Engaging with a range of interconnected and highly topical issues of identity, self-determination and secession, this book examines the import and implications of 'identity claims', and looks into 'identity politics' motivated by such claims, which is becoming ever more salient in democratic and culturally and ethnically heterogeneous states. It discusses nationalism as an important component of identity of individuals and groups, and a position that generates claims of self-determination and secession on the part of ethnic and cultural groups. It also examines patriotism, which until recently seemed to be on the wane, but has undergone a dramatic revival after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001 and the start of a global 'war on terror'. The book offers a typology of facets of patriotism, an assessment of its moral standing, and a critique of the beliefs about the patria it characteristically involves. Also discussed are topics such as political liberalism vs. 'identity liberalism', the ways a liberal society should treat nonliberal communities within it, the role of heritage and remembrance in national identity, the status of national minorities as an issue of equality, arrangements concerning indigenous peoples and intrastate autonomy as an alternative to secession, and whether secession can be a legal act. The book includes contributions by prominent philosophers and political and legal theorists from Australia, Canada, Israel, and the United States.

This book offers a comprehensive summary of extant international law scholarship on the topics of self-determination and secession and positions the concepts among present-day theory and relevant practice, illustrated through various ongoing cases and historical examples. The right to self-determination is among the least understood rights within international law. Theoretical dilemmas – as to whether there is a link between self-determination and secession – are nothing new. In essence, self-determination is a much broader concept than secession and obtaining independent statehood. Unilateral secession is not prohibited by international law, but neither is it per se welcomed or accepted in practice. Beyond the context of decolonization, secession claims have long been viewed with disapproval in international law, and lawyers have been extremely skeptical about the issue. Although this is still the case, there are also new trends and opportunities to explore situations in which secession can be accepted, legitimized, or even legally permissible. The yardstick for this is the diplomatic response to secessionism and the growing involvement of the international community in mediation and conflict resolution. Though finding solutions can be difficult, within the existing frame, the ongoing tension between the duty of every society to recognize pluralism and diversity on the one hand, and the inherent desire of every culture – whether majority, minority or indigenous – to protect its values and ensure conformity on the other, must be resolved. The practices and modalities that envisage the internal dimension of the right to self-determination as a right that is exercised within the state borders can offer such opportunities. The appropriate role of the state and the international community is to serve as mediators between competing forces and to set parameters that can transform destructive conflicts into productive political models.

Theories of Secession presents a systematic analysis of the rise of secessionist movements in global politics. Bringing together a collection of experts in the field, it provides a timely forum for debate in this contentious area of study.

In recent years, numerous multi-national states have disintegrated along national lines, and today, many more, in both the first and the third worlds, continue to witness bitter secessionist struggles. The proliferation of national conflicts and secessionist movements has given rise to many important questions which urgently need to be addressed. When is seccession justified? What is a people and what gives them a right to secede? Is national determination consistent with liberal and democratic principles? Or is it a dangerous doctrine? In the years following 1991, when Allen Buchanan published Secession, a number of competing theories of the ethics of secession have been put forward. This pathbreaking study, by a host of leading figures in the field, brings together for the first time a series of original essays on these theories. Offering fresh insight into debates about contested territory, the problem of minorities, and the place of secession in resolving national conflicts, this volume provides a much-needed philosophical discussion of the normative implications of nationalism.