ABSTRACT

Political philosophy does not first of all deal with the causes of secession attempts which – apart from a rough categorization 1 – can only be described in detail by way of case studies, as they are found in Parts I and VI of this book. Rather, it focuses on normative questions connected to secession attempts: is secession legitimate – and if so: who has a right to secede under which circumstances? Should the right to secede be guaranteed by the constitutions of democratic states under the rule of law (as it was fixed e.g. in the constitution of the Soviet Union)? Or, on the contrary, are existing states entitled to suppress secession attempts, at least under certain circumstances? (For a discussion of these issues from a legal point of view see Chapters 17 and 19.)