Donbass, Tigray, Scotland, Quebec, Catalonia, Kosovo….what do all these have in common?  Ethnic separatist movements in these regions that over the years have worked actively to break away from the Ukraine, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, and Serbia.   There are many other examples that could be mentioned: Chechniya, Abkhazia, Kurdistan (in 4 different countries!), Baluchistan, and even more in Africa. 

The current nightmare in Ukraine goes back to the desire for independence in two regions in the east of that country.  They will probably succeed in achieving independence or be annexed by Russia, unlike Catalonia which did not have a Big Brother in the fight to tip the scales in its direction.  Whether most of the people who live in Donbass really wanted to secede is uncertain. Was it a popular uprising or a coup by a small group of plotters? We’ll never know because the vote that took place was suspect.

Media attention has shifted away from Tigray since the fighting started in the Ukraine, but over the past year untold numbers have suffered at the hands of soldiers from Ethiopia and Eritrea who are raping, looting, killing, bombing cities, forcing a famine. The number of people who have fled or are starving is in the millions–all because a Tigrayan separatist party insisted on breaking away from Ethiopia. Why did they want independence? Because they had previously been in power and felt the new ruling party didn’t respect them. Should they be allowed to go? The best solution people could come up with was to get out the guns, shout slogans about patriotism, and see which side could tally up the most corpses.

Of all the problems facing the world, this is the one we should figure out fast. It lies at the root of so many current conflicts and is something we will never be free of in the future. There will always be some group of people who feel oppressed by their current government and believe the answer to their problems is to break away and set up their own.  Hey, we did that in 1776 and it worked out, didn’t it?   Except for all the dead soldiers who never had a chance to live out their lives, but that’s the price of freedom.  Or is it?   Do we really think people have to die in order to have a change in the political arrangements?  In sovereignty? Is it really “Live Free or Die”, as my state’s license plates boldly proclaim?  

The challenge for us in 2022 is how to live free without dying. How can we avoid the bloodbaths that have always accompanied rebel groups trying to break away?  Do we think that the political boundaries that exist today will remain in perpetuity? Ridiculous! Populations change.  Groups will be on the move.  Can’t we acknowledge that this will be something that comes up periodically and have a process in place that will either allow the breakaway region to fulfill its dreams, or convince the break-awayers it’s a bad idea?  Look at Scotland.   A substantial number of Scots wanted to leave the United Kingdom.  There was a verifiable, fair vote in 2014 where each side was able to make its case for staying or leaving.   55% voted to stay with the Union, and that settled it, at least until Brexit threw a monkey wrench into the works. But there again a vote was taken, and a negotiated break up took place with plenty of bluster, but no bombs or bloodshed.

A simple majority is too low a bar for something as weighty as setting up a new country. For one thing, you can easily find ever-smaller subgroups of people who want to secede: the Scottish Highlands might seek to secede from the Lowlanders, then maybe one of the Hebridean Islands might want to break away from the Highlands—where do you draw the line?  But wherever that line is, voting is better than killing your opponents, better than long lines of refugees streaming across borders as their houses burn behind them. 

 No country is immune from the dangers of separatism.  The United Nations should get busy and set up a “Protocol for Secession and Perpetual Peace.”  Here’s a sketch of a starting point:

1) The Request: The inhabitants of a region express their desire for independence by holding a vote at the local level.  If 60% of the inhabitants who have lived there for 25 years or more vote in favor of secession, go to step 2.

2) The Reply:  The government of the nation from which the secessionist region wishes to break away will set down the financial considerations for secession along with a proposal for a border and send them to the breakaway region’s representatives.

3) The Negotiations:  All the conditions for breaking away will be discussed and approved by the representatives of both parties.  The linguistic, cultural, and civil rights of inhabitants on either side of the new boundary will be guaranteed.

4) The Final Vote:  60% of the inhabitants must agree that they want to approve secession and the deal that goes along with it.

5) The New Nation: If the vote passes, the steps to secession go into effect.