  Ascriptivist theories, like their plebiscitary counterparts, hold that secession rights are ultimately grounded in the value of self-determination and thus need not only be conferred on those who have suffered severe injustice. Unlike plebiscitary theorists, however, proponents of ascriptivist views do not extend the right of self-determination to just any group. They argue instead that self-determination extends only to those groups that can be distinguished by certain defining features- such as nationality, religion, ethnicity, or other identities shared by the individuals that constitute each group (Margalit and Raz 1990; Moore 1997; Miller 1995; Miller 1998). Though various ascriptivist theories insist on different criteria that are used define the “people” or “nation” in question, they share the underlying claim that the right to secede is motivated by the right to some kind of national self-determination grounded in the unique moral claims of individuals belonging to particular identity  groups.[8] 