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{{Short description|Formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity}}
{{Other uses}}{{lead rewrite|date=June 2025}}
'''Secession''' (from {{langx|la|sēcessiō||a withdrawing}}) is a term and concept of the formal withdrawal of a group from a [[Polity|political entity]].

In international law, secession is understood as a process in which an integral part of a state's territory unilaterally withdraws without the consent of the original state<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sieniawski |first=Piotr |title=De facto States in the Post-Soviet Space. The Cases of Abkhazia and South Ossetia |publisher=Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie |year=2024 |isbn=978-83-8281-411-8 |pages=67}}</ref>.

The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a [[declaration of independence]]).<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=The Ashgate Research Companion to Secession|last1=Pavkovic|first1=Aleksandar|last2=Radan|first2=Peter|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2013|isbn=9780754677024|location=Burlington, VT|pages=3}}</ref> A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the creation of a new state or entity independent of the group or territory from which it seceded.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Pavkovic |first1=Aleksandar |title=Creating New States: Theory and Practice of Secession |last2=Radan |first2=Peter |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=9780754671633 |location=Burlington, VT |pages=6}}</ref> Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.<ref name="Buchanan2">[[Allen Buchanan]], [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/secession/ "Secession"], [[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]], 2007.</ref> There is some academic debate about this definition, and in particular how it relates to [[separatism]].<ref name=":6">{{cite web|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/3911/discussions/90459/secessionism-and-separatism-monthly-series-secession-and/|title=Secessionism and Separatism Monthly Series: "Secession and Secessionism" by Alexandar Pavković - H-Nationalism - H-Net|website=networks.h-net.org|access-date=2016-03-21|archive-date=2016-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401032718/https://networks.h-net.org/node/3911/discussions/90459/secessionism-and-separatism-monthly-series-secession-and/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Secession theory==
There is no consensus on the definition of political secession despite many political theories on the subject.<ref name=":1"/>

According to the 2017 book ''Secession and Security,'' by political scientist [[Ahsan I. Butt|Ahsan Butt]], states respond violently to secessionist movements if the potential state poses a greater threat than the would-be secessionist movement.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Butt |first=Ahsan I. |url=https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100531380 |title=Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy against Separatists |date=2017-11-15 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9781501713941 |series=Cornell Studies in Security Affairs |location=Ithaca, NY}}</ref> States perceive a future war with a potential new state as likely if the ethnic group driving the secessionist struggle has deep identity division with the central state, and if the regional neighborhood is violent and unstable.<ref name=":0" />

=== Explanations for the 20th century increase in secessionism ===
According to political scientist Bridget L. Coggins, the academic literature contains four potential explanations for the drastic increase in secessions during the 20th century:<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Coggins |first=Bridget |date=2011 |title=Friends in High Places: International Politics and the Emergence of States from Secessionism |journal=International Organization |volume=65 |issue=3 |pages=433–467 |doi=10.1017/S0020818311000105 |issn=1531-5088 |s2cid=145424331}}</ref> 
* Ethnonational mobilization, where ethnic minorities have been increasingly mobilized to pursue states of their own.
* Institutional empowerment, where the growing inability of empires and ethnic federations to maintain colonies and member states increases the likelihood of success.
* Relative strength, where increasingly powerful secessionist movements are more likely to achieve statehood.
* Negotiated consent, where home states and the international community increasingly consent to secessionist demands.

Other scholars have linked secession to resource discoveries and extraction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gehring |first1=Kai |last2=Schneider |first2=Stephan A. |date=2020 |title=Regional resources and democratic secessionism |journal=Journal of Public Economics |volume=181 |article-number=104073 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.104073 |issn=0047-2727 |doi-access=free|hdl=10419/185534 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> David B. Carter, H. E. Goemans, and Ryan Griffiths find that border changes among states tend to conform to the borders of previous administrative units.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carter |first1=David B. |last2=Goemans |first2=H. E. |date=2011 |title=The Making of the Territorial Order: New Borders and the Emergence of Interstate Conflict |journal=International Organization |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=275–309 |doi=10.1017/S0020818311000051 |issn=0020-8183 |jstor=23016813 |s2cid=54863822}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Griffiths |first=Ryan D. |date=2015 |title=Between Dissolution and Blood: How Administrative Lines and Categories Shape Secessionist Outcomes |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0020818315000077/type/journal_article |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=731–751 |doi=10.1017/S0020818315000077 |issn=0020-8183 |s2cid=154530138|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abramson |first1=Scott F. |last2=Carter |first2=David B. |date=2016 |title=The Historical Origins of Territorial Disputes |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055416000381/type/journal_article |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=110 |issue=4 |pages=675–698 |doi=10.1017/S0003055416000381 |issn=0003-0554 |s2cid=152201006|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Several scholars argue that changes in the international system have made it easier for small states to survive and prosper.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Thorhallsson |first1=Baldur |title=Small State Foreign Policy |date=2017-05-24 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313769977 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics |access-date=2020-05-02 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.484 |isbn=978-0-19-022863-7 |last2=Steinsson |first2=Sverrir}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Fazal |first1=Tanisha M. |last2=Griffiths |first2=Ryan D. |date=2014 |title=Membership Has Its Privileges: The Changing Benefits of Statehood |url=https://academic.oup.com/isr/article/16/1/79/1790899 |journal=International Studies Review |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=79–106 |doi=10.1111/misr.12099 |issn=1521-9488|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Alesina |first=Alberto |url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/size-nations |title=The Size of Nations |date=7 November 2003 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=9780262012041 |language=en |access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Thorhallsson |first=Baldur |title="The Small State in International Relations" from Small States and Shelter Theory: Iceland's External Affairs (Routledge, 2019) |pages=13–23 |year=2018 |access-date=2020-05-02 |chapter=The small state in international relations |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339107030 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780429463167-2 |isbn=978-0-429-46316-7 |s2cid=240133027}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lake |first1=David A. |last2=O’mahony |first2=Angela |date=2004 |title=The Incredible Shrinking State |journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution |volume=48 |issue=5 |pages=699–722 |doi=10.1177/0022002704267766 |issn=0022-0027 |s2cid=8619491}}</ref> [[Tanisha Fazal]] and Ryan Griffiths link increased numbers of secessions to an international system that is more favorable for new states. For example, new states can obtain assistance from international organizations such as the [[International Monetary Fund]], [[World Bank]], and the [[United Nations]].<ref name=":2" /> [[Alberto Alesina]] and Enrico Spolaore argue that greater levels of free trade and peace have reduced the benefits of being part of a larger state, thus motivating nations within larger states to seek secession.<ref name=":3" />

[[Woodrow Wilson]]'s [[Fourteen Points|proclamations on self-determination in 1918]] created a surge in secessionist demands.<ref name=":2" />

== Philosophy of secession ==
The [[political philosophy]] of the rights and moral justification for secession began to develop as recently as the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|title=On the Way to Statehood: Secession and Globalisation|last1=Pavkovic|first1=Aleksandar|last2=Radan|first2=Peter|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2008|isbn=9780754673798|location=Burlington, VT|pages=133}}</ref> American philosopher [[Allen Buchanan]] offered the first systematic account of the subject in the 1990s and contributed to the [[normative]] classification of the literature on secession. In his 1991 book ''Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec'', Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other people.<ref name="BuchananBook">Allen Buchanan, ''Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec'', West View Press, 1991.</ref> In his collection of essays from secession scholars, ''Secession, State, and Liberty'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=David|date=February 28, 2002|title=Secession, State, and Liberty|publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=0765809435}}</ref> professor David Gordon challenges Buchanan, making a case that the moral status of the seceding state is unrelated to the issue of secession itself.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gordon|first=David|date=December 5, 2012|title=Is Secession a Right?|url=https://mises.org/library/secession-right|website=Mises Institute}}</ref>

===Justifications for secession===
Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason ("Choice Theory") while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices ("Just Cause Theory").<ref>Allen Buchanan, [http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p98792_index.html How can We Construct a Political Theory of Secession?], paper presented October 5, 2006 to the [[International Studies Association]].</ref> Some theories do both. A list of justifications may be presented supporting the right to secede, as described by Allen Buchanan, Robert McGee, [[Anthony Birch]],<ref>Anthony H. Birch, "Another Liberal Theory of Secession". Political Studies 32, 1984, 596–602.</ref> [[Jane Jacobs]],<ref>Jane Jacobs, ''Cities and the Wealth of Nations'', Vintage, 1985.</ref> Frances Kendall and [[Leon Louw]],<ref>Frances Kendall and Leon Louw, ''After Apartheid: The Solution for South Africa'', Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1987. One of several popular books they wrote about canton-based constitutional alternatives that include an explicit right to secession.</ref> [[Leopold Kohr]],<ref>[[Leopold Kohr]], ''The Breakdown of Nations'', Routledge & K. Paul, 1957</ref> [[Kirkpatrick Sale]],<ref>''Human Scale'', Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980.</ref> Donald W. Livingston<ref>{{Cite book|last=Livingston|first=Donald|title=The Secession Tradition in America|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=1998|isbn=1-56000-362-6|location=New Jersey|pages=17–49}}</ref> and various authors in David Gordon's "Secession, State and Liberty", includes:
* United States [[President of the United States|President]] [[James Buchanan]], Fourth Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union December 3, 1860: "The fact is that our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war. If it cannot live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force."
* Former President [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to [[William H. Crawford]], [[US Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] under President [[James Madison]], on June 20, 1816: "In your letter to Fisk, you have fairly stated the alternatives between which we are to choose: 1, licentious commerce and gambling speculations for a few, with eternal war for the many; or, 2, restricted commerce, peace, and steady occupations for all. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate.' I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, and confederate with those alone which are for peace and agriculture."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/writingsofthomas10jeffiala/writingsofthomas10jeffiala_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "The writings of Thomas Jefferson;"|work=archive.org|access-date=12 August 2015}}</ref>
* Economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory.
* The right to [[liberty]], [[freedom of association]] and [[private property]]
* Recognition of the will of the majority to secede, in keeping with consent as an important democratic principle
* Increased ease for states to join with others in an experimental union
* Dissolution of such a union when goals for which it was constituted are not achieved
* [[Self-defense]] when larger group presents lethal threat to minority or the government cannot adequately defend an area
* [[Self-determination]] of peoples
* Preservation of culture, language, etc. from assimilation or destruction by a larger or more powerful group
* Furtherance of diversity by allowing diverse cultures to keep their [[identity politics|identity]]
* Rectification of past injustices, especially past conquest by a larger power
* Escape from "discriminatory redistribution", i.e. tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, and similar policies that distribute resources away to another area, especially in an undemocratic fashion
* Enhanced efficiency when the state or empire becomes too large to administer efficiently
* Preservation of "liberal purity" (or "conservative purity") by allowing less (or more) liberal regions to secede
* Provision of superior constitutional systems which allow flexibility of secession
* Minimizing the size of political entities and the [[human scale]] through right to secession

