Secession State And Liberty

The political impulse to secede -- to attempt to separate from central government control -- is a conspicuous feature of the post-cold war world. It is alive and growing in Canada, Russia, China, Italy, Belgium, Britain, and even the United States Yet secession remains one of the least studied and least understood of all historical and political phenomena. The contributors to this volume have filled this gap with wide-ranging investigations -- rooted in history, political philosophy, ethics, and economic theory -- of secessionist movements in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Is secessionism extremist, a dangerous rebellion that threatens the democratic process? Gordon and his contributors think otherwise. They believe that the secessionist impulse is a vital part of the classical liberal tradition, one that emerges when national governments become too big and too ambitious. Unlike revolution, secession seeks only separation from rule, preferably through non-violent means. It is based on the moral idea, articulated by Ludwig von Mises in 1919, that "no people and no part of a people shall be held against its will in a political association that it does not want. The authors cite the famed 1861 attempt to create a confederacy of Southern states as legal, right, and a justifiable response to Northern political imperialism. They note that this was not the first American secession attempt -- the New England states tried to form their own confederacy during the War of 1812. This evidence, they argue, begs a reinterpretation of the U.S. Constitution along secessionist lines. Further they believe that the threat of secession should be revived as a bulwark against government encroachmenton individual liberty and private property rights, a guarantor of international free trade, and a protection against attempts to curb the freedom of association. These straightforward, pellucid arguments include essays by Donald Livingston, Murray N. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Thomas DiLorenzo, and Bruce Benson, among others. If overgrown nations continue to decompose, as they have for the last decade, these authors believe it is essential that secession be taken seriously, and fully understood. Secession, State, and Liberty makes a vital contribution toward that end. This stimulating, thought-provoking collection is necessary reading for intellectual historians and political scientists.

The political impulse to secede - to attempt to separate from central government control - is a conspicuous feature of the post-cold war world. It is alive and growing in Canada, Russia, China, Italy, Belgium, Britain, and even the United States Yet secession remains one of the least studied and least understood of all historical and political phenomena. The contributors to this volume have filled this gap with wide-ranging investigations - rooted in history, political philosophy, ethics, and economic theory - of secessionist movements in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- 1. The Secession Tradition in America -- 2. When Is Political Divorce Justified? -- 3. The Ethics of Secession -- 4. Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation-State -- 5. Secession: The Last, Best Bulwark of Our Liberties -- 6. Republicanism, Federalism, and Secession in the South, 1790 to 1865 -- 7. Yankee Confederates: New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States -- 8. Was the Union Army's Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act? An Analysis of President Lincoln's Legal Arguments Against Secession -- 9. The Economic and Political Rationale for European Secessionism -- 10. A Secessionist's View of Quebec's Options -- 11. How to Secede in Business Without Really Leaving: Evidence of the Substitution of Arbitration for Litigation -- Appendix A. The Declaration of Independence -- Appendix B. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union -- Appendix C. The Constitution of the United States -- Appendix D. The Constitution of the Confederate States of America -- About the Authors -- Index

One important tradition in political science conceives of the Civil War in the United States serving as the functional equivalent of the English and French Revolutions, bringing with it the victory of liberal democratic industrialism over aristocratic agriculturalism. From this perspective, the Civil War is notable for its impact on the American state. Surprisingly however, little attention has been paid to the distinguishing features of this historic rupture in American politics. Through primary source research and the re-analysis of the rich historical literature about the antebellum era and the causes of the Civil War, Lawrence A. Anderson explores the relationship between federalism and the movement for secession in the United States during the pre-civil war era. Focusing primarily on South Carolina, Anderson carefully revisits theory on institutional analysis of political development to expose what caused secession in the United States.

Bands, bonds, and affections -- Secession all the way down : libertarians opt out -- "A slave republic" : secession and southern slavery -- White devils and Black separatists -- "Dykes first" : lesbian separatism in America -- Exodus as secession : achieving God's terrestrial kingdom.

Articles The State - Errors of Classical Liberalism Hans-Hermann Hoppe Natural Law and the Libertarian Society Ben O'Neill Secession as Political Reform: The Case of Western Australia Sukrit Sabhlok Mises' Apriorism: Tautology or Theory of Praxis? Cade Share Individual Freedom, International Trade and International Conflict Alex Robson McDonaldization: An Analysis of George Ritzer's Theories and Assertions John Engle The Years since 9/11: What Hath Our Rulers Wrought? Chris Leithner Book Reviews The Evil Princes of Martin Place Liberty Defined (Ron Paul) Beyond Politics (Randy Simmons) The Frankenstein Candidate (Vinay Kolhatkar) Trust Your Enemies (Mark Tier) Steve Kates Mark Hornshaw Luke McGrath Sukrit Sabhlok Marc Lerner

A collection of essays, articles and papers, in the tradition of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, that discuss secession from a legal, constitutional and historical perspective. Since the original release of the first edition of The Annotated Secessionist Papers, the world has not ceased to view secession and devolution as a legitimate recourse for people across the globe that seek more responsive democratic representation. In Europe, there are currently twenty-one active and real secession or devolution movements.

This collection presents an analysis of the concept of secession and its constitutional accommodation alongside an assessment of the effects of secession in constitutional and international law. The work proposes a new approach and insights into the existing literature that fill a gap from multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. The book approaches the topics of secession, constitutionalism, and their relationship from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, including the analysis of particular secessionist examples, such as Catalonia, the Basque Country, Tigray, the Palestinian minority in Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Mapuche Nation, from a comparative constitutional perspective. Elucidating these issues from different methodological and conceptual perspectives produces novelties in the scientific and constitutional debate. The interplay between constitutions, constitutional law, and secession is indeed explored from philosophical, socio-legal, but also from strict constitutional law outlooks. Written by constitutional and public international law experts, the book will be of interest to students, academics, and researchers working in the areas of constitutional law, legal theory, theory of the state, philosophy of law, and political science.