Frustrating Safety Valves in Canadian Politics

Jacob Levy, my erudite and articulate colleague, has a blog post about a piece in the Globe and Mail (not mine) on the Bloc Quebecois, which is the national-level (meaning it sits in the Parliament in Ottawa and not at the Provincial level in Quebec City) separatist party (yes, they call it sovereigntist--I thought I had blogged about it but have not--so coming soon). The basic idea is that the BQ may make a real separatist campaign harder by providing Quebecers with enough influence and ego-stroking to provide a release for separatist passions.

This does not surprise Jacob since he has written about this in the past, nor does it surprise me since I have written about how governments play a dual role in any civil conflict--as a deterrent against violence but also assuring folks that they can block abuses of the state. With the BQ as a major actor in the system (and because parties need enough support in Quebec to win a majority at the national level), folks can feel assured that the government will not abuse them and may actually favor them.

From the op-ed piece, a very apt conclusion:

Heaven never came. The Bloquistes scored at the polls and won concessions in Ottawa, but in so doing moved further from realizing their cardinal ambition. As such, we should salute them as builders of Canadian unity and wish them continued success. They are one of the great backfiring stories of our time.