Political scientist Aleksander Pavkovic describes five justifications for a general right of secession within liberal political theory:<ref name="Pavkovic-Questions">Aleksandar Pavkovic, [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MqLJ/2003/5.html Secession, Majority Rule and Equal Rights: a Few Questions], [[Macquarie University]] Law Journal, 2003.</ref>
* [[Anarcho-capitalism|Anarcho-Capitalism]]: individual liberty to form political associations and private property rights together justify right to secede and to create a "viable political order" with like-minded individuals.
* Democratic Secessionism: the right of secession, as a variant of the right of self-determination, is vested in a "territorial community" which wishes to secede from "their existing political community"; the group wishing to secede then proceeds to delimit "its" territory by the majority.
* Communitarian Secessionism: any group with a particular "participation-enhancing" identity, concentrated in a particular territory, which desires to improve its members' political participation has a ''[[prima facie]]'' right to secede.
* Cultural Secessionism: any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state.
* The Secessionism of Threatened Cultures: if a minority culture is threatened within a state that has a majority culture, the minority needs a right to form a state of its own which would protect its culture.

=== Arguments against secession ===
Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be used against secession:<ref>Allen Buchanan, ''Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec'', Chapter 3, pp. 87–123.</ref>
* "Protecting legitimate expectations" of those who now occupy territory claimed by secessionists, even in cases where that land was stolen
* "Self defense" if losing part of the state would make it difficult to defend the rest of it
* "Protecting majority rule" and the principle that minorities must abide by them
* "Minimization of strategic bargaining" by making it difficult to secede, such as by imposing an exit tax
* "Soft paternalism" because secession will be bad for secessionists or others
* "Threat of anarchy" because smaller and smaller entities may choose to secede until there is chaos, although this is not the true meaning of the political and philosophical concept
* "Preventing wrongful taking" such as the state's previous investment in infrastructure
* "Distributive justice" arguments  posit that wealthier areas cannot secede from poorer ones

==Types of secession==
[[File:Hashim Thaci Joe Biden Fatmir Sejdiu with Declaration of Independence of Kosovo.JPG|thumb|[[Hashim Thaçi]] (left) and then-[[Vice President of the United States|US Vice President]] [[Joe Biden]] with the Declaration of Independence of [[Kosovo]]]]
Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state) can secede from the larger or original state:<ref name="Buchanan2"/><ref name="Pavkovic-Questions" /><ref>Steven Yates, "When Is Political Divorce Justified" in David Gordon, 1998.</ref>
* Secession from [[federation]] or [[confederation]] (political entities with substantial reserved powers which have agreed to join) versus secession from a [[unitary state]] (a state governed as a single unit with few powers reserved to sub-units)
* [[Wars of national liberation|Colonial wars of independence]] from an [[Empire|imperial state]] although this is decolonisation rather than secession. 
* Recursive secession, such as [[British Raj|India]] decolonising from the [[British Empire]], then [[Pakistan]] seceding from [[India]], or [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]] seceding from the [[Soviet Union]], then [[South Ossetia]] seceding from [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].
* National secession (seceding entirely from the national state) versus local secession (seceding from one entity of the national state into another entity of the same state)
* Central or [[Enclave and exclave|enclave]] secession (seceding entity is completely surrounded by the original state) versus peripheral secession (along a border of the original state)
* Secession by contiguous units versus secession by non-contiguous units ([[Enclave and exclave|exclaves]])
* [[Separatism|Separation]] or [[Partition (politics)|partition]] (although an entity secedes, the rest of the state retains its structure) versus dissolution (all political entities dissolve their ties and create several new states)
* [[Irredentism]] where secession is sought in order to annex the territory to another state because of common ethnicity or prior historical links
* Minority secession (a minority of the population or territory secedes) versus majority secession (a majority of the population or territory secedes)
* Secession of better-off regions versus secession of worse-off regions
* The threat of secession is sometimes used as a strategy to gain greater autonomy within the original state

==Rights to secession==
{{See also|Self-determination}}
{{anchor|Right to secession}}
Most [[sovereign state]]s do not recognize the right to self-determination through secession in their constitutions. Many expressly forbid it. However, there are several existing models of self-determination through greater autonomy and through secession.<ref name="Kreptul">Andrei Kreptul, [https://mises.org/journals/jls/17_4/17_4_3.pdf The Constitutional Right of Secession in Political Theory and History], [[Journal of Libertarian Studies]], [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]], Volume 17, no.{{spaces}}4 (Fall 2003), pp. 39–100.</ref>

In liberal constitutional democracies the principle of [[majority rule]] has dictated whether a minority can secede. In the United States [[Abraham Lincoln]] acknowledged that secession might be possible through [[List of amendments to the United States Constitution|amending]] the [[United States Constitution]]. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] in ''[[Texas v. White]]'' held secession could occur "through revolution, or through consent of the States".<ref name="books.google.com">Aleksandar Pavković, Peter Radan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-IjHbPvp1W0C Creating New States: Theory and Practice of Secession], p. 222, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007.</ref><ref name="Texas v. White">[https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0074_0700_ZO.html ''Texas v. White''], 74 U.S. 700 (1868) at [[Cornell University Law School]] Supreme Court collection.</ref> The [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] in 1933 held that [[Secessionism in Western Australia|Western Australia could secede]] from the [[Australia|Commonwealth of Australia]] only upon vote of a majority of the country as a whole; the previous two-thirds majority vote for secession via [[1933 Western Australian secession referendum|referendum]] in [[Western Australia]] was insufficient.<ref name="Pavkovic">{{cite journal|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MqLJ/2003/1.html|last1=Pavkovic|first1=Aleksandar|last2=Radan|first2=Peter|title=In Pursuit of Sovereignty and Self-determination: Peoples, States and Secession in the International Order|journal=Macquarie Law Journal|year=2003|volume=3|page=1}}</ref>

The [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]] followed the Soviet Union in including the right of secession in its 1931 constitution in order to entice [[Ethnic minorities in China|ethnic nationalities]] and [[Tibet]] into joining. However, the Party eliminated the right to secession in later years, and had anti-secession clause written into the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China|Constitution]] before and after the founding the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. The 1947 Constitution of the [[Burma|Union of Burma]] contained an express state right to secede from the union under a number of procedural conditions. It was eliminated in the 1974 constitution of the [[Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma]] (officially the "[[Union of Myanmar]]"). Burma still allows "local autonomy under central leadership".<ref name="Kreptul" />

As of 1996, the [[Constitution of Austria|constitutions of Austria]], [[1995 Constitution of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]], [[Constitution of France|France]], and [[Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Saint Kitts and Nevis]] have express or implied rights to secession. Switzerland allows for the secession from current and the creation of new [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]]. In the case of proposed [[Quebec sovereignty movement|Quebec separation]] from [[Canada]], the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] in 1998 ruled that only both a clear majority of the province and a constitutional amendment confirmed by all participants in the Canadian federation could allow secession.<ref name="Kreptul" />

The [[European Union]] is not a sovereign state but an association of sovereign states formed by treaty; as such, leaving it, which is possible by simply denouncing the treaty, is not secession. Nonetheless, the 2003 draft of the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|European Union Constitution]] allowed for the [[Withdrawal from the European Union|voluntary withdrawal of member states from the union]], although the representatives of the [[Member state of the European Union|member-state]] which wanted to leave could not participate in the withdrawal discussions of the European Council or of the Council of Ministers.<ref name="Kreptul" /> There was much discussion about such self-determination by minorities<ref>Xenophon Contiades, [http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/AUD/s6.htm Sixth Scholarly Panel: Cultural Identity in the New Europe], 1st Global Conference on Federalism and the Union of European Democracies, March 2004. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105214649/http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/AUD/s6.htm |date=January 5, 2009 }}</ref> before the final document underwent the unsuccessful ratification process in 2005. In 2007 the [[Treaty on European Union]] included [[Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union]], establishing a mechanism for withdrawal from the EU.

