Abstract
A general theory of national self‐determination (Adoptive Nationalism) provides a set of principles for the creation ‐ by secession or otherwise ‐ of new, liberal democracies. There is no such theory now, an omission being paid for worldwide at the cost of civil strife and ethnic cleansing. Fortunately, a growing consensus on human rights has permitted a significant recasting of the issues and their resolution. Underpinned by human rights and culture, the theory identifies a ‘people’ with the right to self‐determination and the if, when and how such a ‘people’ may exercise its right by forming either a state or a substate.

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