So the comment I was going to reply to was deleted, but it did address the point that I need to nail down the question a little more.

I don't have an exact definition/description, per se, aside from this bit on Wikipedia, which claims that a contributing cause to the ultimate collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the increased push by various minority ethnic groups within the Empire for greater autonomy during WWI. It got me thinking about how there were similarly major rifts between ethnic groups in America at various points (like the nativist, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish movement prior to the American Civil War, just off the top of my head) and the different outcomes of those situations.