Secession: New trends and practice after the cold war

Abstract

The paper examines the concept of secession in international law and its trend and practice after the cold war. It observes that most post cold war secessions that were successful, occurred in Europe. It further observed that their successes hinged on the regional resolve to jettison age-long principles of territorial integrity in the face of bloody conflicts in order to preserve Europe. But in Africa, the will to jettison the hallowed principle of territorial integrity was missing among African States, thus, leading to avoidable bloodshed in the continent. While, listing several placebos and peace-building mechanisms to placate secessionists, the paper urges African and Asian nations to borrow a leaf from their European counterparts in order to avert fratricidal wars in their continents.