Self-Determination in the International Legal System: Whose Claim, to What Right? [Paperback]

This open access book brings conceptual clarity to the study and practice of self-determination, showing that it is, without doubt, one of the most important concepts of the international legal order. It argues that the accepted categorisation of internal and external self-determination is not helpful, and suggests a new typology. This new framework has four categories: the polity-based, secessionary, colonial, and remedial forms. Each will be distinguished by the grounds, or the legitimacy-claim, on which it is based. This not only ensures consistency, it moves the question out of the purely conceptual realm and addresses the practical concerns of those invoking self-determination. By presenting international lawyers with a typology that is both theoretically consistent and more practically useful, the author makes a significant contribution to our understanding of this keystone of international law.

The open access edition of this book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by Max-Planck-Institut f?r ausl?ndisches ?ffentliches Recht und V?lkerrecht.

1. A Struggle for Self-Determination: Whose Claim, to What Right?
I. Introduction
II. The Self-Determination Problem
III. Four Forms of Self-Determination
IV. Vocabulary and Categorisation: The Forms of Self-Determination and their Interrelation
V. Conclusion
2. Self-Determination's Origins: 13201920
I. A Prehistory of Self-Determination?
II. Self-Determination Takes Centre Stage: 1776 and 1789
III. The Age of Revolution and the Long Nineteenth Century  17891920
IV. Conclusion
3. Self-Determination and Decolonisation: 19201970
I. Imperialism and Decolonisation
II. First World War Rhetoric: Lenin and Wilson on Self-Determination
III. The Mandates l3_