As a result of the successful [[2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum|constitutional referendum]] held in 2003, every municipality in the [[Liechtenstein|Principality of Liechtenstein]] has the right to secede from the Principality by a vote of a majority of the citizens residing in that municipality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/monarchy/the-reform-of-the-constitution-in-2003/|title=The Reform of the Constitution in 2003|website=fuerstenhaus.li|access-date=2017-01-02|archive-date=2017-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102172008/https://www.fuerstenhaus.li/en/monarchy/the-reform-of-the-constitution-in-2003/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Indigenous peoples]] have a range of different forms of [[indigenous sovereignty]] and have the right of [[self-determination]], but under current understanding of international law they have a mere "remedial" right to secession in extreme cases of abuse of their rights, because [[independence]] and [[sovereign state]]hood is a territorial and diplomatic claim and not one of self-determination and [[self-government]], respectively, generally leaving rights to secession to the internal legislation of sovereign states.

==Secession movements==
{{Main|Lists of active separatist movements|List of historical separatist movements}}

{{Category see also|Separatism by country|Secessionist organizations}}

National secessionist movements advocate that a population has the right to form its own nation-state.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roeder|first=Philip G.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt21h4x5m|title=National Secession: Persuasion and Violence in Independence Campaigns|date=2018|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-2598-2|pages=23–25|jstor=10.7591/j.ctt21h4x5m}}</ref> Movements that work towards political secession may describe themselves as being [[Autonomous entity|autonomy]], [[separatist]], [[independence]], [[self-determination]], [[Partition (politics)|partition]], [[devolution]], [[decentralization]], [[sovereignty]], [[self-governance]] or [[decolonization]] movements instead of, or in addition to, being secession movements.

Notable examples of secession, and secession attempts, include:
* The [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces of the Netherlands]] breaking away from the [[Spanish Empire]] during the [[Eighty Years' War]] (1566-1648):
* The [[Thirteen Colonies]] (the later [[United States]]) revolting from the [[British Empire]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775-83);
* [[Hispanic America]] gaining independence from the [[Spanish Empire]] during [[Spanish American wars of independence]];
* [[Texas]] leaving Mexico, during the [[Texas Revolution]] (1835-36);
* the [[Confederate States of America]] seceding from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]], setting off the [[American Civil War]];
* [[Panama]] [[Secession of Panama from Colombia|seceding]] from [[Colombia]] in 1903, during [[United States]] acquisition of the [[Panama Canal]];
* the [[Irish Republic]] leaving the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]];
* [[Independence of Finland|Finland voting to leave Soviet Russia]] in 1917, setting off the [[Finnish Civil War]];
* [[Biafra]] leaving Nigeria (and returning, after losing the [[Nigerian Civil War]]);
* the former [[republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republics]] leaving the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, causing its [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution]];
* the former [[Administrative divisions of Yugoslavia|republics]] leaving [[Yugoslavia]] during the 1990s, causing its [[breakup of Yugoslavia|dissolution]].

===Australia===
{{Main|Proposals for new Australian States}}

During the 19th century, the single [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] [[colony]] in eastern mainland Australia, [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]] (NSW) was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. [[Colony of Victoria|Victoria]] (Vic) was formed in 1851 and [[Colony of Queensland|Queensland]] (Qld) in 1859.

However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century; particularly in [[central Queensland]] (centered in [[Rockhampton]]) in the 1860s and 1890s, and in [[North Queensland]] (with [[Bowen, Queensland|Bowen]] as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movements arose and these advocated the secession of [[New England (New South Wales)|New England]] in northern central [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]], [[Deniliquin]] in the [[Riverina]] district also in NSW, and [[Mount Gambier]] in the eastern part of [[South Australia]].

;Western Australia
{{Main|Secessionism in Western Australia}}

Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia (WA), where a [[1933 Western Australian secession referendum|1933 referendum]] for secession from the [[Federation of Australia]] passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]], which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the [[Australian Constitution]].

The [[Principality of Hutt River]] claimed to have seceded from Australia in 1970, although its status was not recognised by Australia or any other country.

===Azerbaijan===
{{Main|Karabakh movement}}

The Karabakh movement, also known as the Artsakh movement<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> was a national liberation movement<ref name="Vicken Cheterian">{{cite book |author=Vicken Cheterian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iOCGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123 |title=War and Peace in the Caucasus Russia's Troubled Frontier |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-78738-186-5 |pages=123 |quote=By June 1989, the Armenian National Movement (Hayots Hamazkayin Sharzhoum, ANM) was formed, transforming the Karabakh Committee into an instrument for the struggle of national independence.}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Anniversary of Karabakh movement reminds Yerevan residents about national idea |url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/42438 |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=Caucasian Knot}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Civilnet |date=2018-02-22 |title=Yerevan Photo Exhibit Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Karabakh Movement |url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/383782/yerevan-photo-exhibit-celebrates-30th-anniversary-of-karabakh-movement/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |website=CIVILNET |language=en-US}}</ref> in [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]] and [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] between 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the reunification ("[[miatsum]]") of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast|Nagorno-Karabakh]] – formally an autonomous enclave in [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Azerbaijan]] – with [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Armenia]]. The movement was motivated by fears of cultural and physical erasure under [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#Suppression of Armenian culture in Nagorno-Karabakh|government policies from Azerbaijan]].{{sfn|Malkasian|1996|pp=27–28}}<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last1=Chorbajian |first1=Levon |title=The Caucasian knot: the history & geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh |last2=Donabédian |first2=Patrick |last3=Mutafian |first3=Claude |date=1994 |publisher=Atlantic Highlands, NJ : Zed Books |isbn=978-1-85649-287-4 |series=Politics in contemporary Asia |location=London |page=37}}</ref><ref name="Eduard Abrahamyan2">{{cite book |author=Eduard Abrahamyan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=951ZEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1964 |title=Small States, Russia and the West Polarity, Constellations and Heterogeneity in the Geopolitics of the Caucasus |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2025 |isbn=978-10-4035016-4 |pages=1964 |quote=The violence prompted the Armenian society of the crumbling Soviet Union of 1990-1991 to act in self-defence, perceiving a 'tangible prospect of looming genocide in Artsakh.'}}</ref> Throughout the Soviet period, [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijani authorities]] implemented policies aimed at suppressing Armenian culture and diluting the Armenian majority in Nagorno-Karabakh through various means, including border manipulations,<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Levon Chorbajian, Patrick Donabédian, Claude Mutafian">{{harvnb|Chorbajian|Mutafian|Donabedian|1994|pp=138–140, 154}}: "The borders were to be drawn before 15 August by a mixed commission...but without the participation of either Yerevan or Moscow. All would be presided over by Karaiev. Under such circumstances, the Armenians could expect to be grossly disappointed. On the one hand...they excluded, on the west, the 'corridor' made up of Lachin, Kelbajar, and Kedabek, which had been carefully emptied of its Armenian population to separate Mountainous Karabagh from Armenian Zangezur. On the other hand, in the north, without any justification, they removed the districts of Shamkhor, Khanlar, Dashkesan and Shahumian.. where the Armenian population was predominant (about 90 per cent)... From Shamkhor in the north to Shahumian in the south, Armenian villages in these districts have been systematically emptied...Mountainous Karabagh delimited in this way is only a portion of what had always been Armenian Karabagh, which itself is only a part of what was included in the ancient Armenian provinces of Artsakh and Utik...The spectre of ‘Nakhichevanization’ haunts...Mountainous Karabagh, which had 125,000 inhabitants in 1926 who were 89 percent Armenian. This region has become an ‘enclave’ since the ‘cleansing’ of the Hagaru Valley in order to separate Karabagh from Zangezur by a narrow strip emptied of Armenians...Azerbaijan still contained a large Armenian minority. Aside from the ‘bastion’ of the Autonomous Region of Mountainous Karabagh, Armenians were numerous in Baku and in the region north of the Autonomous Region, up to Shamkhor, where the Armenian villages had been deliberately left outside the frontiers drawn in 1923 and, thereby, subjected to direct Azerbaijani authority. From north to south, these areas had already largely been ‘swept clean,’ with the exception of the area of Shahumian, the northern gateway to the Autonomous Region. The Azerbaijani plan was clearly described in the declaration by the Karabagh Committee on 2 December 1988: 'Exploiting the anarchic situation, the Azerbaijani authorities are about to unleash a monstrous programme: to expel Armenians from their several millennia old homes in Gandzak and the areas north of Artsakh, in preparation for an invasion of Mountainous Karabagh.' Already about 120,000 Armenians have left Azerbaijan, and 50,000 have sought refuge in Armenia and the others in the North Caucasus and Central Asia."</ref><ref name="Christopher J. Walker">{{cite book |author=Walker |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Armenia&pg=PA |title=Armenia: A Very Brief History |publisher=Rouben Galichian, 2022 |year= |isbn=978-9939-68-926-5 |page=41 |quote=The borders between Armenia and Artsakh were manipulated such that Armenia could have no direct link with Artsakh.}}</ref> encouraging the exodus of Armenians, and settling Azerbaijanis in the region.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal |last=Hein |first=Patrick |date=7 April 2024 |title=From Stalin to the Aliyev clan: 70 years of hindered autonomy in Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sena.12420 |journal=Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism |language=en |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=197–215 |doi=10.1111/sena.12420 |issn=1473-8481 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Patrick Wilson Gore">{{cite book |author=Patrick Wilson Gore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tis_Some_Poor_Fellow_s_Skull&pg=PA |title='Tis Some Poor Fellow's Skull Post-Soviet Warfare in the Southern Caucasus |publisher=iUniverse |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-595-48679-3 |page=xii |quote=So after the ethnic cleansing of  Nagorno-Karabakh that the Azeris undertook in 1991, Azeris...were settled in formerly Armenian towns and villages to reduce the oblast's overwhelmingly Armenian complexion.}}</ref> In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Armenians protested against Azerbaijan's cultural and economic marginalization<ref name=":7" />{{sfn|Suny|1993|pp=192-194}}{{sfn|Zürcher|2007|p=154}} A referendum in 1988 was held to transfer the region to [[Soviet Armenia]], citing [[self-determination]] laws in the [[1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union|Soviet constitution]].{{efn|According to the [[Constitution of the USSR]], if a [[Republics of the Soviet Union|union republic]] voted to leave the [[Soviet Union]], its [[Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics|autonomous republics]], [[Oblasts of the Soviet Union|autonomous oblasts]], and [[Autonomous okrugs of the Soviet Union|autonomous okrugs]] had the right to hold their own [[referendum]]s to independently decide whether to remain in the USSR or to leave alongside the seceding union republic. They also had the right to raise questions regarding their own state-legal status.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.cntd.ru/document/902002993|title=СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК. ЗАКОН О порядке решения вопросов, связанных с выходом союзной республики из СССР|language=ru|access-date=13 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912024819/https://docs.cntd.ru/document/902002993|archive-date=12 September 2016}}</ref>}} In 1991, both Armenia and [[1991 Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum|Nagorno-Karabakh]] declared independence from the [[Soviet Union]]. The Karabakh movement was met with a [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#During the Karabakh Movement (1988-1992)|series of pogroms against Armenians across Azerbaijan]], and in November 1991, the Azerbaijani government [[Law on Abolishment of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast|passed a motion aimed at abolishing the autonomy of the NKAO]] and prohibiting the use of Armenian placenames in the region.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Harzl |first=Benedikt |title=Secessionist Entities and International Law: The South Caucasus Disputes between Self-Determination, Territorial Integrity, and the Quest for a European Engagement Policy |date=2025 |publisher=Brill {{!}} Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-04-68710-3 |series=Human Rights and Humanitarian Law E-Books Online, Collection 2025 |location=Leiden Boston |pages=390 |quote=On 23 November 1991, when the National Assembly of Azerbaijan adopted the Law 'About Abolition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijan Republic' This law not only revoked the autonomy arrangement of 1980, but also provided for culturally driven ethnic cleansing by returning alleged ‘historical names’ to the cities of Stepanakert, Mardakert, and Martuni, which was tantamount to prohibiting the use of their Armenian names and allowing only their Azerbaijani names (ibid., Art. 2).}}</ref>

