A novel analysis of secessionist movements, explaining state response, the likelihood of conflict, and the proliferation of states since 1945.

Ryan Griffiths is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. He has held previous posts at the University of Sydney, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and the Barcelona Institute for International Studies (IBEI). He completed his PhD at Columbia University in 2010. His research focuses on sovereignty, international order, and the dynamics of secession. He is the author of Age of Secession: The International and Domestic Determinants of State Birth (Cambridge University Press, 2016). He has published articles in various journals including International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and Security Studies.

1. Introduction; 2. Theory of metropolitan response; 3. A quantitative analysis of secessionist outcomes; 4. The expansion and contraction of the British Empire; 5. The arc of Russian rule; 6. India and its many nations; 7. Conclusion.