The Significance of Geographic Location for the Success of Territorial Secession. African Example

Political and economic factors always play the main role in the secession of territory. Various aspects of geographic location may however facilitate or hinder secession, as well as the effective functioning of the newly emerged state. For Africa, geographic location in secession may be of greater importance than in the case of other continents. This is caused for the most part by the fact that African states are some of the poorest in the world and are often unable to effectively counteract secession through military means. The lack of well-formed democratic state institutions in turn impedes the peaceful resolution of problems constituting the basis of secessionist tendencies. These are precisely the conditions under which geographic location plays a more critical role.