2018-06-19

More Secession: Faroe Islands Ponders Independency

AFP: Goodbye Denmark? Faroese weigh pulling free of Danish grip
Enough is enough: for the Faroese sailor Birgir Enni, having spent more than half a millennium under Danish rule means it's about time for the North Atlantic autonomous archipelago to break away.

"We've been occupied by Denmark for 600 years! That is enough and we need to change that soon," the white-haired captain tells AFP on his wooden sailing ship.

Located more than 1,100 kilometres (more than 680 miles) northwest of powerhouse Copenhagen, the Faroe Islands have since 1948 had their own white, blue and red flag with an offset cross, their own language originating from the Viking's Old Norse and institutions and culture.

...An unlikely alliance of the left, the right, separatists and unionists, the local government is now writing a constitution, which is aimed at capturing the Faroese identity and is seen by some as one of the final pieces of a puzzle leading to emancipation.
One overlooked factor affecting secession is technology. Advancements in communication makes coordinating policy between different states easier. Small disputes are more important for this reason:
"(But) Denmark has its own motivations, its own needs and interests for its own place in the world... they are trying to also include our needs, our motivations and our wants, but they collide regularly," she adds.

This conflict of interest was particularly notable during a mackerel and herring war with the EU -- of which the Faroe Islands is not a member -- in early 2010, when Denmark was forced to join a Brussels-imposed boycott against Faroese fish.
Although I forecast a growing wave of secession as social mood declines, technology could power the movement through the next period of rising mood. The trend towards independence dates back to the early 1990s collapse of the Soviet Union. We will soon be entering the fourth decade of the political shift and there's no sign of it slowing down.

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