  We study the interplay of topological excitations in stripe phases: charge
dislocations, charge loops, and spin vortices. In two dimensions these defects
interact logarithmically on large distances. Using a renormalization-group
analysis in the Coulomb gas representation of these defects, we calculate the
phase diagram and the critical properties of the transitions. Depending on the
interaction parameters, spin and charge order can disappear at a single
transition or in a sequence of two transitions (spin-charge separation). These
transitions are non-universal with continuously varying critical exponents. We
also determine the nature of the points where three phases coexist.
