Secession which is defined as the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state.
Secession movements and break ups arises from different issues, e.g, marginalization, lower recognition from federal level, limited ability to achieve goals, and sometimes greed. So many past great countries have been involved in Secessions and break ups, I will sight examples of few prominent break ups and secession through out world history.
American Secession : this came about after the well known american civil war which lasted from 1861-1865 and divided the nation into north and south. There have been mixed opinions regarding the real cause of the civil war that led to the secession. Some claim it was due to the institution of slavery, while some say it was fought over state rights. The southern states claimed that their rights were being taken away by the federal govt, and their voices being diminished and slavery being taken away. One method to analyse this historical conflict is to focus on the primary sources. Every state in the Confederacy issued an "Article of Secession" declaring their break from the union. Four states went further;Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina who issued additional documents referred to as "Declaration of Causes". All defended slavery as the main reason but South Carolina also made strong claims related to state rights.
Korea Division : the division of the north and south korea is one of the most common in world history. The partition started after the world war || in 1945. Korea was under the Japanese rule during the world war ||, then the unconditional surrender of Japan led to the division of Korea into two occupation zones. The united states administered the south while the soviet union administered the north.
The division was initially meant to be temporary, but the Soviets and Americans were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea. This led to the establishment of two separate Govt in 1948. Each part claiming to be the legitimate govt over all Korea. Later in 1950 a civil war broke out, but neither succeeded in conquering the other portion of the original Korea. Later the Peninsula was divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone and the two seperate bodies stabilised into the South and North Korea we know today.
Initial Korean Flag
Germany Breakup: After the defeat of Germany in the World War || , it was cut between two global blocs in the east and west. The Cold war divide Germany between the allies in the west and the Soviets in the east. Then the Germans had little voice in govt until 1949 when two states emerged.
a.) Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the west Germany which operated with a parliamentary democracy and Capitalist economy.
b.) German Democratic Republic (GDR), the East Germany which operated a socialist republic. It was ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany SED.
Though Germany was later reunited in 1990, after the decline and fall of SED as the ruling party of GDR. It is still a remarkable division in history.
Yugoslovia Breakup: Yugoslavia-the land of south, came into existence after the World War | when Croat, Slovakian and Bosnian territories had been part of the Austro Hungarian Empire united with the Serbian Kingdom. It initially broke up during the World War || but was unified later. But after the World War ||, the unity of Yugoslovia was a top priority for the US govt. Reasons for the break up were religious and cultural divisions between the different ethnic groups, centrifugal nationalist forces and some other reasons. In 1980, there was a call for the devolution of all real power from the federal govt to the republics and autonomous provinces in Serbia. It later divided into six republics; Bosnia &Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
Soviet Union (USSR) Breakup: Soviet Union which succeeded the Russian Empire was one of the world powers post World War || era. It was a formidable enemy to the United States. The Soviet Union was disintegrated into 15 countries after the Cold War. The govt of Estonia was the first to demand autonomy, after this,similar movements sprang up from all over the Soviet Union. In Dec 25 1991, Gorbachev, the then leader of the Soviet Union resigned and in Jan 1992, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. A new entity was formed called the "Common Wealth of Independent Republics" composed of independent countries of the former Soviet Union, namely; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolorussia(Belarus), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia(Kyrgyzstan), Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia(Moldova), Russia, Tadzhikistan(Tajikistan), Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Soviet Union Flag
There are various other secessions i may not have listed here, you can make it known in the comment section for public knowledge, Tanks.