AP® Comparative Government and Politics review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/comp-gov/units/3/3-9)
Unit 3 · Topic 3.9
3.9 Challenges from Political and Social Cleavages
Cleavages can lead to protests, separatist movements, terrorism or civil war. Governments respond in different ways: repression, autonomy, power-sharing, reserved seats or changes to federal structures. The course countries offer an example of nearly every response.
Key terms
- separatism
- autonomy
- multinational state
- Boko Haram
- repression
Challenges
- Separatism: a group seeks independence for its region, like Scottish nationalists or Chechen separatists.
- Demands for autonomy: more self-rule within the country, like the Zapatistas in Chiapas.
- Insurgency and terrorism: armed groups such as Boko Haram attack the state and civilians.
- Civil war: Nigeria's 1967–70 war followed the southeast's attempt to secede as Biafra.
- Competition and distrust: groups and parties fight over resources, and some groups don't accept the government's authority.
- Outside interference: neighbors may exploit divisions in a state that looks weak. Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which Russia justified as protecting Russian speakers, is a widely cited example.
How governments respond
| Response | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Repression | Force, arrests, surveillance | China in Xinjiang and Tibet; Russia's wars in Chechnya (1994–96 and from 1999) |
| Devolution or autonomy | Give the region its own government | UK devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland |
| Power-sharing | Guarantee each group a role in government | Northern Ireland's government under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement |
| Constitutional recognition | Legally recognize group rights | Mexico's 2001 indigenous rights reform, recognition of Afro-Mexicans in 2019 and a 2024 reform strengthening both groups' rights |
| Reserved seats | Guarantee representation in the legislature | Iran's five Majles seats for religious minorities |
| Federal design | Create states and spread jobs across groups | Nigeria's 36 states and its federal character principle |
Key cases
Nigeria: Boko Haram began an armed insurgency in the northeast in 2009 and kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014. The state has responded mainly with military force. Separatist pressure for Biafra has revived in the southeast, and twelve northern states adopted Sharia criminal law, starting in 2000.
UK: Scotland voted against independence in 2014 (55.3% No). In 2022 the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament can't hold another independence referendum without Westminster's approval.
Mexico: The Zapatistas (EZLN) rose up in Chiapas on 1 January 1994, the day NAFTA took effect, demanding indigenous rights and autonomy. Talks led to the 1996 San Andrés Accords, and later reforms recognized indigenous rights, though the Zapatistas said those reforms fell short.
Russia: After two wars, Chechnya is run by a loyal leader with broad local power, backed by Moscow, which keeps separatism suppressed.
Iran and China: Kurdish and Baluch armed groups have fought the Iranian state in border regions, and the government has responded mainly with force. In China, unrest in Tibet in 2008 and in Xinjiang in 2009 was followed by tighter security and controls on religion.
Why ethnicity matters more in Nigeria than in Mexico
Ethnicity has shaped politics more in Nigeria than in Mexico. Britain drew Nigeria's borders around hundreds of groups and ruled the north and south differently, so ethnic and religious identities became the basis of parties and regional power after independence.
In Mexico, governments after the Revolution promoted a shared mestizo national identity, and the main divides are more about class and region. Indigenous communities still face poverty and discrimination, which fed the Zapatista uprising.
Common mistakes
- Assuming devolution always calms separatism. In Scotland it gave nationalists a platform that helped them win power and hold a referendum.
- Mixing up autonomy and independence. Autonomy is self-rule within the state.
- Describing a response without explaining its effect on stability or legitimacy.
On the exam
- Argument essays may ask which response best manages cleavages. Compare at least two responses with evidence, such as devolution in the UK and repression in Russia.
- Pair each challenge with the government's response; that pairing answers many short-answer questions.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 3.9 Challenges from Political and Social Cleavages. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Chechen separatists declared independence from Russia in the early 1990s. Russia fought two wars in Chechnya, from 1994 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2009, and both sides were accused of serious abuses.
Since the second war, Chechnya has been governed by leaders loyal to the Kremlin, and the region depends heavily on money from the federal budget.
Secondary-style passage written for this practice set
The conflict described in the first paragraph is best classified as
Russia's approach after the second war, as described in the second paragraph, best illustrates
In 2013, Nigeria's government declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states and expanded military operations against Boko Haram. This response is best described as
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement set up a Northern Ireland Assembly in which unionist and nationalist parties share executive power. This arrangement is an example of a government responding to a cleavage by
0 of 4 answered