Self-Determination and Secession: In Between the Law, Theory and Practice

✍ Scribed by Natalija Shikova

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 276
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book offers a comprehensive summary of extant international law scholarship on the topics of self-determination and secession and positions the concepts among present-day theory and relevant practice, illustrated through various ongoing cases and historical examples. The right to self-determination is among the least understood rights within international law. Theoretical dilemmas – as to whether there is a link between self-determination and secession – are nothing new. In essence, self-determination is a much broader concept than secession and obtaining independent statehood. Unilateral secession is not prohibited by international law, but neither is it per se welcomed or accepted in practice. Beyond the context of decolonization, secession claims have long been viewed with disapproval in international law, and lawyers have been extremely skeptical about the issue. Although this is still the case, there are also new trends and opportunities to explore situations in which secession can be accepted, legitimized, or even legally permissible. The yardstick for this is the diplomatic response to secessionism and the growing involvement of the international community in mediation and conflict resolution. Though finding solutions can be difficult, within the existing frame, the ongoing tension between the duty of every society to recognize pluralism and diversity on the one hand, and the inherent desire of every culture – whether majority, minority or indigenous – to protect its values and ensure conformity on the other, must be resolved. The practices and modalities that envisage the internal dimension of the right to self-determination as a right that is exercised within the state borders can offer such opportunities. The appropriate role of the state and the international community is to serve as mediators between competing forces and to set parameters that can transform destructive conflicts into productive political models.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Part I: Self-Determination of the Peoples
Chapter 1: Phases and Developments of the Right to Self-Determination of the Peoples
1.1 Historical Sketch
1.2 From the Principle of Self-Determination to the Right to Self-Determination of the Peoples
1.2.1 Theoretical Debates
1.2.2 Self-Determination Within the UN System
1.3 Content of the Right to Self-Determination of Peoples
1.4 Legal Basis for the Realization of the Right to Self-Determination of the Peoples
1.4.1 The Case of Katanga vs. Zaire—The African Commission’s Decision on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights About Violations of the Right to Self-Determination—An Effort to Balance the Principles of International Law
1.5 The Right to Self-Determination of the Peoples in the Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice
1.5.1 The Case of Israel and Palestine, the Opinion of the ICJ about the Wall of the Occupied Palestinian Territory
References
Chapter 2: The Right Holders of Self-Determination
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Peoples
2.2.1 Colonial Peoples
2.2.2 Western Sahara Case—Can Tribes Be the People?
2.2.3 Indigenous Peoples
2.2.4 Gibraltar Case, Difficulties in Defining the Category of People Who Are Right Holders of Self-Determination
2.3 Nation
2.3.1 Scotland’s Right to Self-Determination
2.4 Minorities and the Right to Self-Determination
References
Chapter 3: Practicing the (External) Right to Self-Determination
3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 The Case of East Timor
3.2 External Self-Determination Vis-a-Vis the Respect of Territorial Integrity
3.2.1 Aaland Islands Case
3.3 The Doctrine of Uti Possidetis Juris
3.4 The Right to Self-Determination and its Polysemic Meaning
3.4.1 The Case of Puerto Rico
References
Chapter 4: Statehood and Recognition of Statehood
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Criteria for the Existence of Statehood According to International Law
4.2.1 Territorial Integrity
4.2.2 Independence
4.3 Sovereignty
4.3.1 The Concept of Sovereignty
4.3.2 Phases and Developments of the Concept
4.3.3 Modern Understanding of Sovereignty
4.4 Recognition of States
4.4.1 Additional Principles for Creating an Independent State Through Self-Determination
References
Part II: Secession
Chapter 5: The Phenomenon of Secession
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Theories of Secession
5.2.1 Explanatory Theories of Secession
5.2.2 Economic Theories of Secession
5.2.3 Normative Theories of Secession
5.2.4 Moral Theories of Secession
5.3 Causes of Secession (Theoretical Considerations)
5.4 Secession Movements
5.4.1 Types of Session
5.4.1.1 Examples of Violent Secessions: Biafra, Bangladesh, and Chechnya
5.4.2 Elements of Secession Movements
5.4.3 The Case of Catalonia: Attempt of Secession
References
Chapter 6: The Dynamics of Secession
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Prerequisites (Predictors) for Secession
6.2.1 The Moro Region: Preconditions That Determine the Success of a Secession Movement
6.2.2 Calculations Regarding Secession
6.3 Economic Justification of Secession
6.3.1 The Example of Kosovo
6.3.2 The Example of Montenegro
6.4 Possible Supporters of Secession Movements
6.4.1 Attracting a Third Party
6.4.2 International Activity Concerning Secessionist Movements
6.5 Dealing with the Secessionist Movement (Crisis)
6.5.1 Cases and Attempts of Secession Before and After the Formation of the UN
References
Chapter 7: “Right to Secession”
