CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 58

ANNA KARAPETYAN
have a wide range of things to accomplish. It should be noted that in the
new context, the different approaches to these two conflicts are no longer
relevant and valid, and it is logical to expect strong support for the
development of democracy in Artsakh. This makes it possible once again
to speak about the irrationality of avoiding the recognition of Artsakh's
independence.
Active processes are also taking place surrounding the issues of
Scotland and Northern Ireland. The process of leaving the United
Kingdom again raised centrifugal moods in Scotland, and the Northern
Ireland issue became one of the major obstacles for Brexit.
The desire for independence in Scotland has again gained
momentum during the process of BREXIT (Britain leaving the European
Union). On June 23, 2016, during the referendum on BREXIT, 51.89
percent of UK citizens voted to leave the union. Still, in Scotland, 62%
voted to stay in the EU and only 38% voted to leave. 21 As a result of this
and the prospect of economic hardship, the issue of holding a new
referendum on independence is back on the agenda in Scotland. On
October 20, 2016, the Government of Scotland published the second draft
bill on an independence referendum in the country to start further
discussion. Scotland's aim is to gain the right not to leave the EU single
market, maybe staying within the United Kingdom, and enhancing the
Scottish Parliament's role on the issues of international trade and
migration. 22
The issue of Northern Ireland is one of the main factors hindering
the Brexit process today. The Belfast Agreement of 1998 established a
specific governance mechanism in a number of areas of Northern Ireland,
including the formation of the Irish-British Council, which guarantees the
decisions in different areas that are agreed upon by all sides and takes
into account the interests of all parties. 23 Due to its historical features,
Northern Ireland is economically very close to the Republic of Ireland,

21
"EU referendum results," Electoral Commission, September 25, 2019,
https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/elections-and-
referendums/past-elections-and-referendums/eu-referendum/results-and-turnout-eu-
referendum (accessed September 29, 2019).
22 “Scottish independence: draft bill published on second referendum,” The Guardian,
October 20, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/20/second-scottish-
independence-referendum-bill-published (accessed September 22, 2019),
23 “The Belfast Agreement, Agreement reached in multi-party negotiations,” CAIN Web
Service, http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/agreement.htm (accessed October 10,
2019).
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