Self-determination

Self-determination is a theoretical principle now embodied in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structures.

Contents 1 Theoretical Overview 2 History 3 Sources 4 External links 5 See also

Theoretical Overview

The concept of the right to self-determination of a political community can be seen to date back at least as far as 1859 with John Stuart Mill's work On Liberty in which he argues that political communities are entitled collectively to determine their own affairs. In his work he argues that states should be seen as self-determining communities even if their internal political arrangements are not free, self-determination and political freedom are not equivalent terms. A state is self-determining even if its citizens strive, and fail, to create free political institutions, however in turn, it is deprived of its self-determination if such institutions are established by an external power. He argues that the members of a political community must seek their own freedom, just as they may seek to be virtuous, they cannot be 'set free' just as an individual cannot be made virtuous. In this way self-determination can be seen to be a parallel to state sovereignty and as such work as an underlying principle in support of the international norm of nonintervention.

History

This principle was first applied in international relations by Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Points; and was important in the Treaty of Versailles for drawing the boundaries of Eastern Europe and affecting decolonization. Many of the concepts embodied in the ideal of self-determination, however, can be found in earlier documents such as the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

The right to self-determination has been used in recent decades by people all over the world. In most cases there is an ethnic or religious minority within a specific geographic area seeking independence from a majority to escape prejudice or persecution.

The constitution of the Soviet Union acknowledged this right for its sister republics (although not for declared "autonomous" regions), but it was not applied in practice until the perestroika, when it led to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

At the ratification of the UN Charter in 1951, the signatories introduced the right of all people to self-determination into the framework of international law and diplomacy.

The purpose of the self determination clause was to allow the former colonies that existed before World War II to have a say in their future. However, some felt that after decolonization the right to self-determination should apply only to states and not to peoples, and to be circumscribed by the principles of territorial integrity and non-intervention. Territorial Integrity however can only be applied to prevent the cessation of integral parts of a state, and does not apply to decolonisation. It is clear that a colony cannot affect the territorial integrity of a country of which she does not form part. Many of the newly independent former colonies faced secessionist and irredentist movements and therefore there was an international consensus that self-determination did not apply to these movements. UN Resolution 1514(XV) was adopted and guarantees the right to self-determination of all peoples.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1970 committed the idea of the right for self-determination to the body of international protocol. In essence, all people reserve the right to seek self-determination to address a lack of proper representation or oppression from any given government.

There is tension between the concept of self-determination and that of territorial integrity. This conflict has been resolved in practice by defining the notion of "people" entitled to self-determination as persons living in a particular geographic area within a nation-state rather than persons sharing a common culture or language. Hence, self-determination as it is understood in the early 21st century does not generally promote the political aspirations of oppressed ethnic minorities.

Wilson's ideas of self-determination originated in his Southern heritage and sympathies. His favorite movie was The Birth of a Nation, and his Democratic Party beliefs and personal ties were steeped in Southern pride and resentment of Northern power. Hence Southern interpretations of States-Rights directly led to Wilson's ideas of self-determination. Many have criticized both concepts, however, for promoting secession and division over unity. Further, the key question is at what level do populations have the right to self-determination and the formation or preservation of a state, the empowerment of a local majority, and the formation of a local minority. In the United States, southern states' rights to determine their own destiny during the Civil War and Civil Rights era were held to be not absolute, especially since significant minorities there were oppressed. In Europe after World War I, many of the former Empires destroyed in that war were broken up into ethnic states which themselves were amalgamations of peoples containing their own minorities, in Yugoslavia, the former Russian and Austro-Hungarian provinces, and in the Middle East. In Palestine, Jewish immigrants would claim self-determination to justify the creation of the state of Israel in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire, just as Palestinians would later claim independence as Palestine.

Hence, self-determination has been held to be an example of an advancement of the fundamental political rights of geographically bounded 'peoples' at work, but also as an example of an abstract theory that when implemented has sometimes led to and fed further ethnic, national, and regional civil conflict.

Sources

Theoretical Overview based upon Michael Walzer's analysis of Mill's argument in his seminal work 'Just and Unjust Wars' which is a justification of Just War theory.

External links

• United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514(XV). "Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples"
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization on Self-determination
• Self Determination. International law and practise

See also

• International law
• International relations
• International relations theory
• Nation state
• Non-Intervention
• Sovereigntyca:Autodeterminació

de:Selbstbestimmungsrecht es:Derecho a la autodeterminación fr:Autodétermination he:הגדרה עצמית nl:Zelfbeschikkingsrecht ja:民族自決 pt:Autodeterminação ru:Право на самоопределение