Coggins, B.R. (2011) ‘The History of Secession: An Overview’, in A. Pavkovic and P. Radan, The Ashgate Research Companion to Secession, London, Routledge, 24-43.

1. Macro-historical approach: secessionism across time.
2. Rise of nation-state, self-determination, nationalism in 16^th and 17^th centuries required rulers to develop a compelling national myth to legitimise their rule in order to minimise both internal and external challenges.
3. By middle of 19^th century, nationalism took two main forms: civic and ethnic.
4. “Ethnic nationalism fractured multinational empires and the tension between national self-determination and state integrity grew steadily throughout the 20^th century” (25).
5. After WWII, “nationalists demanded that national identity be the presumptive basis for self-determination, sovereignty and membership in the international society of states” (26)
6. Jennings: “let the people decide” seems reasonable but is in fact ridiculous because “the people cannot decide until someone decides ‘who the people are’” (26).
7. The international system went from 25 states in 1816 to 194 in 2008.
8. Secessionism was encouraged by President W. Wilson’s 14 points after WWI setting out a programme of national self-determination requiring a state for each nation.
9. After WWII, anti-colonial secession exploded in the global South, legitimised and managed by the UN.
10. Secessions arising out of anti-colonial movements and emerging from disintegrating host states usually succeeded and were recognised; most others were not.
11. Most secessionist movements are predisposed to violence and have disastrous consequences for host states.
12. National communities asking for self-determination are branded as internal enemies by the host state and are at risk of violence because they begin from a position of weakness: balance of power between the two means that violence favors the host.
13. Leaders of secessionist movements stand to gain wealth, prestige, power and lifestyle upgrade if successful.
14. Few states have ever included legal provisions for secession in their constitutions, and only a few more explicitly outlaw secession: most leave it legally ambiguous. But many secessionist movements are non-violent and end up in independence.
15. Common tactic is formation of independentist parties advocating secession.
16. Enduring characteristics of secession:
    1. Statehood remains a valuable commodity;
    2. Third-party states and international institutions play an influential role in secessionist conflicts, with international recognition as a sovereign state and UN membership being the ultimate prize;
    3. UN maintains that right to self-determination does not imply right to secession in order to avoid violent conflicts and wars; therefore no legal developments regarding secession have taken place over past six decades. Conditions under which secession might be deemed acceptable or justified remain unclear and can only be deduced from precedents.
    4. “Without an international consensus regarding secessionist norms, most conflicts will drag on or reach stalemates only to reignite because foreign capitals will not unanimously ratify battlefield outcomes or compel negotiated compromises between parties” (40).