The Faroe Islands: Options for Independence
The Faroe Islands are currently at a crossroads in their constitutional status. Discussions concerning changes in the current constitutional status are ongoing and several analyses about possible trajectories of future development are being proposed. Argued in a context of Faroese nationalism, this...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Island Studies Journal
2006-11-01
|
Series: | Island Studies Journal |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.195 |
Summary: | The Faroe Islands are currently at a crossroads in their constitutional status. Discussions concerning changes in the current constitutional status are ongoing and several analyses about possible trajectories of future development are being proposed. Argued in a context of Faroese nationalism, this article tries to assess these trajectories in the future jurisdictional and political development of the Faroe Islands in terms of three possible scenarios: independence or full sovereignty (as is Iceland); a freely associated statehood (as are Niue and the Cook Islands in relation to New Zealand); or a confederation, probably involving changes at both the central level of the Danish state and the European Union level. This article argues that the most likely future development is that of a state in free association with Denmark. Meanwhile, island politics can change very quickly and the traditional cleavages in Faroese politics are liable to changing degrees of public support. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1715-2593 |