[wader]

So let me get this straight: Serbia and Montenegro were all that remained of Yugoslovia after Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina seceded during the Balkan Wars of the '90s. Then Montenegro declared independence in 2006. Kosovo seceded from Serbia last Sunday, and now the northern region of Kosovo wants to secede and rejoin Serbia. I don't have a dog in this latest fight - or even understand it much - but if someone wants to quit the firm, it seems to me you ought to let him go. The tension arises, of course, because the ones eyeing the door usually want to take a pile of the firm's assets along with them. And you do have to question where this will end. Will some family named Knezevic decide it's time to secede from northern Kosovo? Will Bob, the Kenezvics' 17-year-old son who doesn't really talk to anyone at holiday dinners anymore, decide he wants to secede from the family? At some point you hit what scientists call the terminal unit - the smallest reducible component of any system - and this feels like it may be it.

Secession can often be a good idea. We'd all be eating Marmite and bangers for lunch if the United States hadn't opted out of the British Empire in 1776. But just as often it doesn't work, and with 192 current members of the United Nations and limited space for new flagpoles out front, I'd suggest it's time to close the books.

 

[Vector]

some countries should have stayed in the empire

The British did a very good job with their colonies. The US,Canada,India, The bahamas,Bermuda all turned out well. The French did a horrible job with their colonies.
Some countries /people can't govern themselves and need a strongman to maintain order. Unfortunate but true.