Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio) is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. It is not to be confused with succession, the act of following in order or sequence.
Mainstream political theory largely ignored theories of secession until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s through secession.[1] Theories of secession address a fundamental problem of political philosophy: the legitimacy and moral basis of the state’s authority, be it based on “God’s will,” consent of the people, the morality of goals, or usefulness to obtaining goals.[2]
In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec philosophy professor Allen 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 peoples.[3]
In the fall of 1994 the Journal of Libertarian Studies published Robert W. McGee’s article ”Secession Reconsidered.” He writes from a libertarian perspective, but holds that secession is justified only if secessionists can create a viable, if minimal, state on contiguous territory.[4]
In April 1995 the Ludwig Von Mises Institute sponsored a secession conference. Papers from the conference were later published in the book Secession, State and Liberty by David Gordon. Among articles included were: “The Secession Tradition in America” by Donald Livingston; “When is Political Divorce Justified?” by Steven Yates; “The Ethics of Secession” by Scott Boykin; “Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation-State” by Murray Rothbard; “Yankee Confederates: New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States” by Thomas DiLorenzo; “Was the Union Army's Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act? by James Ostrowski.[5]
In July 1998 the Rutgers University journal “Society” published papers from a “Symposium on Secession and Nationalism at the Millennium” including the articles “The Western State as Paradigm” by Hans-Herman Hoppe, “Profit Motives in Secession” by Sabrina P. Ramet, “Rights of Secession” by Daniel Kofman, “The Very Idea of Secession” by Donald Livingston and “Secession, Autonomy, & Modernity” by Edward A. Tiryakian. In 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called “Secession As an International Phenomenon” which produced a number of papers on the topic.[6]
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”).[7] 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,[8] Walter Williams,[9] Jane Jacobs,[10] Frances Kendall and Leon Louw,[11] Leopold Kohr,[12] Kirkpatrick Sale,[13] and various authors in David Gordon’s “Secession, State and Liberty,” includes:
Aleksandar Pavkovic,[14] associate professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Macquarie University in Australia and the author of several books on secession describes five justifications for a general right of secession within liberal political theory:[15]
Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state) can secede from the larger or original state:[3][16][15]
Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be mustered against secession:[3]
Movements that work towards political secession may describe themselves as being autonomy, separatist, independence, self-determination, partition, devolution decentralization, sovereignty, self-governance or decolonization movements instead of, or in addition to, being secession movements. Many of these movements belong to the non-governmental organization Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), some of whose former members successfully seceded and joined the United Nations.[17][18]
See more complete lists of historical and active autonomist and secessionist movements. "See also" category: Secessionist organizations
During the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales (NSW) was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. South Australia (SA) was separated in 1836, Victoria (Vic) in 1851 and Queensland (Qld) in 1859.
However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century; particularly in central Queensland (centred in Rockhampton) in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland (with Bowen as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movements arose and these advocated the secession of New England in northern central New South Wales, Deniliquin in the Riverina district also in NSW, and Mount Gambier in the eastern part of South Australia.
Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia (WA), where a 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution.
On August 25, 1830, during the reign of William I, the nationalistic opera La muette de Portici was performed in Brussels. Soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from The Netherlands.
Two southern republican states seceded from Brazil in 1835. Defeated in the War of the Farrapos, they returned in 1845.
Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. Under the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Quebec colony (including parts of what is today Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) was divided in two: Lower Canada (which retained French law and institutions) and Upper Canada (a new colony intended to accommodate the many English-speaking settlers, including the United Empire Loyalists). The intent was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the Province of Canada. The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union lead to the adoption of a federal system in Canada, and the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to the Quebec sovereignty movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Other occasional secessionist movements have included anti-Confederation movements in 19th century Atlantic Canada (see Anti-Confederation Party), the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and various small separatism movements in Alberta particularly (see Alberta separatism) and Western Canada generally (see, for example, Western Canada Concept).
In 1960 the State of Katanga declared independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations crushed it by war.
In 1974 the Turkish Army conquered northern Cyprus to protect the interests of the ethnic Turkish minority, who in the following year formed the Turkish Federative State of Cyprus and in 1983 declared independence as the Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey.
Timor Leste formerly known as East Timor successfully seceded from Indonesia on May 20, 2002. East Timor had been a Portuguese colony since the 16th Century. In 1975 Portugal passed law 7/75 allowing for a transitional government with elections to be run in 1976. Portuguese sovereignty was to be terminated in October 1978. On August 11, 1975 one of the political parties UDT staged a coup in the capital of Dili. Other political parties responded; essentially civil war broke out and the Portuguese retreated. On November 28, 1975 FRETILIN declared unilateral independence and established the Government of the Democratic of the Republic of East Timor. The other parties dissented, and instead accepted the proposed integration to Indonesia and on July 17, 1976 it was made official by the Indonesian Parliament. After much bloodshed Indonesia allowed the Timorese to vote in 1999 on independence. The "yes" vote was overwhelming and on May 20, 2002 they were officially an independent country.[19]
Following the 1993 victory of counterrevolutionary forces in an Ethiopian civil war, Eritrea, which had been united to that country by conquest by Italy, seceded in a United Nations referrendum. Secessionist forces in Tigre and elsewhere agreed to continue Ethiopia as a federation.
