In a representative survey in Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark with a viable separatist movement, Agneman finds relatively strong support for national independence in a baseline sample (40% for, 30% against).
The support is significantly lower among respondents who read a piece of information on the current fiscal dependence on Denmark (which funds almost half of Greenland's public budget) before voting. However, only respondents with personal ties to Denmark react to the information by updating their beliefs and voting behavior. In other words, whether valence information affects preferences for independence is contingent upon national identity.
The results underline the importance of considering instrumental motives to understand independence movements. At the same time, the study shows that far from everyone is affected by instrumental motives. As such, the results may provide a clue as to why proponents and opponents of independence may appear to be living in separate universes; indeed, that is what they do.
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