Implementing a Right of Secession: Constitutional and International Legal Strategies
Assuming one wanted to support a right of secession – hardly the dominant view in law or politics – what would be the most promising strategy? The most common approach is constitutionalization, as recent secession attempts suggest. But this is only half right. The path leads through many small changes, rather than a single, quixotic...
In the Name of Social Harmony: Ethnic Dominance, Rights Limitations and Pluri-nationalism in South Asia
Several Asian constitutions have provisions allowing States to curtail democratic rights in the name of social harmony. Synthesizing literature on rights restrictions, this paper examines how framing social harmony as a rights restriction links social harmony to security, an accepted limitation on rights, highlighting an antagonization of identity politics and security. Social harmony restrictions empower...
Is There a Right to Secession?
A right to secede would entail that secession has a protected status. That is, if there is a right to secede, then it is permissible to secede even if secession is unjustified—in the same way that the right to free speech protects speech that is false, harmful, or otherwise unjustified. It is commonly believed that...
Secession and the Prevalence of Militant Constitutionalism Worldwide
The prevalent approach suggests that constitutions are silent about secession and may even implicitly allow it. But an examination of world constitutions reveals that the overwhelming majority of countries vigorously protect territorial integrity. This article explains how democracies have been able to conceal their fight against secessionists, by creating a large gap between “the law...
Substate Identity-based constitutional claims: Negotiation, Rejection, and Confrontation
This paper discusses constitutional claims proposed by national identities. Constitutional debates over the roles of national identities are traditionally associated with the protection of minority rights, yet there is perhaps a larger group of constitutional demands that is fostered by identity groups (e.g. Scot or the Catalonian) . These identity-based constitutional claims are organized into...
The Right of Secession in International Law Reconsidered
The paper seeks to critically review the right of secession in international law. In several states around the world, various ethnic-nationalities and peoples often demand the right to determine their common political destinies. But these demands are frequently denied or crushed by states in defence of the traditional principle of territorial sovereignty. Given these contrasting...