Autonomism is a political doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving political autonomy of a nation or a region. It is not necessarily opposed to
federalism
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
, and
souverainism
Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from , , meaning "the ideology of sovereignty") is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation or globe. Typically ...
necessarily implies autonomism, but not vice versa.
Examples of autonomist parties include
Union Nationale,
Action démocratique du Québec and its successor
Coalition Avenir Québec
The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist, Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist and conservatism, conservative (
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
) and recent (2018)
Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta (
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
) in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
New Macau Association in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
),
Parti progressiste martiniquais (
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
) in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(
Northern Italy
Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
) and
Popular Democratic Party in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
(
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
).
Canada
Alberta
In Alberta, the
Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta (FCPoA), which was formerly known as
Alberta First Party (AFP), Western Freedom Party (WFP), and Separation Party (SP), replaced the party's old ideology
Albertan separatism to support promoting Albertan autonomy like Quebec's counterparts, instead as part of the new another changes under then elected
Derek Fildebrandt's leadership.
In 2022, the Alberta provincial government passed the ''
Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act''.
Quebec
Autonomism is a policy defended by four Quebec political parties, the
Union Nationale (UN), the
Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), its successor
Coalition Avenir Québec
The Coalition Avenir Québec (, , CAQ) is a Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist, Autonomism in Quebec, autonomist and conservatism, conservative (CAQ) and the
Équipe Autonomiste (EA), are provincial parties that aim to obtain certain federal capacities and to give the title of autonomous state to the province.
Saskatchewan
The provincial government of Saskatchewan has called for greater provincial autonomy, with premier
Scott Moe calling for a "New Deal with Canada" and referring to Saskatchewan as a "nation within a nation" when discussing a desire for more control over taxation, immigration, and policing.
The third party
Saskatchewan United Party also supports provincial autonomy.
In 2022, the Saskatchewan provincial government issued a white paper on its stance against "federal intrusion" and in 2023 passed ''
Saskatchewan First Act''.
Romania
The
Székely autonomy movement is supported by local parties representing the
Hungarian community and by most of the political parties in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.
Spain
The
Autonomous Communities of Spain
The autonomous communities () are the first-level political divisions of Spain, administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Constitution of Spain, Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonom ...
may demonstrate the doctrine although it is limited in its extent.
Switzerland
The 26
cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...
demonstrate autonomism in a federal state. The
Swiss Federal Constitution declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent that it is not limited by federal law. The cantons also retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution.
See also
*
Localism in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, localism is a political movement centred on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local culture. The Hong Kong localist movement encompasses a variety of groups with different goals, but all of them oppose the perceived growin ...
*
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a political ideology that seeks to increase the political power, influence and self-determination of the people of one or more subnational regions. It focuses on the "development of a political or social system based on one or mo ...
References
Political terminology
Autonomy
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