[Gianni]

Can you name an instance of peaceful secession where one party acted in a unilateral manner?

The former Soviet republics, the Czech and Slovak republics. Granted, the centralized power which could have coerced them to return was in collapse during the time.

[Non-Sequitur]

But the separation was by mutual agreement and involved talks between the parties involved. Not the case in the confederacy.

[Huck]

Granted, the centralized power which could have coerced them to return was in collapse during the time.

You toss that off as an aside? C'mon, Gianni. I don't think I've met you before this thread, but you come across as a nice person to debate with, reasonable, fair, level-headed. But that was nothing short of comical. I can imagine Michael Palin saying it out of the side of his mouth, trailing off, "Well, the central government was a little weakened at the time....A bit! A bit!"