Beyond self-determination: norms contestation, constituent diplomacies and the co-production of sovereignty

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-358
Author(s):  
NOÉ CORNAGO
Keyword(s):  
Political Community ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Political Pluralism ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Global Modernity ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Realities

Abstract:The idea of a perfect national political community, entirely confined within the contours of a corresponding state, is one of the foundational fictions of global modernity. Its formal crystallisation in the legal grammars of the right to self-determination has been however, particularly in the post-colonial era, highly problematic and full of ambiguities. Drawing on this background, this article contends that diplomacy offers frequently a more promising venue for dealing with the challenge of political pluralism than appealing to either the unstable grammars of the right to self-determination or a reified understanding of the principle of territorial integrity of states. In so doing, firstly, the right to self-determination is critically examined. Instead of attempting to articulate its formal content, the malleability of its legal grammars and political realities, will be emphasised. Secondly, based on the discussion of a variety of historical cases, the notion of ‘constituent diplomacies’ will be advanced, aiming to show how the agonistic accommodation of political and territorial pluralism through diplomacy was crucial not only in the formative processes of modern sovereign states but also nowadays. Finally, this relational understanding of the historical forms of governance of political pluralism within and beyond state boundaries will be re-examined, beyond its ethno-political dimensions, through the prism of the complex interplay between the material and ideational conditions for the co-production of sovereignty in the context of new global capitalism.

Regional Hegemony: Domination and Resistance in the Horn of Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Iyob
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
European Colonialism ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Self Determination

Contested territories and challenges to state sovereignty have become almost the norm in post-colonial Africa. The nexus of many of these conflicts resides in a status quo which gives primacy to territorial integrity over the right of peoples to self-determination. The comparative advantage thus accorded to sovereign states has resulted in a disequilibrium that legitimated the violation of both regionally and internationally sanctioned rules enshrined in the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.) and the United Nations (U.N.). Thus a normative bias in favour of the imperative of stability and order was justified by reference to the fragility of the newly independent régimes. In the process, the right of self-determination was narrowly interpreted to refer solely to those African peoples waging liberation struggles against European colonialism or white rule.

A.I. Solzhenitsyn's Publicism of 1960–1970-ies in the Context of the Debates on the Nation and Ethnic Issues

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 276-288
Author(s):  
Alexey B. Panchenko
Keyword(s):  
National Policy ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
Soviet People ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level

Article is devoted to the analysis of A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s views on the phenomenon of nation and ethnic issue, which were reflected in his publications in 1960–1970-ies. At that time Soviet theories of nation and ethnos were taking shape and on their basis the national policy of creating of the new historical community – the Soviet people, – was pursued. Those questions were actively discussed by dissidents and emigrants. That’s why Solzhenitsyn's publications are considered in this article in the context of those discussions and on the basis of the performed analysis the following points can be singled out. Solzhenitsyn linked the existence of nation with the development of the living literary language, but language was not one of the markers of nation. Each nation is the personality of high level, which is manifested in individuals, each of whom embodies the whole nation. And preservation of national variety is the condition of further mankind development. It follows that the task of preserving the Russian nation against its transformation into the Soviet people is very important. Therefore differentiation of «Russian» and «Soviet» becomes one of the key points in Solzhenitsyn's publicism. The common issue in Solzhenitsyn's works and the concurrently held debates was their failure to see the nation as political community of citizens. In general Solzhenitsyn's views can be described as consistent Russian nationalistic while he recognized the right of all nations on self-determination.

Beyond Land Redistribution: A Case for Stewardship in Land Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Menard Musendekwa ◽  
Munyaradzi Tinarwo ◽  
Rumbidzayi Chakauya ◽  
Ereck Chakauya
Keyword(s):  
Land Reform ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Current Article ◽  
The Right ◽  
Land Question

The right to own and derive value out of the land, (cf. ownership) is a human right enshrined in the constitution of most democratic countries. Land reform is arguably the most emotional, socio-economic, and political subject of the colonial and post-colonial era of the African continent. It is a subject that has remained sacred and a taboo creating a fertile ground for protracted political, social, economic, and religious conflicts. Many African indigenous communities are genuinely struggling to address inequality and deprivation. Despite the overwhelming economic demand to address the land question, only a handful of African countries have been bold enough to tackle the issue head-on, sometimes with dire consequences. In the current article, we use the Zimbabwe land reform programme as a case and through a biblical lens show cause for land not just as a commodity where belonging is the ultimate deciding factor but rather emphasise ownership by stewardship. This perspective is compatible with modern systems of governance, ubuntu in the African traditional culture, and encourage efficiency of production to achieve food security despite the polarised discourse of land reform in most countries.

Minorities’ Claim to Secession by Virtue of the Right to Self-Determination: Asian Perspectives with Special Reference to Kosovo and Sri Lanka

2013 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gnanapala Welhengama ◽  
Nirmala Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
The South ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Significant Events ◽  
The Right

This study examines the attitudes of the South and South East Asian states to secession in the post-colonial context. The right to self-determination was a key argument in the overthrow of colonial rule, but states that won their independence from foreign rule are unwilling to recognise that ethnic minorities in these former colonial states have a right to make the same argument in their bid for self-government. These states insist on the inviolability of mainly colonial boundaries and reject any notion that the right to self-determination implies the right to secession. This article examines the reasons for this attitude. Also, in the last five years two significant events have occurred: Kosovo has seceded and the Tamil Tigers have been defeated. The article explores the implications of these two extremes.

International Law and Self-Determination: The Case of Eritrea

1987 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Luis B. Serapiao
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Political Unity ◽  
Colonial Empire ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Emotional Issue

Writing about the Eritrean conflict in the Horn of Africa is a difficult task, because it involves the issue of dismembership of a state. From the Greek Empire to the Roman, from the feudal era to the colonial times, and now in the post-colonial era, dismembership of the state has been a highly controversial and emotional issue. From the colonial era to decolonization, Africans did not have to face this problem. In fact, not only did they applaud the dismembership of the colonial empire, they worked hard to insure the disintegration of the colonies. In their optimism for the future of Africa, they developed a rhetoric that went beyond cooperation among future independent states to continental political unity. “Africa must unite” said the vibrant and dynamic leader of Ghana, Nkrumah.

Order and Justice: National Minorities and the Right to Secession

1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe Versailles Treaty sought to protect minorities by giving them their own state. This practice, labelled 'self-determination' has changed guise considerably post World War II. Paramount to the emancipation of colonies, it came to be the concept that legitimated the 'rule of the people' over that of their colonial masters. However post-colonial 'self-determined' states are often manufactured entities forced into the strait-jacket of Westphalian statehood; and unlike the states that emanated from the Westphalian Treaty, were given no time to evolve by themselves. As a result these states often house disparate sets of minorities that go unrepresented within the Statist discourse. Further, these states have attempted to suppress their minorities through the various policies associated with nation-building. Today, with secession an increasingly attainable form of self-determination, the question arises as to whether these minorities have a right to form a separate state. The international law of self-determination suggests that this is a right of all peoples. It however leaves the parameters of this 'peoplehood' undefined. This paper seeks to examine the discourse of minority rights within that of the international right to self determination. It seeks to trace the history of minority rights protection, and to examine the way in which minority rights are protected within current international law. In addition, it examines the parameters of peoplehood and concludes by looking at two cases where disaffected minorities in a post-colonial state sought to form their own state.

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