===Austria===
After being liberated by the [[Red Army]] and the [[U.S. Army]], [[Austria]] seceded from [[Nazi Germany]] on April 27, 1945. This took place after seven years [[Austria under National Socialism|under Nazi rule]], which began with the [[Anschluss|annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany]] in March 1938. The secession only took place once Nazi Germany had been defeated by the Allies.

===Bangladesh===
{{Main|United People's Democratic Front}}

The Banga Sena ([[Bangabhumi]]) is a separatist<ref name=TELEGRAPH>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040107/asp/nation/story_2760337.asp|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203195122/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040107/asp/nation/story_2760337.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2013|title=Dhaka seeks proof, Delhi readies maps|author=Seema Guha|date=2004-01-07|access-date=2008-06-30|newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]]}}</ref> [[Hinduism|Hindu]] organisation, which supports the making of a [[Bangabhumi]]/separate homeland for [[Hinduism in Bangladesh|Bengali Hindus]] in the [[People's Republic of Bangladesh]].<ref name=INDIAINFO>{{cite web|url=http://news.indiainfo.com/2003/02/18/18held.html|title=400 Banga Sena activists held at Bangla border|date=2003-02-18|access-date=2008-06-30|publisher=Indiainfo.com|archive-date=2008-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904233910/http://news.indiainfo.com/2003/02/18/18held.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The group is led by Kalidas Baidya.<ref name=TELEGRAPH/>

The Shanti Bahini ({{langx|bn|শান্তি বাহিনী}}, "Peace Force") is the name of the military wing of the [[Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti]] - the United People's Party of the [[Chittagong Hill Tracts]] aims are to create an indigenous [[Buddhism in Bangladesh|Buddhist]] orientated [[Chacomas state]] within SE [[Bangladesh]].

===Belgium and the Netherlands===
{{Main|Belgian Revolution}}

On August 25, 1830, during the reign of [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]], the nationalistic opera ''[[La muette de Portici]]'' was performed in [[Brussels]]. Soon after, the [[Belgian Revolution|Belgian Revolt]] occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]].

{{further|Partition of Belgium}}

===Brazil===
In 1825, soon after the [[Empire of Brazil]] managed to defeat the [[Portuguese Cortes|Cortes-Gerais]] and the [[Portuguese Empire]] in an [[Brazilian War of Independence|Independence War]], the Platinean nationalists in [[Cisplatina]] declared independence and joined the [[United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|United Provinces]], which led to a [[Cisplatine War|stagnated war]] between both, as they were both weakened, lacking manpower and politically fragile. The peace treaty accepted [[Uruguay]]'s independence, reasserted the rule of both nations over their land and some important points like free navigation in the Silver River.

Three rather disorganized secessionist rebellions happened in [[Grão-Pará Province|Grão-Pará]], Bahia, and Maranhão, where the people were unhappy with the Empire (these provinces were Portuguese bastions in the Independence War). The [[Malê Revolt]], in Bahia, was an Islamic slave revolt. These three rebellions were bloodily crushed by the Empire of Brazil.

The [[History of Pernambuco|Pernambuco]] was one of the most [[Nativism (politics)|nativist]] of all Brazilian regions. Over a series of five revolts (1645–1654, 1710, 1817, 1824, 1848), the province [[Pernambucan Revolt|ousted the Dutch West India Company]] and tried to secede from the Portuguese and Brazilian Empires. In each attempt, the rebels were crushed, the leaders shot and their territory divided. Nevertheless, they kept revolting until Pernambuco's territory was a little fraction of what it was before.

In the [[Ragamuffin War]], the [[Rio Grande do Sul#History|Province of Rio Grande do Sul]] was undergoing a (at that time common) [[Liberalism in Brazil|liberal]] vs [[Conservatism in Brazil|conservative]] "cold" war. After Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]] favoured the conservatives, the liberals took the Capital and declared an [[Riograndense Republic|independent Republic]], fighting their way to the [[Santa Catarina (state)#History|Province of Santa Catarina]] and declaring the [[Juliana Republic]]. Eventually they were slowly forced back, and made a reunification peace with the Empire. This was not considered a secessionist war, even if it could have resulted in an independent republic if the Empire had been defeated. After the Empire agreed to aid Santa Catarina's economy by taxing [[Argentina]]'s products (like dry meat), the rebels reunited with the Empire and joined its military ranks.

In modern times, the [[South Region, Brazil|South Region of Brazil]] has been the centre of a secessionist movement led by an organization called [[The South is My Country]] since the 1990s. Reasons cited for Southern Brazil's secession movement are taxation, due to it being one of the wealthiest regions in the country; political disputes with the northernmost states of Brazil; [[2015–16 protests in Brazil|2016 scandal]] revolving around the [[Workers Party (Brazil)|Workers' Party]]'s involvement in a [[Kickback (bribery)|kickback scheme]] with state-owned oil company [[Petrobras]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spagnuolo |first=Sergio |date=September 15, 2016 |title=Brazil's Lula charged as 'top boss' of Petrobras graft scheme |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN11K2FJ/ |access-date=February 14, 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref> and the impeachment of then-[[President of Brazil|President]] [[Dilma Rousseff]]. Additionally, there is an ethnic divide as the South Region is predominately [[White Brazilian|European]], populated primarily by [[German Brazilians|Germans]], [[Italian Brazilians|Italians]], [[Portuguese Brazilians|Portuguese]] and other European groups. In contrast, the rest of Brazil is a [[Racial democracy|multicultural]] [[melting pot]]. The South Region in 2016 voted in an unofficial referendum called "Plebisul" in which 95% of voters supported secession and the creation of an independent South Region.

There is also a push for secession movement in the state of [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]], which seeks to become a country independent from the rest of Brazil.

===Cameroon===
{{Main|Anglophone Crisis}}

In October 2017, [[Ambazonia]] declared its independence from [[Cameroon]]. Less than a month beforehand, tensions had escalated into [[Anglophone Crisis|open warfare]] between separatists and the [[Cameroon Armed Forces]].
The conflict, known as the "Anglophone Crisis", is deeply rooted in the October 1, 1961 incomplete decolonization of the former [[Southern Cameroons|British Southern Cameroons]] (UNGA Resolution 1608). On January 1, 1960, [[French Cameroon]] was granted independence from France as the Republic of Cameroon and was admitted into the United Nations. The more advanced democratic and self-ruling people of [[British Cameroon]] were instead limited to two choices. Through a UN [[Referendum|plebiscite]], they were directed to either join the federation of [[Nigeria]] or the independent Republic of Cameroon as a federation of two equal states. While the Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria, the Southern Cameroons voted to integrate into the Republic of Cameroon, but they did so without a formal Treaty of Union on record at the UN. In 1972, Cameroon used its majority population to abolish the federation and implement a system which resulted in the occupation of the former South Cameroons territory by French-speaking Cameroon administrators. In 1984, Cameroon heightened tensions by returning to its name at independence, "Republic of Cameroun", which did not include the territory of the former British Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia. 
For more than fifty years the English-speaking people of the Former British Southern Cameroons made multiple attempts both nationally and internationally to get the Cameroon government to address these issues and possibly return to the previously agreed federation at independence. In 2016, after all these attempts failed, Cameroon engaged in a military crackdown, including cutting the internet in the English-speaking regions. In response, the people of Southern Cameroon declared on October 1, 2017, the restoration of their UN state of Southern Cameroons, which they called the "[[Federal Republic of Ambazonia]]".

