This paper aims to show that secession, especially if unilateral, is difficult in contexts of
liberal democracy. The empirical difficulties may, however, ease the normative
recognition of a right to secede. After some general remarks, obstacles to consensual
secession will be distinguished from those of unilateral secession, emphasizing the
harshness of the latter. Three passages will be analyzed to overcome these obstacles,
namely domestication, perseverance and drama. Although a combination ...
This paper aims to show that secession, especially if unilateral, is difficult in contexts of
liberal democracy. The empirical difficulties may, however, ease the normative
recognition of a right to secede. After some general remarks, obstacles to consensual
secession will be distinguished from those of unilateral secession, emphasizing the
harshness of the latter. Three passages will be analyzed to overcome these obstacles,
namely domestication, perseverance and drama. Although a combination of all three
strategies is expected in the world of facts, domestication and perseverance should
trump drama in the normative realm of liberal democracy. The passage of drama ought
to be anomalous in contemporary democracies. The strategy of drama can backfire.
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