Separatism is the wish — and often the political fight — to break a piece of a country off and make it a new country, with its own government. The people who want this are called separatists; the idea, and the movement, is separatism. It is a heavy, formal word. You meet it in the news, in history, and in arguments about borders, not in small talk. Governments often use it as a warning word, as if the group is tearing the country apart. People inside the movement usually prefer independence, self-rule, or freedom. Though actually, wanting more local power is not always separatism: some groups only want a louder voice inside the same country. The word can also cover religious groups who want to live apart, but the meaning you will hear most is about land and government.