===Canada===
{{Main|Secessionist movements of Canada}}

Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between [[English Canada|English-speaking]] and [[Francophone Canadians|French-speaking Canadians]]. Under the [[Constitutional Act of 1791]], the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]] (including parts of what are today [[Quebec]], [[Ontario]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]) was divided in two: [[Lower Canada]] (which retained [[Law of France|French law]] and institutions and is now part of the provinces of Quebec and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]) and [[Upper Canada]] (a new colony intended to accommodate the many new English-speaking settlers, including the [[United Empire Loyalists]], and now part of [[Ontario]]). The intent was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the [[Province of Canada]]. The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union, among other factors, led in 1867 to the formation of the  [[Canadian Confederation]], a [[Canadian federalism|federal system]] that united the [[Province of Canada]], [[Nova Scotia]] and [[New Brunswick]] (later joined by other [[British North America|British colonies in North America]]). The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]] in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other occasional secessionist movements have included anti-Confederation movements in the 19th century [[Atlantic Canada]] (see [[Anti-Confederation Party]]), the [[North-West Rebellion]] of 1885, and various small separatist movements in Alberta particularly (see [[Alberta separatism]]) and [[Western Canada]] generally (see, for example, [[Western Canada Concept]]).

===Central America===
After the 1823 collapse of the [[First Mexican Empire]], the former [[Captaincy General of Guatemala|Captaincy-General of Guatemala]] was organized into a new [[Federal Republic of Central America]]. In 1838, [[Nicaragua]] seceded. The Federal Republic was formally dissolved in 1840, all but one of the states having seceded amidst general disorder.

===China===
The [[People's Republic of China]] government claims control over [[Taiwan]] and describes the [[political status of Taiwan]] as an issue of secession, despite having never governed the territory. The [[Republic of China]] (Taiwan) government administers control over Taiwan and outlying islands but lacks widespread official international recognition. The ''[[Anti-Secession Law]],'' passed in 2005, formalized the long-standing policy of the People's Republic of China to use military means against [[Taiwan independence movement|Taiwan independence]] in the event peaceful means become otherwise impossible.

Western regions of [[Xinjiang]] ([[East Turkistan]]) and [[Tibet]] are the focus of secessionist calls by the [[Tibetan independence movement]] and [[East Turkestan Independence Movement]]. The [[East Turkistan Government in Exile]] does not view East Turkistan as a part of China but rather an occupied country, so it does not view independence from China as "secession" but rather "decolonization".

The [[Hong Kong|Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong]] has a secessionist movement in the city that the [[Chinese Communist Party]] has placed on the national security agenda in 2017 which is called the [[Hong Kong independence movement]].

===Congo===
In 1960, the [[State of Katanga]] declared independence from the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. [[United Nations]] troops crushed it in [[Congo Crisis#UN Operation Grand Slam ends Katanga secession|Operation Grand Slam]].

===Cyprus===
[[File:Grenspost.jpg|thumb|Northern Cyprus]]

In 1974, Greek [[Irredentism|irredentists]] [[1974 Cypriot coup d'état|launched a ''coup d'état'']] in [[Cyprus]], in an attempt to annex the island with [[Greece]]. Almost immediately, the [[Turkish Armed Forces|Turkish Army]] [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|invaded northern Cyprus]] to protect the interests of the [[Turkish Cypriots|ethnic Turkish minority]], who in the following year formed the ''Turkish Federated State of Cyprus'' and in 1983 declared independence as the [[Northern Cyprus|Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]], recognized only by [[Turkey]].

===East Timor===
[[File:East Timor Demo.jpg|thumb|September 1999 demonstration for [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|independence from Indonesia]]]]

The [[East Timor|Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste]] (also known as East Timor) has been described as having "seceded" from [[Indonesia]].<ref>Santosh C. Saha, ''Perspectives on contemporary ethnic conflict'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=uqYDX_4XQscC&dq=East+Timor+seceded&pg=PA63 p. 63],
Lexington Books, 2006 {{ISBN|0-7391-1085-3}}.</ref><ref>Paul D. Elliot, The East Timor Dispute, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 27, No.{{spaces}}1 (Jan., 1978).</ref><ref>[[James J. Fox]], [[Dionísio Babo Soares]], ''Out of the ashes: destruction and reconstruction of East Timor'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=J7WljGNkcrkC&dq=East+Timor+seceded&pg=PA175 p. 175], ANU E Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-9751229-1-6}}</ref> After [[Portuguese Timor|Portuguese sovereignty]] was terminated in 1975, [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|East Timor was occupied by Indonesia]]. However, the [[United Nations]] and the [[International Court of Justice]] refused to recognize this incorporation. Therefore, the resulting civil war and eventual 1999 East Timorese vote for complete separation are better described as an independence movement.<ref>Thomas D. Musgrave, ''Self-determination and national minorities'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=BJg6T7SqJ1gC&dq=East+Timor+seceded&pg=PR13 p. xiii], Oxford University Press, 2000 {{ISBN|0-19-829898-6}}</ref>

===Ethiopia===
Following the May 1991 victory of [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]] forces against the communist [[Derg]] regime during the [[Eritrean War of Independence]], [[Eritrea]] (formerly known as "[[Medri Bahri]]") gained [[de facto]] independence from Ethiopia. Following the United Nations observation [[1993 Eritrean independence referendum]], Eritrea gained [[de jure]] independence.

===European Union===
{{Main|Withdrawal from the European Union}}

{{See also|2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum}}

Before the [[Treaty of Lisbon]] entered into force on 1{{spaces}}December 2009, no provision in the [[Treaties of the European Union|treaties]] or [[European Union law|law of the European Union]] outlined the ability of a state to voluntarily withdraw from the EU. The European Constitution did propose such a provision and, after the failure to ratify the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]], that provision was then included in the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty introduced an exit clause for members who wish to withdraw from the Union. This formalised the procedure by stating that a member state may notify the [[European Council]] that it wishes to withdraw, upon which withdrawal negotiations begin; if no other agreement is reached, the treaty ceases to apply to the withdrawing state two years after such notification.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/577971/EPRS_BRI(2016)577971_EN.pdf |title=Article 50 TEU: Withdrawal of a Member State from the EU|last=Poptcheva|first=Eva-Maria|date=February 2016 |website=europa.eu}}</ref>

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the [[European Union]] in a binding referendum voted for by parliament, and finally left the European Union on January 31, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Payne |first1=Adam |title=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/britains-new-parliament-votes-for-boris-johnsons-brexit-bill-2019-12 |website=businessinsider.com |publisher=Business Insider |access-date=December 20, 2019}}</ref> This is informally known as [[Brexit]].

===Finland===
Finland successfully and peacefully seceded from the newly-formed and unstable [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] in 1917. The latter was led by [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]], who had sought refuge in Finland during the [[Russian Revolution of 1905|Russian Revolution]]. Unsuccessful attempts at greater autonomy or peaceful secession had already been made during the preceding [[Russian Empire]] but had been denied by the Russian emperor. However, with the country still at war and under great pressure, Lenin allowed Finland to secede. Its peripheral location made it difficult to defend and less strategically important than Russia's other territories, so he conceded sovereignty to the Finns rather than try to defend it.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Douds |first=Lara |date=2017-01-13 |title='The dictatorship of the democracy'? The Council of People's Commissars as Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary coalition government, December 1917-March 1918 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12170 |journal=Historical Research |volume=90 |issue=247 |pages=32–56 |doi=10.1111/1468-2281.12170 |issn=0950-3471|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===France===
France was one of the [[European Great Powers]] with populous foreign empires. Like the others{{snd}}the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and formerly Germany and the Ottoman Empire{{snd}}its populous states abroad have all seceded, in most cases been granted independence. These secessionist movements generally took place at similar stages by continent. See [[decolonization of the Ottoman Empire]], [[Decolonization of the Americas|Americas]], [[Decolonization of Asia|Asia]] and [[Decolonization of Africa|Africa]].
As to France's contiguous state, these have few present representatives at the national level, see:

* [[Alsace independence movement]]
* [[Breton independence]]
* [[Corsican nationalism]]
* [[Occitan nationalism]]

===Gran Colombia===
[[File:AGHRC (1890) - Carta XI - División política de Colombia, 1824.jpg|thumb|Map showing the shrinking territory of [[Gran Colombia]] from 1824 to 1890 (red line). [[Separation of Panama from Colombia|Panama separated from Colombia]] in 1903.]]

After a decade of tumultuous federalism, [[Ecuador]] and [[Venezuela]] seceded from [[Gran Colombia]] in 1830, leaving the similarly tumultuous [[United States of Colombia]] (now the [[Republic of Colombia]]), which also lost [[Panama]] in 1903.

===India===
{{Main|Separatist movements of India}}

Pakistan seceded from the [[British-Indian Empire]] in what is known as [[Partition of India|the Partition]].
Today, the [[Constitution of India]] does not allow [[States and union territories of India|Indian states]] to secede from the Union.

The [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir]] hosts some [[Kashmiri nationalism|paramilitary nationalists]] who advocate for a Muslim state, in opposition to the Indian establishment. They are mostly in the [[Kashmir Valley|Valley of Kashmir]] since 1989, where the [[Indian Army]] sometimes patrols, having bases along the [[Line of Control|nearby international border]]. They are supported by Pakistan, which has allegedly funded many terrorist, separatist outfits with the goal of destabilizing India, according to the [[Research and Analysis Wing|Indian Research and Analysis Wing]], though the country denies any direct involvement. The [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|Kashmir insurgency]] reached at its peak influence in the 1990s.

