separatism
nounEtymology From separate + -ism.
1
A theory or doctrine which supports a state of separation between organizations, institutions, or other societal groups (e.g. between church and state) or between different political jurisdictions (e.g. a country and its former colony).
- She wrote an essay expounding the tenets of Scottish separatism.
2
The practice of treating members of different societal groups in a politically, legally, or economically different manner.
- Apartheid was a government-enforced form of separatism in which people received unequal social benefits based on race.
- Derived terms
- antiseparatism
- Related terms
- separatist, apartheid, secessionism, segregation