Abstract
The outcome of the secessionist attempts is significantly influenced by the geopolitical environment in which recognition-seeking entities operate affecting the case at hand. While some forms of fragmentation including decolonization and consensual secession are widely accepted and operate in a favorable international environment, other cases of fragmentation, mainly unilateral secession, are generally discouraged.
The chapter argues that in order to understand the varying levels of success of secessionist attempts, we must take into consideration the specific type of secession/fragmentation and external involvement that determines the outcome in conflicting cases. The combination of external interests, the geopolitical pattern of acceptance of different types of political fragmentation, and international law creates a formula explaining the divergent levels of de facto success and de jure acceptance of secessionist bids.