Other secessionist movements in [[Nagaland]], [[Assam]], [[Manipur]], [[Indian Punjab|Punjab]] (known as the [[Khalistan movement]]), [[Mizoram]] and [[Tripura]], [[Tamil Nadu]] . The violent [[Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]] operates in [[East India|eastern rural India]] is rarely considered secessionist as its goal is to overthrow the [[government of India]]. The [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]]'s commanders idealise a [[Communist state|Communist republic]] to be made up swathes of India.

===Iran===
Active secession movements include: [[Iranian Azeri]], [[Assyrian independence movement]], Bakhtiary [[lurs]] movement in 1876, [[Iranian Kurdistan]]; [[Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran|Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI)]], [[Khūzestān Province]] [[Balochistan]] and independence movement for free separated Balochistan, (''[[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]]''); Al-Ahwaz Arab People's Democratic Popular Front, Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (See [[Politics of Khūzestān Province#Arab politics and separatism|Politics of Khūzestān Province: Arab politics and separatism]]), and Balochistan People's Party (BPP) supporting [[Baloch people|Baloch]] [[Baloch nationalism|Separatism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unpo.org/content/view/7922/153/|title=UNPO: West Balochistan|work=unpo.org|access-date=12 August 2015}}</ref>

===Italy===
The [[Movement for the Independence of Sicily]] (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano, MIS) has its roots in the [[Sicilian Independence Movement]] of the late 1940s; it was active for around 60 years. Today, the MIS no longer exists, though many other parties have emerged. One is [[Nation Sicily]] (Sicilia Nazione), which still believes in the idea that Sicily, due to its deeply personal and ancient history, should be a sovereign country. Moreover, a common ideology shared by all the [[Sicilian Independentist Movement|Sicilian independentist movements]] is to fight against [[Cosa Nostra]] and all the other [[Sicilian Mafia|Mafia]] organizations, which have a very deep influence over Sicily's public and private institutions. The Sicilian branch of the [[Five Star Movement]], which polls show is Sicily's most popular party, has also publicly expressed the intention to start working for a possible secession from Italy if the [[Government of Italy|central government]] would not collaborate in shifting the nation's administrative organization from a unitary country to a [[federal state]].

In Southern Italy, several movements have expressed a will to secede from Italy. This newborn ideology is called [[neo-Bourbonism]], because the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] was under the control of the House of Bourbon. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was created in 1816 after the [[Congress of Vienna]], and it comprised both Sicily and continental Southern Italy. The Kingdom came to an end in 1861, being annexed to the newborn Kingdom of Italy. However, the patriotic feelings shared among the southern Italian population is more ancient, starting in 1130 with the Kingdom of Sicily, which was composed by both the island and south Italy. According to the neo-Bourbonic movements the Italian regions which should secede are [[Sicily]], [[Calabria]], [[Basilicata]], [[Apulia]], [[Molise]], [[Campania]], [[Abruzzo]], and [[Latio]]'s provinces of [[Province of Rieti|Rieti]], [[Province of Latina|Latina]] and [[Province of Frosinone|Frosinone]]. The major movements and parties which believe in this ideology are [[Unione Mediterranea]], [[Mo!]] and [[Brigandage in Southern Italy after 1861|Briganti]].

[[Lega Nord]] has been seeking the independence of the region known to separatists as [[Padania]], which includes lands along the [[Po Valley]] in [[northern Italy]]. Some organizations separately work for the [[Venetian nationalism|independence of Venetia]] or Veneto and the [[South Tyrolean secessionist movement|secession or reunification]] of [[South Tyrol]] with Austria. Lega Nord governing [[Lombardy]] has expressed a will to turn the region into a sovereign country. Also, the island of [[Sardinia]] is home to a notable [[Sardinian nationalism|nationalist movement]].

===Japan===
{{Main|Ryukyu independence movement}}

The ethnic [[Ryukyuan people|Ryukyuan]] (a branch of modern Okinawan) people had their own state historically ([[Ryukyu Kingdom]]). Although some Okinawan people have sought independence from Japan since they were annexed by Japan in 1879, and especially after 1972 when the islands were transferred from U.S. rule to Japan, their activism and movement have been consistently supported by single digit<ref>{{cite news |title=Opinion Polls among Residents of the Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese) |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK4S45G6K4SUZPS003.html |access-date=22 January 2021 |agency=Asahi Shinbun |publisher=Asahi Shinbun Digital |date=12 May 2017}}</ref> of Okinawan people.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Molasky|first=Michael S.|title=The American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and Memory|date=8 March 2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-98168-9|oclc=1048580450}}</ref>

===Malaysia===
When racial and [[PAP-UMNO relations|partisan strife]] erupted, [[Singapore]] [[Singapore in Malaysia#Expulsion|was expelled from the Malaysian federation]] in 1965.

===Mexico===
[[File:Mexico's Territorial Evolution.png|thumb|The [[Territorial evolution of Mexico]] after independence, noting losses to the US (red, white and orange) and the secession of [[Federal Republic of Central America|Central America]] (purple)]]

* [[Republic of Texas|Texas]] seceded from Mexico in 1836 (see [[Texas Revolution]]), after animosity between the Mexican government and the American settlers of the [[Coahuila y Tejas|Coahuila y Tejas State]]. It was later annexed by the United States in 1845.
* The [[Republic of the Rio Grande]] seceded from Mexico on January 17, 1840. It rejoined Mexico on November{{spaces}}6 of the same year.
* After the [[Federal government|federal system]] was abandoned by [[President of Mexico|President]] [[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]], the [[Congress of Yucatán]] approved in 1840 a declaration of independence, establishing the [[Republic of Yucatán]]. The Republic rejoined Mexico in 1843.

===Netherlands===
The [[United Provinces of the Netherlands]], commonly referred to historiographically as the [[Dutch Republic]], was a [[federal republic]] formally established from the formal creation of a federal state in 1581 by several [[Provinces of the Netherlands|Dutch provinces]] [[Dutch Revolt|seceded]] from [[Spanish Netherlands|Spain]].

===New Zealand===
{{See also|South Island Independence}}

Secession movements have surfaced several times in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. A [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|Premier of New Zealand]], Sir [[Julius Vogel]], was amongst the first people to make this call, which was voted on by the [[Parliament of New Zealand]] as early as 1865. The desire for South Island independence was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from [[Auckland]] to [[Wellington]] in the same year.

The [[NZ South Island Party]], with a pro-South agenda, fielded only five candidates (4.20% of electoral seats) candidates in the [[1999 New Zealand general election|1999 General Election]] but achieved only 0.14% (2622 votes) of the general vote. The reality today is that although South Islanders have a strong identity rooted in their geographic region, secession does not carry any real constituency; the party was not able to field any candidates in the 2008 election, as they had less than 500 paying members, a requirement by the New Zealand Electoral commission. The party is treated more as a "joke" party than any real political force.

===Nigeria===
[[File:Starved girl.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|A girl during the [[Nigerian Civil War]] of the late 1960s. Pictures of the famine caused by Nigerian blockade garnered sympathy for the Biafrans worldwide.]]
Between 1967 and 1970, the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern Region]] seceded from Nigeria and established the [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]], which led to a [[Nigerian Civil War|war]] that ended with the state returning to Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Daly|first=Samuel Fury Childs|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108887748|title=A History of the Republic of Biafra|date=2020-08-07|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108887748|isbn=978-1-108-88774-8|s2cid=225266768}}</ref> In 1999, at the beginning of a [[Fourth Nigerian Republic|new democratic regime]], other secessionist movements emerged, including the [[Indigenous People of Biafra]] led by  [[Nnamdi Kanu]] formed as a Political wing of the [[Republic of Biafra]].<ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=Moses|editor-first=A. Dirk|editor-last2=Heerten|editor-first2=Lasse|title=Postcolonial conflict and the question of genocide: the Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967–1970|date=6 July 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-85866-3|oclc=993762001}}</ref>

===Norway and Sweden===
{{Main|Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905}}

[[Swedish Empire|Sweden]], having left the [[Kalmar Union]] with [[Denmark–Norway]] in the 16th century, entered into a loose [[Union between Sweden and Norway|personal union]] with [[Kingdom of Norway (1814)|Norway]] in 1814. Following a [[constitutional crisis]], on June 7, 1905, the [[Storting|Norwegian Storting]] declared that King [[Oscar II of Norway|Oscar{{spaces}}II]] had failed to fulfil his constitutional duties. He was therefore removed as [[Monarchy of Norway|King of Norway]]. Because the union depended on the two countries sharing a king, it was dissolved. After negotiations, Sweden agreed to mutual independence on October 26 and on April 14.

===Pakistan===
After the [[Awami League]] won the [[1970 Pakistani general election|1970 national elections]], negotiations to form a new government floundered, resulting in the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] by which [[East Pakistan]] seceded, becoming [[Bangladesh]]. The [[Balochistan Liberation Army]] (also Baloch Liberation Army or Boluchistan Liberation Army) (BLA) is a [[Baloch nationalist]] militant secessionist organization. The stated goals of the organization include the establishment of an independent state of [[Balochistan (region)|Balochistan]] free of Pakistani, [[Iran]]ian and Afghan Federations. The name Baloch Liberation Army first became public in the summer of 2000, after the organization claimed credit for a series of bomb attacks in markets and removal of railways lines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Balochistan Liberation Army {{!}} Mapping Militant Organizations |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/print_view/297 |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=web.stanford.edu}}</ref>

===Papua New Guinea===
{{Main|Provinces of Papua New Guinea#The Bougainville issue}}

The island of [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] has made several efforts to secede from [[Papua New Guinea]].

