1st Edition

The Politics of Self-Determination Beyond the Decolonisation Process

By Kristina Roepstorff Copyright 2013
    208 Pages
    by Routledge

    208 Pages
    by Routledge

    Since the formation of the UN in 1945 the international community has witnessed a number of violent self-determination conflicts such as the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Kashmir, and South Sudan that have been a major cause of humanitarian crises and destruction. This book examines the scope and applicability of political self-determination beyond the decolonisation process.

    Explaining the historical evolution of self-determination, this book provides a theoretical examination of the concept and background. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the author analyses self-determination in relation to contemporary conflicts, which inform and drive a coherent theoretical framework for international responses to claims for self-determination. Built upon an examination of the conceptual foundations of self-determination, this book presents a new understanding and application of self-determination. It addresses the important question of whether self-determination claims legitimate armed violence, either by the self-determining group’s right to rebel, or by the international community in the form of humanitarian intervention.

    The Politics of Self-Determination will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, international relations, security studies and conflict studies.

    Introduction  Part 1: Self-Determination  1. Self-Determination, Decolonisation and the United Nations  2. The Shortcomings of the Current Law of Self-Determination  3. Self-Determination and the Contemporary Political Context  Part 2: Conceptual Foundations of Self-Determination  4. Conceptualising Self-Determination  5. Self-Determination as a Human Right of Groups  6. Diversity and Inclusion  Part 3: Realising Self-Determination  7. Secession and Independent Statehood  8. Self-Determination Short of Independent Statehood  9. Self-Determination and Armed Violence

    Biography

    Dr Kristina Roepstorff is a Government of Canada Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Simon Fraser University Vancouver, Canada.