A New Book from Metta Spencer

Separatism: Democracy and Disintegration Edited by Metta Spencer Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1998 Hardbound and paperback, 338 pages ISBN 0-8476-8585-3

As the millennium approaches, the world is experiencing civil wars exclusively, half of which are being waged over the issue of secession. Separatism offers a comparative view of nine historic separatist movements, some of which have achieved the breakup of an empire or a state and others that to date have not. Contributors also analyze the implications of separatism and look at other possibilities for reconciling particularistic identities with the more universal goal of citizenship.

“A powerful, practical demonstration of the unacceptably high human, social, economic, political, and military costs of separatism and partition through wars of secession. The book proposes political alternatives to promote democracy and protect minority rights through non-territorial electoral constituencies and weighted referendums. Valuable to scholars in many fields and highly recommended as supplementary college reading, the book is also vital to anyone in the media and the public concerned with multicultural conflict and current international events.” André Gunder Frank, University of Toronto