7.1 Introduction: Can We Talk About the “Right to Secession?”
7.2 Secession and the Right to Self-Determination
7.3 An International Normative Framework for the “Right” of Secession
7.3.1 Eritrea: An Example of an Exercised “Right” to Secession
7.4 Constitutional “Right for Secession”
7.4.1 Arguments Pro and Against Establishing a Constitutional Provision on Secession
7.4.1.1 Arguments “Pro”
7.4.1.2 Arguments “Against”
7.4.2 The Canada-Quebec Case: Reviewing Secession Demands Within the Constitutional Framework
References
Chapter 8: The Emergence of a Secessionist Entity
8.1 Introduction: What Is Achieved with Secession?
8.1.1 The Case of the Republic of Katanga: An Example of Unsuccessful Secession
8.2 Recognition of the Secessionist Entity
8.2.1 The Case of Biafra (May 1967–January 1970) – An Example of the Nonrecognition of a Secessionist Entity
8.3 Principle of Effectiveness
8.3.1 Examples of Effectiveness Without Recognized Statehood
8.3.1.1 The Case of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
8.3.1.2 The Case of Transnistria: Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR)
8.4 Types of Recognition of a Secessionist Entity
8.4.1 Collective Nonrecognition
8.4.2 Collective Recognition
8.4.3 Collective Conditional Recognition
8.4.4 Additional Recognition Criteria
8.5 Considerations in Respect of the Recognition of a Secessionist Entity
References
Chapter 9: The Legitimacy of Secession Claims
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Theoretical Standings
9.2.1 Secession as a Cure (Remedial Secession) – Theoretical Explications
9.2.2 The Bangladesh Case
9.2.3 A Parochial Theory for the Legitimacy of Secessionist Claims
9.2.4 The Case of South Sudan – An Example of a Distinct “Self”
9.3 Possibilities for the Institutional Settlements of Secession Claims
9.3.1 Standards for Secession (?!)
References
Part III: Internal Self-Determination
Chapter 10: The Internal Aspect of the Right to Self-Determination
10.1 Introduction
10.1.1 The Case of Iraqi Kurdistan: An Attempt to Accommodate Conflict by Applying Internal Self-Determination
10.2 Attempts to Extend the Right to Self-Determination/a Legal Basis for Internal Self-Determination
10.2.1 Internal Self-Determination for Indigenous Peoples: The Example of Sámi Parliaments
10.3 Relevant International Instruments
10.3.1 CSCE/OSCE Documents
10.3.2 Algerian Declaration (Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples)
References
Chapter 11: The Social Basis for the Realization of Internal Self-Determination
11.1 Introduction: Identity as a Basis for Special Rights
11.2 National Identity and the Content of Ethnicity
11.3 Clash of Identities and Accommodation of Diversity
11.4 Multiculturalism
11.4.1 Democracy and Multiculturalism
11.4.2 Building Multicultural Society
11.4.2.1 Multicultural Policies
References
Chapter 12: Tools and Forms for the Realization of Internal Self-Determination: Systems of Power Sharing
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Consociationalism
12.3 Autonomy
12.3.1 Autonomy as a Political Tool
12.3.2 Territorial Autonomy
12.3.2.1 Basque Country Internal Division: Autonomy or Independence
12.3.3 Nonterritorial Autonomy
12.3.3.1 The Example of NTA: The Hungarian Model of Minority Self-Governments
12.4 Decentralization and Subsidiarity
References
Chapter 13: Tools and Forms for the Realization of Internal Self-Determination: Access and Integration
13.1 Political Participation
13.1.1 Holding Free and Fair Elections
13.2 Special Rights of Representation
13.2.1 Employment in the Public Service
13.3 Control over Natural Resources
13.3.1 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights over Lands and Natural Resources
13.4 Cultural Rights and Language Rights
13.5 Educational Rights
13.5.1 Access to Higher Education
13.6 North Macedonia, Ohrid Framework Agreement, an Example of an Internal Self-Determination Instrument
References
Part IV: Conclusions
Chapter 14: Self-Determination Revisited
14.1 Afterword