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>The constitution did not give states the right to secede.

the right to secede is, unfortunately, given or taken by force only. As US Revolution and Civil War, or Kosovo or Crimea among others show.




No. Montenegro seceded peacefully from Serbia. Czechoslovakia dissolved into two parts peacefully (no seceding, but close enough). Finland seceded peacefully from Russia. Amongst others...


And then, of course, there's the former Soviet Union...

Most African decolonisation was also peaceful.


India's decolonization was also mostly peaceful. What was not peaceful in India was the post-independence separation between Pakistan and India.


pretty much all of these cases were "crumbling/dissolution of empire" or similar. I.e. an opportunity presented by dramatic shift in force balance when dominating force is weakened and thus couldn't stop the process. It wasn't a result of a process legitimate according to the laws at that moment in that geography. And that is exactly my point (it wasn't about peacefulness - if you have obviously prevailing force, the things have good chances to happen peacefully, like in case of Crimea :). It is always about force. Laws, like always, follow the force and legitimaze the separation after the fact.




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