Separatism as a Thin-Centred Political Ideology: Conceptual Features and Mobilization Potential

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that, in the contemporary political space, separatism increasingly manifests itself not only as a form of territorial conflict or centrifugal mobilization, but also as a specific ideational framework capable of legitimizing demands for separation, shaping collective identity, and providing political meaning to radical scenarios of state reconfiguration. The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical substantiation of the approach to understanding separatism as a thin-centred political ideology and to identify its core semantic components and its capacity to transform local discontent into collective political action. The study proceeds from the assumption that separatism should not be reduced either to an isolated demand for territorial withdrawal or to a situational instrument of political struggle, but should instead be interpreted as a specific ideational framework that combines the perception of a distinct community, the norm of self-determination, the experience of historical grievance, and the delegitimation of the political centre. The methodological basis of the article includes conceptual and terminological analysis, a structural-functional approach, elements of the morphological analysis of ideologies, and comparative generalization of contemporary theoretical interpretations of nationalism, regionalism, secessionism, and collective mobilization. Such a research framework makes it possible to examine separatism not merely as a consequence of conflicting interests, but as a relatively autonomous structure of meaning capable of interacting with broader doctrinal systems and acquiring different forms of political expression. The study demonstrates that separatism possesses the features of a thin-centred ideology because it does not offer a complete model of social order, yet it forms a stable conceptual core capable of ensuring a high level of identification, cohesion, and justification of radical demands. It is argued that this core consists of at least four interconnected elements: the idea of a distinct community, the normative priority of self-determination, the narrative of historical injustice, and the image of an alien or hostile centre. It is further shown that the mobilizing force of this phenomenon lies not so much in the coherence of its programme as in its ability to integrate heterogeneous social frustrations into a unified symbolic scheme in which separation is presented as a means of restoring dignity, justice, and collective control over the future. The article also establishes that this capacity enables it to combine with nationalist, regionalist, populist, and anti-colonial narratives while preserving its own invariant ideological core. The conclusions emphasize that the interpretation of separatism as a thin-centred political ideology increases the analytical precision of its study, makes it possible to distinguish it more clearly from adjacent phenomena, and creates stronger grounds for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of ideational legitimation of centrifugal demands in the contemporary political space.