Research Handbook on Secession

Combining both theoretical and practical insights, the Research Handbook on Secession addresses a wide range of legal issues surrounding secessions. It considers both well-known examples such as Kosovo and Bangladesh alongside less frequently discussed cases including Somaliland and Palestine, offering state-of-the-art analysis of international law on statehood, secession, self-determination and related topics.

Featuring contributions from a range of international scholars and experts, the Research Handbook discusses what a state is, distinguishes between declarations of independence and secessions, and examines the differences between secessions and the dissolution of states. Chapters provide both international law and comparative constitutional perspectives on issues of secession, inviting the reader to think afresh about the role of international law in territory and statehood. The Research Handbook also argues for the possibility that combining insights from international and constitutional law in particular could move the debate forward.

This incisive Research Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and students of constitutional and international law, as well as political science academics, with an interest in statehood and secession-related topics. It will further prove useful for international legal practitioners advising on these issues.

Edited by Jure Vidmar, Professor of International Law, Department of International and European Law, Maastricht University, Sarah McGibbon, Maastricht University, the Netherlands and Lea Raible, Senior Lecturer in Public Law, School of Law, University of Glasgow, UK