Abstract

Why do nation-states, which have long been standardizing and unifying their lands and languages, allow the formation of ethnically distinct territorial autonomies? Few existing theoretical studies that entertain this question heavily rely on hard power explanations of territorial autonomy formation, such as groups’ economic and military capabilities. Employing the arguments advanced in the nonviolence literature and tracing the process of territorial autonomy formation in the case of Tatars in the Russian Federation, this study revises the conventional claim. It concludes that groups which rely on peaceful tactics such as verbal or written communication of discontent as well as nonviolent protests have a significant potential to achieve territorial autonomy.