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 combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

, and

souverainism Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from french: souverainisme, , 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 o ...

necessarily implies autonomism, but not vice versa. Examples of autonomist parties include Union Nationale,

Action démocratique du Québec Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and its successor

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservativeQuebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) and recent (2018)

Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta (french: Parti de la liberté conservatrice de l'Alberta) was an Albertan autonomist, libertarian and conservative political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was named the Alberta First Party (french: ...

(

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

) in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

New Macau Association The New Macau Association (AMN) is a major pro-democratic political party in the Chinese Special Administrative Region of Macau. The party was established in 1992 and the founding chairman was António Ng Kuok Cheong, who departed from the the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Parti progressiste martiniquais The Martinican Progressive Party (french: Parti progressiste martiniquais, PPM) is a democratic socialist political party in Martinique. It was founded on March 22, 1958 by poet Aimé Césaire after breaking off from the French Communist Party. Th ...

(

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

) in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

) and Popular Democratic Party in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Canada

Alberta

In Alberta, the

(FCPoA), which was formerly known as

Alberta First Party The Alberta First Party french: Alberta d'abord) was an Albertan separatist political party in Alberta, Canada. It went through several iterations before becoming its current incarnation as the Freedom Conservative Party. History (1999–2018) ...

(AFP), Western Freedom Party (WFP), and Separation Party (SP), replaced the party's old ideology

Albertan separatism Alberta separatism comprises a series of 20th- and 21st-century movements (both historic and current) advocating the secession of the province of Alberta from Canada, by joining the United States of America. The main issues driving separatist ...

to support promoting Albertan autonomy like Quebec's counterparts, instead as part of the new another changes under then elected

Derek Fildebrandt Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt (born October 18, 1985) is the publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Western Standard New Media Corp. and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Canadian Taxpayers Federat ...

's leadership.

Quebec

Autonomism is a policy defended by four Quebec political parties, the Union Nationale (UN), the

(ADQ), its successor

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservativeÉquipe Autonomiste Équipe autonomiste ( en, Autonomist Team) is a Quebec autonomist provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. It was officially recognized on March 21, 2012 by the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec. The party was founded by Éric Barnabé, a fo ...

(EA), are provincial parties that aim to obtain certain federal capacities and to give the title of autonomous state to the province.

Romania

Székely autonomy movement The Székely Land (''Szeklerland'') is a historic and ethnographic region in Eastern Transylvania, in the center of Romania. The primary goal for the Hungarian political organisations in Romania is to achieve Székely autonomy. The Szeklers make ...

which is supported by local parties representing the Hungarian community and supported most of the political parties in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the 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 a ...

Spain

The

Autonomous Communities of Spain eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

may demonstrate the doctrine although it is limited in its extent.

Switzerland

The 26

cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Con ...

demonstrate autonomism in a federal state. The

Swiss Federal Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...

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.

References

{{Poli-term-stub Political terminology Autonomy