A Theory of Secession

by Christopher Heath Wellman

• ISBN13: 9780521849159
• ISBN10: 0521849152
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-05
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Offering an unapologetic defense of the right to secede, Christopher Heath Wellman argues that any group has a moral right to secede as long as its political divorce will leave it and the remainder state in a position to perform the requisite political functions. He explains that there is nothing contradictory about valuing legitimate states, while permitting their division. Thus, if one values self-determination, then one has good reason to conclude that people have a right to determine their political boundaries.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(5)
The Case for Statism	6	(28)
Valuing Self-Determination	34	(31)
Lincoln on Secession	65	(32)
The Truth in Nationalism	97	(31)
Political Coercion and Exploitation	128	(29)
Secession and International Law	157	(24)
The Velvet Transformation	181	(6)
Bibliography	187	(10)
Index	197