Secession

Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). 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. Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.

Notable examples of secession, and secession attempts, include:

• the Confederate States of America seceding from the Union, setting off the American Civil War;

• the former Soviet republics leaving the Soviet Union, causing its dissolution;

• Texas leaving Mexico, during the Texas Revolution;

• Biafra leaving Nigeria (and returning, after losing the Nigerian Civil War); and

• The Republic of Ireland leaving the United Kingdom