Brin-Jonathan Butler

In the summer of 2007, two-time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and his teammate, Erislandy Lara, had been arrested in Brazil after going AWOL from the Cuban team during the Pan Am Games. The defection attempt made international news and quickly became a national soap opera, regularly appearing on Cuban news and round table discussions.

American Journalist

Douglas Wilder

Since the heady days of the 2009 Inauguration, middle-class independents have grown increasingly distant from Obama. Working-class voters - always more enamored of Clinton - have grown even more wary and distrustful of the Chicagoan. Both voting blocs pose the danger of serious defection in 2012. Without their support, Obama cannot win.

American Politician

Stockwell Day

Tony Blair faced a massive defection from his own party ranks during voting around the intervention in Iraq. For our present purpose, the point is not that he survived the defection, but that he had to face it.

Canadian Politician

Garth Risk Hallberg

Writers since at least the heyday of Gore Vidal have bemoaned their audience's defection to other forms of entertainment.

American Author

Barton Gellman

The defection of Hussein Kamel was a turning point in the U.N.-imposed disarmament of Iraq in the 1990s.

Often used in talk about politics where individuals or groups change allegiance.

Political Context

Defection can imply serious consequences, such as legal action or personal risk.

Serious Consequences

Defection is a decision or action, not a physical movement.