🚀 go-pugleaf

Daniel l Aldham (aldham@unixg.ubc.ca) wrote:
: : want to make a contest on history with you it is not the point but
: : just remember to you that some others ways are avalable. Do not forget
: : the old tag: Never cry wolfs...
: 
: Agreed. Others that peacefully separated include most of the former
: Soviet Union , and even much of the British Empire, Canada included.
: So what were the diffences, what lead some to war, and others to peaceful
: separation? I am not a political scientist, and only an historical 
: hobbiest. What did Czechoslovakia do right, that Yugoslavia did wrong?
: Maybe we can learn from their examples how to avoid bloody conflict.

Well, the most major difference between the Canadian example and the
Czech-Slovak is that in the latter, there was impetus on both sides to
separate for the good of the country; the Slovaks wanted their own state,
and the Czechs wanted to stop being held back by the Slovaks economically.
This will to split on both sides is still missing in Canada for the most
part: while you see the occasional angry anglophone yelling "Kick out the
frogs!", the majority in English Canada still want to see the country stay
together (not that they're willing to actually DO anything to this
effect...). 
What is growing in Canada is not a will to see Quebec hit the road (at
least not yet), but rather a kind of resignation that the sovereigntists
will eventually get their 50 percent. Wasn't it Mao Tse-Tung that said
whenever 15 percent of the population support a revolutionary measure,
then success is assured?
Back to the Slovak example: if this is our model of peaceful separation,
then I'm relieved that we'd be spared conflict. However, I doubt that
sovereignty will happen without any conflict at all: unless the PQ can
offer an incredibly sweet deal to Qu�bec natives, Oka's going to be looked
back on fondly by comparison to what'll happen in northern Qu�bec
following separation. The rest of Canada might not fight Qu�bec
themselves, but they'd certainly be interested spectators in a battle
between l'�tat du QU�bec and the natives.
-- 
__________________________________________
Tim Shoults
News Editor, University of Alberta Gateway
(403) 492-1483, Fax (403) 492-4643   
http://www.ualberta.ca/~tshoults
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