Moral and political legitimacy of secession : a theoretical and comparative analysis
This doctoral thesis examines the legitimacy of secession in the context of liberal democracies. This is a recent debate in political theory since secession has been an excluded issue by liberal theories of democracy. The thesis defends the necessity of incorporating principles and criteria to analy...
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| Format: | doctoral thesis |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2013 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repository: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/130899 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/130899 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Political theory Theories of democracy Secession Federalism Nationalism Multiculturalism Teoria política Teories de la democràcia Secessió Federalisme Nacionalisme Multiculturalisme 32 |
| Summary: | This doctoral thesis examines the legitimacy of secession in the context of liberal democracies. This is a recent debate in political theory since secession has been an excluded issue by liberal theories of democracy. The thesis defends the necessity of incorporating principles and criteria to analyze the legitimacy of secession from a liberal-democratic perspective. The first article is a critical review of the theories of secession through a typology. The review outlines the shortcomings and normative basis of existing theories. The second paper examines three cases of secession legitimisation (Quebec, Scotland and Catalonia) through the discourse of political parties. It concludes that these parties advocate for secession from a moderate and pluralistic approach, a spirit of consensus and a modern conception of the state. The third article discusses recent developments in Catalan politics in relation to the theories of secession. This suggests a lack of accommodation and recognition as a key element. It also concludes that Catalan secessionist discourse is based on diverse normative basis beyond liberal-nationalism. Finally, the fourth article establishes the basis for including the legitimacy of secession within the theory of liberal democracy: plurinational recognition, setting criteria for defining political units and a consent-based legitimacy of the state. |
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