After decades of tumultuous federalism, Ecuador and Venezuela seceded from Gran Colombia in 1830, leaving the similarly tumultuous United States of Colombia, now the Republic of Colombia which also lost Panama in 1903.
The Constitution of India does not allow Indian states to declare independence, and separatist political parties have been banned. Secessionist movements in Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Punjab have been suppressed by the military.
The Kashmiri separatist movement, supported by Pakistan, allege that the state named Jammu and Kashmir has the right, under international law, to leave the Indian Union after a plebiscite. India rejects this argument, arguing that the UN resolutions on which this right is based are archaic, on three grounds: 1) Pakistan has not withdrawn its troops from its share of Kashmir - a prerequisite for a referendum; 2) the Kashmiri legislature ratified the union of Kashmir and India; 3) Indian Kashmir has been integrated into India, and secession is literally impossible.[citation needed]
In the 1970s and 1980s, some Sikhs began a movement to create a Sikh state known as Khalistan in the Punjab region bordering both India and Pakistan. Indian military forces crushed the violent insurgency in the 1980s, destroying part of the famous Golden Temple during one incident.[20]
In the 1960s, the Mizo National Front also began a movement for Independence but the movement was crushed when The Government of India bombed the city of Aizawl with 'Toofani' and 'Hunter' Jet fighters. This was the first time that India had used its air force to quell a movement of any kind among its citizens.
The northern-Italian party Lega Nord has declared in 15 September 1996 the secession of Padania (Northern-Italy) for the differences of culture and economy between North and South, for opposition to the centralism of Rome. The politics of secession has been turned off by Lega Nord, after the coalition with the Centre-Right parties and the proposals of devolution and federalism. Although, an ineffective Parliament has been conserved into the Party and its regional sections are named as "national".
Active secession movements include Assyrian independence, Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Al-Ahwaz Arab People's Democratic Popular Front, Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz and Balochistan People’s Party (BPP), supporting Baloch separatism.[21]
When racial and partisan strife erupted, Singapore left the Malaysian federation in 1965. Agitation for secession has since been sporadic on the culturally distinct large island of Borneo in the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Secession movements have surfaced several times in the South Island of New Zealand. A Premier of New Zealand, Sir Julius Vogel, was amongst the first people to make this call, which was voted on by the Parliament of New Zealand as early as 1865. The desire for South Island independence was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington in the same year.
The South Island Party with a pro-South agenda, fielded candidates in the 1999 General Election. While a new South Island Party was formed before the 2008 General Election.
Today, the question of South Island Independence remains a matter of public debate rather than a political issue, since no significant political party supports the idea. And, while there is no unified or official pro-independence movement as such, several internet based groups do advocate their support for an independent South Island.
Between 1967 and 1970, the unrecognised state of Biafra (The Republic of Biafra) seceded from Nigeria, resulting in a civil war that ended with the state returning to Nigeria.
Norway and Sweden, having left the Kalmar Union in the 16th century, entered into a loose personal union in 1814. Following a constitutional crisis, in 1905 the Norwegian Parliament declared that King Oscar II had failed to fulfill his constitutional duties on 7 June. He was therefore no longer King of Norway and because the union depended on the two countries sharing a king, it was thus dissolved. Sweden agreed to this on 26 October.
After the Awami League won the 1970 national elections, negotiations to form a new government foundered, resulting in the Bangladesh Liberation War by which the eastern wing of Pakistan seceded.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 and has been unrecognized by the UN or any other state until recently when the United Nations put it on "Observatory Membership."[citation needed]
The Spain (also known as "the Kingdom of Spain") was assembled in the 15th century from various component kingdoms, of which Portugal seceded, by war in 1640. Spain has several secessionist movements, the most notable being in Catalonia and the Basque Country.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam operate a de facto independent state in eastern and northern Sri Lanka which has not been recognized internationally.
In 1847 seven disaffected Catholic cantons formed a separate alliance because of moves to change the cantons of Switzerland from a confederation to a more centralized government federation. This effort was crushed in the Sonderbund war and a new Swiss Federal Constitution was created.[22]
The United Kingdom has a number of different secession movements:
The Republic of Ireland comprises the only territory that has withdrawn from the United Kingdom proper; as the Irish Free State it gained independence in 1922 (independence had been declared in 1916).
By some theories, the American Revolution was a secession, rather than a revolution.[23][24] Discussions and threats of secession have often surfaced in American politics, but only in the case of the Confederate States of America was secession actually declared. A 2008 Zogby International poll revealed that 22% of Americans believe that "any state or region has the right to peaceably secede and become an independent republic."[25][26]
North Yemen and South Yemen merged in 1990; tensions led to a 1994 southern secession which was crushed in a civil war.
On June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia seceded from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Others followed, the federation collapsed, and civil war ensued within Croatia and elsewhere.
Serbian attempts to repress secessionists in Albanian-majority Kosovo led to the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008 and was recognized by the United States and some other countries a day later and over the next few days, but remains under United Nations administration. Montenegro peacefully separated from its union with Serbia in 2006.
In the episode "Patriot Acts" (first aired May 21, 2008) in Season 4 of the television series Boston Legal, attorney Alan Shore is approached by Judge Harvey Cooper (Anthony Heald) on behalf of Concord, Massachusetts, who want him to represent them in their attempt to secede from the United States. Alan takes the case, offending colleague Denny Crane, who appears in court representing the United States.
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