===Somalia===
[[Somaliland]] is an autonomous region,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/world/africa/02somalia.html No Winner Seen in Somalia's Battle With Chaos] New York Times, June 2, 2009</ref> which is part of the [[Somalia|Federal Republic of Somalia]].<ref>[http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/countries/docs/charterfeb04.pdf The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325022231/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/countries/docs/charterfeb04.pdf |date=2009-03-25 }}: "The Somali Republic shall have the following boundaries. (a) North; Gulf of Aden. (b) North West; Djibouti. (c) West; Ethiopia. (d) South south-west; Kenya. (e) East; Indian Ocean."</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/|title=The World Factbook|work=cia.gov|access-date=12 August 2015}}</ref> Those who call the area the ''Republic of Somaliland'' consider it to be the successor state of the former [[British Somaliland]] [[protectorate]]. Having established its own local government in Somalia in 1991, the region's self-declared independence remains [[Diplomatic recognition|unrecognized]] by any country or international organization.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/world/africa/05somaliland.html|title=The Signs Say Somaliland, but the World Says Somalia|first=Marc|last=Lacey|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/webcast/pdfs/unia991.pdf|title=UN in Action: Reforming Somaliland's Judiciary}}</ref>

===South Africa===
{{Main|Cape Independence|Volkstaat}}

In 1910, following the [[Boer Republics]] defeat by the [[British Empire]] in the [[Boer War]]s, four self-governing colonies in the south of Africa were merged into the [[Union of South Africa]]. The four regions were the [[Cape Colony]], [[Orange Free State]], [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] and [[Transvaal Colony|Transvaal]]. Three other territories, [[High Commissioner for Southern Africa|High Commission Territories]] of [[Bechuanaland]] (now [[Botswana]]), [[Basutoland]] (now [[Lesotho]]) and [[Swaziland]] (now Eswatini) later became independent states in the 1960s. Following the election of the [[National Party (South Africa)|Nationalist]] government in 1948, some [[English language|English-speaking]] whites in Natal advocated either secession or a loose federation.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080605195636/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,935323,00.html SOUTH AFRICA: Cry of Secession] ''[[TIME]]'', Monday, May 11, 1953</ref> There were also calls for secession, with Natal and the eastern part of the [[Cape Province]] breaking away<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WUVkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2W8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5504,1422353&dq=natal+referendum+republic&hl=en Secession Talked by Some Anti-Republicans], ''[[Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]]'', 11 October 1960</ref> following the [[1960 South African republic referendum|referendum]] in 1960 on establishing a [[republic]]. In 1993, prior to South Africa's first elections under universal suffrage and the end of apartheid, some [[Zulu people|Zulu]] leaders in [[KwaZulu-Natal]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Jtz2IXNqiR0C&dq=kwazulu+natal+secession+1993&pg=PA187 ''Launching Democracy in South Africa: The First Open Election, April 1994''], [[R. W. Johnson]], Lawrence Schlemmer, Yale University Press, 1996</ref> again considered secession as did some politicians in the Cape Province.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xhoWjVX0TLEC&dq=Party+Wants+the+Cape+to+Secede%2C%22+Business+Day%2C+December+24%2C+1993.&pg=PA109 Party Wants the Cape to Secede"], ''[[Business Day (South Africa)|Business Day]]'', December 24, 1993.</ref>

In 2008, a political movement calling for the return to independence of the Cape resurged in the shape of the political organisation, the [[Cape Party]]. The Cape Party contested their first elections on 22 April 2009.<ref>[http://www.capeparty.com/ Cape Party Website], Monday, May 11, 1953</ref> They finished the Western Cape provincial elections in 2019 with 9,331 votes, or 0.45% of votes, gaining no seats<ref name="dash">{{Cite web |url=https://www.elections.org.za/NPEDashboard/app/dashboard.html |title=Results Dashboard| website=www.elections.org.za |access-date=2019-05-11}}</ref>

The idea gained popularity in the early half of the 2020s, with polling suggesting that 58% of Western Cape Voters want a referendum on independence in July 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Charles|first=Marvin|title=Cape Independence: Lobby group says recent survey 'places intense pressure' on DA to hold referendum|url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/cape-independence-lobby-group-says-recent-survey-places-intense-pressure-on-da-to-hold-referendum-20210813|access-date=2021-08-31|website=News24|language=en-US}}</ref>

===South Sudan===
A [[2011 South Sudanese independence referendum|referendum took place in Southern Sudan]] from 9{{spaces}}to 15 January 2011, on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. The referendum was one of the consequences of the [[Comprehensive Peace Agreement|2005 Naivasha Agreement]] between the [[Government of Sudan|Khartoum central government]] and the [[South Sudan People's Defence Forces|Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement]] (SPLA/M).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Referendum in Southern Sudan. UNMIS - United Nations Mission in the Sudan |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/unmis/referendum.shtml |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=peacekeeping.un.org}}</ref>

On 7 February 2011, the referendum commission published the final results, with 98.83% voting in favour of independence. While the ballots were suspended in 10 of the 79 counties for exceeding 100% of the voter turnout, the number of votes was still well over the requirement of 60% turnout, and the majority vote for secession is not in question.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-01-30 |title=South Sudan referendum: 99% vote for independence |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12317927 |access-date=2024-02-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

A simultaneous referendum was supposed to be held in Abyei on whether to join Southern Sudan but it has been postponed because of conflict over demarcation and residency rights. In October 2013, a symbolic referendum was held in which 99.9% of voters in Abyei voted to join Southern Sudan. However, this resolution was non-binding.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gridneff |first=Ilya |date=October 31, 2013 |title=Thousands in contested Abyei vote to join South Sudan, risking tensions |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE99U108/ |access-date=February 14, 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref> As of February 2024, an official referendum still has not taken place. Abyei currently holds "special administrative status".<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2011 |title=Abyei Arbitration (Government of Sudan/Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511675812.004 |journal=International Law Reports |volume=144 |pages=348–699 |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511675812.004 |s2cid=232254340 |issn=0309-0671|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The predetermined date for the creation of an independent state was 9{{spaces}}July 2011.

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Cold War border changes.png|thumb|250px|[[List of national border changes since World War I|Changes in national boundaries]] in Eurasia in the decades following the end of the Cold War]]

On November 15, 1917, the day in which [[Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia]] was declared by the [[Bolsheviks]], [[Finland]] seceded after the non-Socialist Senate proposed that  Parliament declare Finland's independence, which was [[Finland's declaration of independence|voted by the Parliament on 6 December 1917]]. On December 18, 1917, it was recognized by [[Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Council of People's]]. It was followed by the [[Finnish Civil War]].

The [[Constitution of the Soviet Union]] guaranteed all [[Republics of the Soviet Union|SSRs]] the right to secede from the Union. In 1990, after free elections, the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]] [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania|declared independence]] and other [[Republics of the Soviet Union|republics]], including certain [[Wars in the Caucasus|break-away polities]], soon followed. Despite the Soviet central government's refusal to recognize the independence of the republics, the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union dissolved]] in 1991.

===Spain===
{{Main|Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain}}






Present-day Spain (known officially as "the [[Spain|Kingdom of Spain]]") was assembled as a [[Nation state|central state in the French model]] between the [[Nueva Planta decrees|18th]] and [[1833 territorial division of Spain|19th centuries]] from various component kingdoms with varying languages, cultures and legislations. Spain has several [[List of active separatist movements in Europe#Spain|secessionist movements]], the most notable ones being in [[Catalan separatism|Catalonia]], the [[Basque separatism|Basque Country]] and [[Galician independence|Galicia]].

===Sri Lanka===
The [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]], operated a de facto independent state for [[Tamils]] called [[Tamil Eelam]] in eastern and northern [[Sri Lanka]] until 2009.

===Switzerland===
In 1847, seven disaffected [[Catholic Church in Switzerland|Catholic]] cantons formed a separate alliance because of moves to change the [[cantons of Switzerland]] from a [[confederation]] to a more [[centralized government]] [[federation]]. This effort was crushed in the [[Sonderbund War]] and a new [[Swiss Federal Constitution]] was created.<ref>[http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/ocea/vaus/infoch/chhist.html A Brief Survey of Swiss History], Switzerland Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.</ref>

===Ukraine===
[[File:2014-05-11. Референдум в Донецке 014.jpg|thumb|[[2014 Donetsk and Luhansk status referendums|Donetsk status referendum]] organized by pro-Russian separatists. A line to enter a polling place, 11 May 2014.]]

