The difference between Autonomy and Independence ?
IF you're talking about autonomous states versus independent states, there's a huge difference.
An autonomous state is free to make its own rules and regulations, within the confines of its larger government structure (ie: as long as its laws don't interfere with the laws set by the country it exists within). An example of this would be Nunavut, within Canada. They are allowed to make their own system to punish perpetrators of minor criminal offenses, but they must defer to Canadian Federal Law for major offenses.
Being independent means being free to make all choices, irrespective of any one else. It means to operate under your own power, like being a country such as the United States, or Mexico.
Autonomy is the freedom to make choices rather than having guides, rules, laws, etc. imposed on you.
Independence is the ability to act on your autonomy and carry out those actions without the reliance on others.
By Doris Jones
