State Succession and Historical Challenges Considered – Book Review

Almost a decade ago, I walked into a used book store in Calgary and found it most intriguing, it was an old two-story house and every room was filled with used books for sale. I bought too many books, and since I was on vacation, I had a slow ship sent to China “no rush” UPS, thinking that by the time my vacation was over the books would arrive. Yes, I am a kind of bookworm among other things.

In any case, a book I bought had intrigued me and was on the dollar table there. I put it away on one of my book shelves thinking that one day, I might need that information, and it sure seems one day to be about me.

You see, today I run a Think Tank that operates online and we talk a lot about geopolitics. This book is about succession and is worth reading. No you cannot have my copy as I have to save this for reference, it is a recurring issue. However, below you will find information about the book in case you want to find an old copy somewhere, maybe on eBay? The name of the book is:

“Succession: the morality of the political divorce from Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec”, By Allen Buchanan, Westview Press, San Francisco, CA, (1991), pages 174; ISBN: 0-8133-1132-2.

Although this book is almost 20 years old, it matters little, the implications of succession are all too common, whether we are talking about ex-Soviet nations, European Union nations, or even a US state like Texas getting sick of it. the ruling authority of Washington DC. exercising power. Texans don’t seem to like it very much.

It is eerily similar to the historical accounts of the succession and what leads men to transfer their previous agreements to share synergies in a larger union. As a former franchisor, I understand the need to hold the union together, along with Abraham Lincoln’s dilemma as the Civil War approached. After reading this book recently, I fully understand why the EU asked the IMF, and even the US, to step in with resources to help rescue Greece to preserve the EU, as that would have far-reaching implications on all the world.

This book is great research, and I would bring you close to some of the insights that I have found over the years by reading the Essays of Henry Kissinger, the vision of Winston Churchill, or the memoirs of Allan Greenspan. If you are involved in a possible succession, I think you should also own your own copy of this book. So consider all of this.