In 2014 after the start of [[Russian military intervention in Ukraine (2014–present)|Russian intervention in Ukraine]], several groups of people declared the independence of several Ukrainian regions:

* The [[Donetsk People's Republic]] was declared to be independent from Ukraine on 7{{spaces}}April 2014, comprising the territory of the [[Donetsk Oblast]]. There have been [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|military confrontations]] between the [[Ukrainian Army]] and the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic when the Ukrainian Government attempted to reassert control over the oblast.
* The Lugansk Parliamentary Republic was proclaimed on 27 April 2014.<ref name="itarfedlu">{{cite web|url=http://en.itar-tass.com/world/729768|title=Federalization supporters in Luhansk proclaim people's republic|work=TASS: World|access-date=12 August 2015}}</ref> before being succeeded by the [[Lugansk People's Republic]]. The Lugansk forces have successfully occupied vital buildings in [[Lugansk]] since 8{{spaces}}April, and controlled the City Council, prosecutor's office, and police station since 27 April.<ref name="BBCLPRRSA">{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27206280 | title=Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russia activists take Luhansk offices | date=29 April 2014 | agency=BBC News | access-date=18 January 2015}}</ref> The Government of the [[Luhansk Oblast]] announced its support for a referendum, and granted the governorship to independence leader [[Valeriy Bolotov]].<ref name="kyivpost">{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/luhansk-regional-council-backs-referendum-on-regions-status-346356.html|title=Luhansk regional council backs referendum on region's status|date=5 May 2014 |publisher=kyivpost.com|access-date=6 May 2014}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Separatism in the United Kingdom|Potential breakup of the United Kingdom}}

The Irish republicans attempted to withdraw [[Ireland]] from the  [[United Kingdom]] during the [[Easter Rebellion]] of 1916. Ireland gained independence as the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922, except for six [[Province of Ulster|Ulster]] counties which chose to remain in the United Kingdom as [[Northern Ireland]]. The United Kingdom has a number of secession movements:

* In [[Northern Ireland]], [[Irish republicanism|Irish republicans]] and [[Irish nationalism|nationalists]] have long called for the secession of Northern Ireland to join the [[Republic of Ireland]]. This is opposed by [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionists]].  A minority have supported the [[Ulster nationalism|independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without joining the Republic of Ireland]].
* In [[Scotland]], the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) campaigns for [[Scottish independence]] and direct Scottish membership in the [[European Union]]. It has representation at all levels of [[politics in Scotland|Scottish politics]] and forms the devolved [[Scottish government]]. Later pro-independence parties have had lesser electoral success. The [[Scottish Greens]] and the [[Scottish Socialist Party]] are most widely publicised. However, all independence movements/parties are opposed by [[Unionism in Scotland|unionists]]. A [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on independence]] in which voters were asked "Should Scotland be an independent country?" took place in September 2014. It saw "no" win, as 55.3% of voters voted against independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-scotland-independence-journey-special-idUKKBN0HE19420140919|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306025425/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-scotland-independence-journey-special-idUKKBN0HE19420140919|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2016|title=Scotland stays in UK, but Britain faces change|first1=Alistair|last1=Smout|first2=Kylie|last2=MacLellan|first3=Kate|last3=Holton|date=September 19, 2014|access-date=September 19, 2014|publisher=[[Reuters]] – Special Report}}</ref> 
* In [[Wales]], [[Plaid Cymru]] ''(Party of Wales)'' stands for [[Welsh independence]] within the European Union. It is also represented at all levels of [[Welsh politics]] and has often been the second largest party in the [[Senedd]] (Welsh Parliament).
* England:
** In [[Cornwall]], supporters of [[Mebyon Kernow]] call for the creation of a [[Cornish Assembly]] and separation from England, giving the county significant [[Cornish self-government movement|self-government]], whilst remaining within the United Kingdom as a fifth [[home nation]].
** [[London]] has supporters of an independent or semi-autonomous city-state since the 2016 [[EU Referendum]] in which Londoners voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. A [[London independence]] party, known as Londependence, was established in June 2019. Their calls increased after the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 General Election]] in which most Londoners voted for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], gaining a representative, bucking the national trend.
** The [[Northern Independence Party]] is a party formed in 2020 that seeks to make [[Northern England]] an independent state under the name [[Northumbria]].

===United States===
{{Main|Secession in the United States}}

Discussions and threats of secession often surfaced in [[Politics of the United States|American politics]] during the first half of the 19th century, and secession was declared by the [[Confederate States of America]] in the [[Southern United States|South]] during the [[American Civil War]]. However, in 1869, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] ruled in ''[[Texas v. White]]'' that unilateral secession was not permitted, saying that the union between a state ([[Texas]] in the case before the bar) and the other states "was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States."<ref name="Texas v. White"/><ref name="books.google.com"/> Current secession movements still exist, the most notable example of which is the Hawaiian sovereignty movement which formed after the illegal annexation of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] by the United States under the [[Newlands Resolution]] passed by Congress in 1898. Many international organizations consider Hawaii under American occupation. {{cn|date=December 2024}}

===Yemen===
[[Yemen Arab Republic|North Yemen]] and [[South Yemen]] merged in 1990; tensions led to a 1994 southern secession which was crushed in a [[1994 civil war in Yemen|civil war]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Hiro|first=Dilip|title=Saudi-Iranian Détente|date=2019-03-01|work=Cold War in the Islamic World|pages=141–162|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190944650.003.0009|isbn=978-0-19-094465-0}}</ref>

===Yugoslavia===
[[File:A destroyed T-34-85 tank in Karlovac, Croatia.jpg|thumb|A destroyed [[T-34-85]] tank in Karlovac, [[Croatian War of Independence]], 1992]]

On June 25, 1991, [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]] seceded from the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[North Macedonia]] also declared independence, after which the federation broke up, causing the separation of the remaining two countries [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]]. Several [[Yugoslav Wars|wars]] ensued between the [[Serbia and Montenegro|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] and seceding entities and among other ethnic groups in [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and later, [[Kosovo]]. Montenegro peacefully separated from its union with Serbia in 2006.

[[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|Kosovo unilaterally declared independence]] from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and was recognized by around 100 countries, with the rest considering it remaining under [[United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo|United Nations administration]].

==See also==
===Lists===
* [[Lists of historical separatist movements]]
* [[Lists of active separatist movements]]
* [[List of unrecognized countries]]
* [[List of U.S. state secession proposals]]
* [[List of U.S. county secession proposals]]

===Topics===
*[[Autonomy]]  
*[[Bioregionalism]]  
*[[City state]]  
*[[Decentralization]]  
*[[Dissolution (politics)|Dissolution]]  
*[[Homeland]]  
*[[Independence]]  
*[[Intersectionality]]  
*[[Irredentism]]  
*[[Micronation]]  
*[[Nullification (U.S. Constitution)]]  
*[[Partition (politics)|Partition]]  
*[[Schism (religion)]]  
*[[Separatism]]  
*[[Urban secession]]

===Movements===
* [[Balochistan Liberation Army]]
* [[Black Liberation Army]]
* [[Cape Independence]]
* [[Cascadia (independence movement)|Cascadia]]
* [[East Turkestan Independence Movement]]
* [[Essex Junto]]
* [[European Free Alliance]]
* [[Free State Project]]
* [[Hartford Convention]]
* [[Kurdistan]]
* [[League of the South]]
* [[New York City secession]]
* [[Orania, Northern Cape]]
* [[Quebec sovereignty movement|Secession of Quebec]]
* [[Scottish Secession Church]]
* [[Second Vermont Republic]]
* [[South Carolina Exposition and Protest]]
* [[Texas Secession Movement]]
* [[Tibetan Independence Movement]]
* [[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{wikt}}
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|last1=Chorbajian|first1=Levon|last2=Mutafian|first2=Claude|last3=Donabedian|first3=Patrick|author-link1=Levon Chorbajian|author-link2=Claude Mutafian|title=The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh|date=1994|location=Zed Books|isbn=978-1-85649-288-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUlnYdOHJ3wC}}
* {{cite book|last=Malkasian|first=Mark|title=Gha-ra-bagh!: The Emergence of the National Democratic Movement in Armenia|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|year=1996|isbn=0-8143-2605-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Suny |first=Ronald Grigor |title=Looking toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History |author-link=Ronald Grigor Suny|date=1993 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |isbn=978-0-253-20773-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/lookingtowardara00rona}}
* {{cite book|last=Zürcher|first=Christoph|title=The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict, and Nationhood in the Caucasus|year=2007|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780814797099|page=168|edition=[Online-Ausg.].|author-link=:de:Christoph Zürcher}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|}}
* Buchanan, Allen, ''Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law'', [[Oxford University Press]], 2007.
* Buchanan, Allen, ''Secession: The Morality Of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter To Lithuania And Quebec'', [[Westview Press]], 1991.
* Coppieters, Bruno; Richard Sakwa, Richard (eds.), ''Contextualizing Secession: Normative Studies in Comparative Perspective'', Oxford University Press, 2003
* Kohen, Marcelo G. (ed.), ''Secession: International Law Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press, 2006.
* Kohr, Leopold, ''The Breakdown of Nations'', Routledge & K. Paul, 1957.
* Lehning, Percy, ''Theories of Secession'', [[Routledge]], 1998.
* López Martín, Ana Gemma and Perea Unceta, José Antonio, ''Statehood and Secession: Lessons from Spain and Catalonia'', Routledge, 2021
* Norman, Wayne, ''Negotiating Nationalism: Nation-Building, Federalism, and Secession in the Multinational State'', Oxford University Press, 2006.
* Roeder, Philip G. 2018. National secession: persuasion and violence in independence campaigns. Cornell University Press.
* Sorens, Jason, ''Secessionism: Identity, Interest, and Strategy'', [[McGill-Queen's University Press]], 2012.
* {{cite encyclopedia |last= Sorens |first= Jason |editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |title= Sessionism |chapter= Secessionism |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC |year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publishing|SAGE]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA |doi= 10.4135/9781412965811.n277|isbn= 978-1-4129-6580-4 |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 |pages=455–56 |url-access= subscription }}
* Spencer, Metta, ''Separatism: Democracy and Disintegration'', Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.
* Weller, Marc, ''Autonomy, Self Governance and Conflict Resolution (Kindle Edition)'', [[Taylor & Francis]], 2007.
* Wellman, Christopher Heath, ''A Theory of Secession'', Cambridge University Press, 2005.
* ''Secession And International Law: Conflict Avoidance{{snd}}regional Appraisals'', [[United Nations]] Publications, 2006.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/secession/ Secession (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Secession |volume= 24 |last= Fleming |first= Walter Lynwood |author-link= Walter L. Fleming | pages = 584&ndash;585 }}
{{commons category|Secession (international law)}}

{{Autonomous types of first-tier administration}}
{{Secession in Countries}}
{{Colonization}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Secession| ]]
[[Category:International law]]
[[Category:Separatism]]
[[Category:Sovereignty]]
[[Category:Changes in political power]]
[[Category:Partition (politics)]]