Secession is the unilateral withdrawal of an integral part of a state's territory. Secession generally aims to establish a separate political entity, typically a sovereign state, although it may instead seek accession to another existing state.
Secession often begins with an act such as a declaration of independence, and may be pursued peacefully or through armed conflict. Scholars distinguish secession from related concepts such as separatism. Theories of secession differ over its causes, moral justification, and legal status, including whether groups possess a general right of secession or only a remedial right in cases of serious injustice. International law generally neither recognizes a broad right of unilateral secession nor absolutely prohibits it, while the constitutional law of individual states varies considerably.
Secession has occurred throughout history through decolonization, the breakup of federations and multinational states, and regional independence movements. Historical and contemporary secessionist movements have sought independence or greater autonomy in many parts of the world. Threats of secession may be used to obtain greater autonomy or other political concessions short of independence.Allen Buchanan, "Secession", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007.
Secession theory According to the 2017 book Secession and Security, by political scientist Ahsan Butt, states respond violently to secessionist movements if the potential state poses a greater threat than the would-be secessionist movement. States perceive a future war with a potential new state as likely if the ethnic group driving the secessionist struggle has deep identity division with the central state, and if the regional neighborhood is violent and unstable.
Explanations for the 20th century increase in secessionism According to political scientist Bridget L. Coggins, the academic literature contains four potential explanations for the drastic increase in secessions during the 20th century: Ethnonational mobilization, where ethnic minorities have been increasingly mobilized to pursue states of their own. Institutional empowerment, where the growing inability of empires and ethnic federations to maintain colonies and member states increases the likelihood of success. Relative strength, where increasingly powerful secessionist movements are more likely to achieve statehood. Negotiated consent, where home states and the international community increasingly consent to secessionist demands.
Other scholars have linked secession to resource discoveries and extraction. David B. Carter, H. E. Goemans, and Ryan Griffiths find that border changes among states tend to conform to the borders of previous administrative units.
Several scholars argue that changes in the international system have made it easier for small states to survive and prosper. Tanisha Fazal and Ryan Griffiths link increased numbers of secessions to an international system that is more favorable for new states. For example, new states can obtain assistance from international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the United Nations. Alberto Alesina and Enrico Spolaore argue that greater levels of free trade and peace have reduced the benefits of being part of a larger state, thus motivating nations within larger states to seek secession.
Woodrow Wilson's proclamations on self-determination in 1918 created a surge in secessionist demands.
Philosophy of secession The political philosophy of the rights and moral justification for secession began to develop as recently as the 1980s. American philosopher Allen Buchanan offered the first systematic account of the subject in the 1990s and contributed to the normative classification of the literature on secession. In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other people.Allen Buchanan, Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, West View Press, 1991. In his collection of essays from secession scholars, Secession, State, and Liberty, professor David Gordon challenges Buchanan, making a case that the moral status of the seceding state is unrelated to the issue of secession itself.
Justifications for secession Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason ("Choice Theory") while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices ("Just Cause Theory").Allen Buchanan, How can We Construct a Political Theory of Secession?, paper presented October 5, 2006 to the International Studies Association. Some theories do both. A list of justifications may be presented supporting the right to secede, as described by Allen Buchanan, Robert McGee, Anthony Birch,Anthony H. Birch, "Another Liberal Theory of Secession". Political Studies 32, 1984, 596–602. Jane Jacobs,Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, Vintage, 1985. Frances Kendall and Leon Louw,Frances Kendall and Leon Louw, After Apartheid: The Solution for South Africa, Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1987. One of several popular books they wrote about canton-based constitutional alternatives that include an explicit right to secession. Leopold Kohr,Leopold Kohr, The Breakdown of Nations, Routledge & K. Paul, 1957 Kirkpatrick Sale,Human Scale, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980. Donald W. Livingston and various authors in David Gordon's "Secession, State and Liberty", includes: United States President James Buchanan, Fourth Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union December 3, 1860: "The fact is that our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war. If it cannot live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force." Former President Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William H. Crawford, Secretary of War under President James Madison, on June 20, 1816: "In your letter to Fisk, you have fairly stated the alternatives between which we are to choose: 1, licentious commerce and gambling speculations for a few, with eternal war for the many; or, 2, restricted commerce, peace, and steady occupations for all. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate.' I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, and confederate with those alone which are for peace and agriculture." Economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory. The right to liberty, freedom of association and private property Recognition of the will of the majority to secede, in keeping with consent as an important democratic principle Increased ease for states to join with others in an experimental union Dissolution of such a union when goals for which it was constituted are not achieved Self-defense when larger group presents lethal threat to minority or the government cannot adequately defend an area Self-determination of peoples Preservation of culture, language, etc. from assimilation or destruction by a larger or more powerful group Furtherance of diversity by allowing diverse cultures to keep their identity Rectification of past injustices, especially past conquest by a larger power Escape from "discriminatory redistribution", i.e. tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, and similar policies that distribute resources away to another area, especially in an undemocratic fashion Enhanced efficiency when the state or empire becomes too large to administer efficiently Preservation of "liberal purity" (or "conservative purity") by allowing less (or more) liberal regions to secede Provision of superior constitutional systems which allow flexibility of secession Minimizing the size of political entities and the human scale through right to secession
Political scientist Aleksander Pavkovic describes five justifications for a general right of secession within liberal political theory:Aleksandar Pavkovic, Secession, Majority Rule and Equal Rights: a Few Questions, Macquarie University Law Journal, 2003. Anarcho-Capitalism: individual liberty to form political associations and private property rights together justify right to secede and to create a "viable political order" with like-minded individuals. Democratic Secessionism: the right of secession, as a variant of the right of self-determination, is vested in a "territorial community" which wishes to secede from "their existing political community"; the group wishing to secede then proceeds to delimit "its" territory by the majority. Communitarian Secessionism: any group with a particular "participation-enhancing" identity, concentrated in a particular territory, which desires to improve its members' political participation has a prima facie right to secede. Cultural Secessionism: any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state. The Secessionism of Threatened Cultures: if a minority culture is threatened within a state that has a majority culture, the minority needs a right to form a state of its own which would protect its culture.
Arguments against secession Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be used against secession:Allen Buchanan, Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, Chapter 3, pp. 87–123. "Protecting legitimate expectations" of those who now occupy territory claimed by secessionists, even in cases where that land was stolen "Self defense" if losing part of the state would make it difficult to defend the rest of it "Protecting majority rule" and the principle that minorities must abide by them "Minimization of strategic bargaining" by making it difficult to secede, such as by imposing an exit tax "Soft paternalism" because secession will be bad for secessionists or others "Threat of anarchy" because smaller and smaller entities may choose to secede until there is chaos, although this is not the true meaning of the political and philosophical concept "Preventing wrongful taking" such as the state's previous investment in infrastructure "Distributive justice" arguments posit that wealthier areas cannot secede from poorer ones
Types of secession
Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state, etc.) can secede from the larger or original state:Steven Yates, "When Is Political Divorce Justified" in David Gordon, 1998. Secession from federation or confederation (political entities with substantial reserved powers which have agreed to join) versus secession from a unitary state (a state governed as a single unit with few powers reserved to sub-units) Colonial wars of independence from an imperial state although this is decolonisation rather than secession. Recursive secession, such as India decolonising from the British Empire, then Pakistan seceding from India, or Georgia seceding from the Soviet Union, then South Ossetia seceding from Georgia. National secession (seceding entirely from the national state) versus local secession (seceding from one entity of the national state into another entity of the same state)