Without much background in the politics, the parallel I see is this: Group A and Group B build an economic partnership under consensual terms generally favoura

Without much background in the politics, the parallel I see is this: Group A and Group B build an economic partnership under consensual terms generally favourable to both over a long period of time. At one point, Group A decides to withdraw due to real or perceived inequality. The timeframe of withdrawal is faster than entering, and is insufficient to unearth the complex network of roots that took generations to plant. When the trunk is pulled, the pain is felt in vast numbers of small ways that add up. These roots are what contain the vast majority of the surface area after all.