The Dynamic of Secession (Cambridge Studies in International Rel

The Dynamic of SecessionAuthor(s): Viva Ona Bartkus\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521659703, 978-0521659703\nSynopsis\nThis book, first published in 1999, offers a general explanation for the occurrence of the phenomenon of secessionist activity, arising from a comparative study of numerous historical examples of secession and separatist conflict. The book develops a comprehensive framework, specifying the elements necessary for a secession crisis, and discussing the moral issues underpinning such a decision. The author examines the political, economic and social costs and benefits of a community's two alternatives - continued integration in the existing state and secession - which enter into decision-making processes, and argues that secessionist activity arises only when government action or international developments change a community's view of the balance among these costs and benefits.