Secession

Secession (independence) usually means when part of one country declares its independence and breaks away or leaves that country to start a new country.

Constitutions of countries may include articles that either legally forbid or allow secession of part of the country. Most national constitutions, which have articles about secession, forbid it, but a few constitutions, such as the constitutions of the former Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, and Ethiopia allow the secession of their republics.

A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful.

Violent examples include the secession of the 11 southern states, which formed the Confederate States, from the United States and led to the failed American Civil War, and the Bangladesh Liberation War of East Pakistan (Bangladesh), which succeeded against West Pakistan.

Peaceful examples include the secession of the Soviet republics from the Soviet Union, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals such autonomy or more devolved powers from the national government of the country.Allen Buchanan, "Secession", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2007. 

Examples of giving more devolved powers to prevent their secession include Quebec, Scotland and Flanders.

References

Category:Political geography