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Secession (from Latin: sēcessiō, lit. 'a withdrawing') is a term and concept of the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence).[1] A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the creation of a new state or entity independent of the group or territory from which it seceded.[2] Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.[3] There is some academic debate about this definition, and in particular how it relates to separatism.[4]