the essays. Valuable features for researchers include: • Contents by country, movement, region, and movement leader • Twenty-four biographies of key movement leaders • Regional maps • A further reading section in each essay • An appendix examining self-determination in international legal instruments • A bibliography Brian Beary is a freelance journalist and writer. He has worked for Brussels-based Europolitics, a daily newspaper about the European Union, for ten years. He also writes for The Globalist magazine, the European Parliament's Parliament magazine, and CQ Global Researcher