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So begins this collection of Stéphane Dion's speeches from 1996 to 1998. Organized around four central themes, Straight Talk shows the breadth and strength of Dion's convictions. Dion believes that Canada is first and foremost a nation of caring people, in contrast to the image projected by the endless, dry constitutional debate. He argues that the melding of diversity and unity that is the basis of this nation is possible only because of the particular federalism that Canadians have invented. This federalism, however, is far from perfect and it is the responsibility of government to continue to work to improve it, always remembering that its core must be the quality of service it provides to Canadians. Dion believes that the Quebec question is not a constitutional question but one that concerns identity: many francophones believe that their identity and culture are not respected in the rest of Canada and see the anglophone majority as a force for assimilation, while many in other provinces feel that separatists do not share the same values of openness and tolerance. He believes strongly that the secession process the Parti Québecois has proposed - effecting independence on the basis of incorrect legal theory, an unclear referendum question, and a majority of fifty percent plus one - is difficult to reconcile with democracy and raises questions that must be discussed openly and resolved democratically. Straight Talk is a refreshingly honest and frank discussion about a matter that has been at the forefront of Canadian's thoughts for too many years.

La democracia y los derechos universales frente al auge del populismo Discurso inaugural en el Congreso Internacional por el 70º Aniversario de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Valencia. Del 10 al 12 de diciembre de 2018, Valencia, España Democracy and universal rights against the rise of populism Opening speech at the International Congress for the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human Rights Institute of the University of Valencia. From December 10 to 12, 2018, Valencia, Spain

Secession, defined as 'formal withdrawal from a central authority by a member unit', has been particularly rare in democracies. In fact, there has never been a single case of secession in democracies if we consider only the well-established ones, that is, those with at least ten consecutive years of universal suffrage. The cases most often mentioned happened only a few years after the introduction or significant expansion of universal suffrage: Norway and Sweden in 1905, Iceland and Denmark in 1918, Ireland and the United Kingdom in 1922. What is more, one would hesitate before calling the first two cases real secessions, since the ties between the political entities involved were very loose at the outset. Secessionists never managed to split a well-established democracy through a referendum or an electoral victory. We must conclude that it is very hard for them to achieve and maintain the magic number of 50 per cent support. My aim is to explain why this is the case.

Focuses on conditions required for majority support, including fear of assimilation and confidence in the political future; based on a case study of the secessionist movement in Quebec, 1968-92.

The current Canadian constitutional crisis has many roots: the alienation of the western provinces, the increasing difficulties of the federal government in funding poorer provinces, aboriginal renewal, the intrusion of a Charter of Rights and of a powerful Supreme Court into a parliamentary Westminster system. But only one factor challenges the unity of the country: Quebec secessionism.Quebecers have freely elected pro-Canada politicians since the beginning of the federation in 1867. Their situation cannot be compared with new democracies issued from decaying totalitarian regimes, like the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, or Czechoslovakia. The Quebec question bears more similarity with the re-emergence of pro-autonomy movements in some West-European countries. But neither Scotland, Catalonia, nor any other region in Western Europe is as likely as Quebec to become an independent country in the near future. Quebec is a striking case that may have important leading effects on what will happen in Europe.Why in this era are many Quebecers so nationalistic that they wish to exit from a country that is envied around the world? Secessionist movements are rooted in two antithetical feelings or incentives shared by any linguistic, religious, or ethnic group looking to leave a union. First, is a fear of being weakened or even of disappearing as a distinct people if the group stays in the union. Second, is a confidence among the group that it can perform as well, or even better, on its own and that the secession is not too risky. A third feeling of rejection, the sensation of no longer being welcomed in the union, may also occur. Secession is most likely to take place when these feelings are all at high levels.