The Two Québec Independence Referendums: Political Strategies and International Relations

Québec is exceptional among all cases of nationalist movements in liberal-democracies as governments formed by the secessionist Parti Québécois (PQ) have organized two independence referendums. Thus, the Québec case offers particularly fertile ground for examining how a secessionist party seeks to convince a majority of voters to support independence in a referendum campaign while a host of other actors (within the province, across the country, and around the world) make a case against secession. The unique Québec experience with two independence referendums reveals something important: each of the referendums had its own political dynamic, featuring its own set of secessionist strategies and counter-strategies as well as specific international environment. Indeed, the political dynamics of the referendums of 1980 and 1995 were shaped by the preceding 15-20 year period. These ‘slices of history’ informed how secessionist actors sought to prevail in each of the referendums. The cases of the Québec referendums are also amongst the most important instances of protodiplomacy (political actors seeking support for an eventual declaration of independence) in a liberal-democracy, therefore exposing some of the strategies and dynamics linked to the international relations dimensions of independence referendums.