Published in 1992, this book explores the process, problems, and issues related to Quebec's possible accession to sovereign status. The essays in this collection start from the premise that the process of constitutional renewal in Canada had, by 1992, reached an impasse. Since the federal government was unable to make proposals for an asymmetrical federalism acceptable to Quebec, Quebec sovereignty seemed an increasingly likely possibility. The contributors explore the minutiae of the process required to make sovereignty a reality. Written at a time of extreme constitutional stress, the essays in Negotiating with a Sovereign Quebec offer clear-eyed assessments of the possibility of the failure of Canadian federalism.

Annotation Published in 1992, this book explores the process, problems, and issues related to Quebec's possible accession to sovereign status. The essays in this collection start from the premise that the process of constitutional renewal in Canada had, by 1992, reached an impasse. Since the federal government was unable to make proposals for an asymmetrical federalism acceptable to Quebec, Quebec sovereignty seemed an increasingly likely possibility. The contributors explore the mintutiae of the process required to make sovereignty a reality. Written at a time of extreme constitutional stress, the essays in Negotiating with a Sovereign Quebec offer clear-eyed assessments of the possibility of the failure of Canadian federalism.

There is no one-size-fits-all decentralized fix to deeply divided and conflict-ridden states. One of the hotly debated policy prescriptions for states facing self-determination demands is some form of decentralized governance - including regional autonomy arrangements and federalism - which grants minority groups a degree of self-rule. Yet the track record of existing decentralized states suggests that these have widely divergent capacity to contain conflicts within their borders. Through in-depth case studies of Chechnya, Punjab and Québec, as well as a statistical cross-country analysis, this book argues that while policy, fiscal approach, and political decentralization can, indeed, be peace-preserving at times, the effects of these institutions are conditioned by traits of the societies they (are meant to) govern. Decentralization may help preserve peace in one country or in one region, but it may have just the opposite effect in a country or region with different ethnic and economic characteristics.

Robert Young discusses the ways in which Canadians might reconstitute their country after Quebec separates and considers possible political and economic arrangements between Quebec and Canada - the "association" aspect of sovereignty-association - including the breakdown of economic cooperation. Arguing that the long-term future of Canada and the shape of Canada-Quebec relations will depend on how the transition to sovereignty takes place, Young provides a clear and detailed analysis of how the transition is likely to occur. His discussion addresses major issues to be negotiated during the secession - citizenship, national debt, borders, armed forces and public service, commercial and economic relations, currency, First Nations, minority rights, mobility and immigration, and environmental matters. For comparison, Young draws on the experiences of other countries where peaceful secession has occurred, including Czechoslovakia. The second edition includes a new preface and concluding chapter that discuss to what extent the situation has changed since the referendum of 1995.

Based on the premises that Quebecers vote for independence in a referendum and Canada accepts this result, The Secession of Quebec and the Future of Canada is a timely examination of the implications of separation for Quebec and the rest of Canada.