Middlebury Institute
Encyclopedia
The Middlebury Institute for the study of separatism
, secession
, and self-determination
is a political think tank and activist organization founded in 2005. The current director is author Kirkpatrick Sale
.
, dissolution, disunion, division
, devolution
, or secession, expressing a preference for "states that operate with participatory democracy
and justice, which is only attainable as a small scale"; calls the separatist and self-determination movements "the most important and most widespread political force in the world today" and commits to advancing secessionist networking and scholarship. It maintains a list of current North American separatist groups on its website.
to Christian conservatives
to indigenous peoples activists. Groups represented included the Alaskan Independence Party
, the Cascadia Independence Project, the Hawaii Nation, The Second Maine Militia], The Free State Project
, the Republic of New Hampshire, the League of the South
, Christian Exodus
, the Second Vermont Republic
and the United Republic of Texas. Delegates created a statement of principles of secession which they presented as the Burlington Declaration.
Middlebury's Second North American Secessionist Convention in October 2007, which was co-sponsored with the League of the South and held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, received local and national media attention. It also received negative attention for its association with the League of the South.
In 2008 the Institute sponsored a Zogby International
poll which revealed that 22% of Americans believe that "any state or region has the right to peaceably secede and become an independent republic." Additionally, 18% would support their own state seceding. That year it also sponsored a third secession convention in Manchester, New Hampshire
.
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
, secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, and self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
is a political think tank and activist organization founded in 2005. The current director is author Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale is an independent scholar and author who has written prolifically about political decentralism, environmentalism, luddism and technology...
.
Purpose
The goal of the institute is to foster a national movement to place secession on the national political agenda and encourage secessionist and separatist movements here and abroad.Beliefs
The Middlebury Institute was founded in 2005 by signees of the Middlebury Declaration of 2004. The document states that there is a growing militarily based "American Empire"; suggests the possible implosion of that empire "in the near future"; defines separatism as decentralizationDecentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
, dissolution, disunion, division
Partition (politics)
In politics, a partition is a change of political borders cutting through at least one territory considered a homeland by some community. That change is done primarily by diplomatic means, and use of military force is negligible....
, devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
, or secession, expressing a preference for "states that operate with participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
and justice, which is only attainable as a small scale"; calls the separatist and self-determination movements "the most important and most widespread political force in the world today" and commits to advancing secessionist networking and scholarship. It maintains a list of current North American separatist groups on its website.
History
In November 2006 the Institute sponsored the North American Secessionist Convention which attracted 40 participants from sixteen secessionist organizations and described itself as the first gathering of secessionists since the Civil War. Delegates included a broad spectrum from libertarians to socialists to greensGreen Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
to Christian conservatives
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
to indigenous peoples activists. Groups represented included the Alaskan Independence Party
Alaskan Independence Party
The Alaskan Independence Party is a political party in the U.S. state of Alaska that advocates an in-state referendum which includes the option of Alaska becoming an independent country...
, the Cascadia Independence Project, the Hawaii Nation, The Second Maine Militia], The Free State Project
Free State Project
The Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
, the Republic of New Hampshire, the League of the South
League of the South
The League of the South is a Southern nationalist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic." The group defines the Southern United States as the states that made up the former Confederacy...
, Christian Exodus
Christian Exodus
Christian Exodus is a Christian secessionist group. Initially, they attempted to organize a mass movement to South Carolina and later Idaho. Currently, the goal of Christian Exodus has been to pull members together into micro-communities, through social networking, and encouraging its members to...
, the Second Vermont Republic
Second Vermont Republic
Second Vermont Republic is a secessionist group within the U.S. state of Vermont which seeks to return to the formerly independent status of the Vermont Republic . It describes itself as "a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S...
and the United Republic of Texas. Delegates created a statement of principles of secession which they presented as the Burlington Declaration.
Middlebury's Second North American Secessionist Convention in October 2007, which was co-sponsored with the League of the South and held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, received local and national media attention. It also received negative attention for its association with the League of the South.
In 2008 the Institute sponsored a Zogby International
John Zogby
John Zogby is an American political pollster and first senior fellow at The Catholic University of America's Life Cycle Institute. He is the founder, president and CEO of Zogby International, a polling firm known for both phone polling and interactive, Internet-based polling.-Early years:Zogby...
poll which revealed that 22% of Americans believe that "any state or region has the right to peaceably secede and become an independent republic." Additionally, 18% would support their own state seceding. That year it also sponsored a third secession convention in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
.
See also
- Secession in the United StatesSecession in the United StatesSecession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....
- List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
- List of U.S. state secession proposals
- List of U.S. county secession proposals
- Belgian RevolutionBelgian RevolutionThe Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....
- Declaration of IndependenceDeclaration of independenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
- Free State ProjectFree State ProjectThe Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
- AutonomyAutonomyAutonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
- BioregionalismBioregionalismBioregionalism is a political, cultural, and environmental system or set of views based on naturally defined areas called bioregions, similar to ecoregions. Bioregions are defined through physical and environmental features, including watershed boundaries and soil and terrain characteristics...
- City state
- Economic secessionEconomic secessionEconomic secession has been variously defined by sources. In its broadest sense, it is abstention from the state’s economic system – for instance by replacing the use of government money with barter, Local Exchange Trading Systems, or commodity money .-Variations:Wendell Berry may have coined the...
- Human scaleHuman scaleHuman scale is the set of physical quantities, and quantities of information, characterizing the human body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions.- Science vs...
- NullificationNullification (U.S. Constitution)Nullification is a legal theory that a State has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional...
- Urban secessionUrban secessionUrban secession is a city's secession from its surrounding region, to form a new political unit. This new unit is usually a subdivision of the same country as its surroundings, but in some cases, full sovereignty may be attained, in which case the unit is usually called a city-state...