The Falkland Islands referendum 2013

This note considers the 10-11th March 2013 Falkland Islands referendum. As accredited observers, the authors were granted access not only to the work of the international observation mission but also the actual organisation of the referendum itself. The background to the referendum is explained and thereafter the result and longer-term significance is considered. Notwithstanding Argentine opposition to the referendum, the latter was widely considered within the Falkland Islands and beyond to be the most significant event since the 1982 South Atlantic conflict.