The Main Scenarios for the Formation of Territorial Autonomies in the Modern World (Constitutional and Legal Aspect)

Abstract

As part of the analysis of the practices of institutionalization of constitutional and legal status of territorial autonomies of Bolivia, Great Britain, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Canada, China, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Finland on the basis of the criteria and methods of their formation, it is indicated that there are two main scenarios. According to the first one, territorial autonomies are formed on the basis of international and national legal acts. The second scenario assumes the formation of autonomies based on national legal acts only.In the structure of the first scenario, territorial autonomies formed as a result of negotiations between the parties to the conflict (confrontation model) and in the Directive order (Directive model) are separated. In the structure of the second scenario, territorial autonomies established following the negotiations on the basis a peaceful compromise or as a result of confrontation (consensus and confrontation models), as well as autonomies formed unilaterally (policy model) are highlighted.The conceptual requirements for the successful institutionalization of territorial autonomy are as follows: the presence of rooted in society and the state traditions of democracy and the rule of law; the establishment of a real regime of internal self-government; limited material and financial resources and the resulting dependence on the state; the absence of disputes about sovereignty; clarity of the formal legal structure of the constitutional legal status; small population and the territory of autonomy. In this case, the structure and content of these requirements are very mobile, and therefore can be combined in different proportions with different specific gravity.Typical examples of the most stable territorial autonomies (in terms of territorial integrity and unity of the state), in which these conditions are present in different volumes, are the autonomies of Bolivia, the Aland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Hong Kong and Macao. This category can also include Karakalpakstan and Nunavut because of their total dependence on the support of national governments.In turn, the potential for the development of separatist tendencies remains in the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland), India, Indonesia, China (Tibet), Moldova, and the Philippines.