Doctrine of Self-Determination: Confined to Colonial Situations?

Explain and comment upon the proposition that the doctrine of self-determination is
confined to colonial situations.
In its most basic form, the doctrine of self-determination can be described as the pride of the
designated to select its own political destiny. It includes making choices related with the exercise
of sovereignty and having independent external relations. Similarly, it can also be related with
the selection of the type of government.1 The basic concept of self-determination, which is the
right to choose, finds its basis in French and American revolutions that took place in the 18th
century. The emphasis of these revolutions was on liberty, justice and freedom from
authoritarian rule. The most significant expressions of this were found after the First and Second
World Wars. After World War I, it was considered that the doctrine of self-determination was
the basic principle adopted by Woodrow Wilson for redrawing European and world maps. In
order to establish a new and just order. In the same way, after World War II, the right to self-
determination was made a part of United Nations charter. This initiated the transformation of this
doctrine into a legal right.2 That was available under international law. At the same time, this
notion provided in practice, the justification and the impetus for de-colonization. Generally this
doctrine is conflated with independence. In recent times, the term self-determination is related
with the struggles that have been started by groups that are present in the state and seek greater
1 Rajen Harshe 2005, “Changing Profile of Imperialism in Global Political Order/Disorder” Economic and Political
Weekly , Vol. 40, No. 20 pp. 2071-2076
2 Asbjorn Eide, 1996, “Peaceful Group Accommodation as an Alternative to Secession in Sovereign States” in Self-
Determination: International Perspectives ed. Donald Clark and Robert Williamson, (United States of America: St.
Martin’s Press, Inc

autonomy or independence, mainly ethno-nationalist claims or as a counter reaction to
authoritarianism or oppression.3
During the recent academic debates and the international diplomacy, the focus is on internal self-
determination, while making proposals to resolve claims. Therefore, they often shied away from
the term self-determination completely in order to avoid mistakenly conflating every question
related with self-determination with the efforts for independence that may shatter a particular
State.4 Therefore, as in case of theory, the law also relied on the notion of self-determination in
self reference to the right to choose. It should not regulate your business specific outcomes.
Continuous discussions are taking place in legal, and diplomatic circles regarding the delineation
of the 'self'.5 In other words, to find the people who were entitled to self-determination and what
is implied or allowed by applying determination. The basic differences that are present in the
meaning are based on how circumscribed each of these components are interpreted by one.
Whether the exercise of self-determination is only confined to certain defined groups like
oppressed or colonial peoples or, it necessarily implies independent statehood in the form of
ideal outcome. According to the present knowledge of the doctrine, self-determination can be
described as a right to choose. That is available to all people, but with flexibility regarding the
application of satellite in context of particular claims.6
Since the nationalist wars that took place in the 19th century for the reunification of Germany of
the Cold War, the doctrine of self-determination has been accused of shattering large empires as
3 Erica-Irene Daes, 1996, “The Right of Indigenious Peoples to ‘Self-Determination’ in the Contemporary World
Order,” in Self-Determination: International Perspectives ed. Donald Clark and Robert Williamson, (United States
of America: St. Martin’s Press, Inc
4 Paul Collier, 2007, The Bottom Billion Oxford University Press
5 Graham Bird, 1978, The International Monetary System and Less Developed Countries London: Macmillan Press
6 Francisco Rodríguez and Jeffrey D. Sachs, 1999 “Why do resource-Abundant Ecnomies Grow More Slowly?”
Journal of Economic Growth , Vol. 4, No. 3 pp. 277-303

well as small states alike. Similarly it is also responsible for State building and state formation.
After World War I, the doctrine of self-determination achieve the classical or Wilsonian meaning
according to which a community that was trying to achieve sovereignty and full independence at
the expense of an existing state or other communities. In this way, self-determination
automatically involves a change in the present sovereign boundaries. Similarly, it also implies
that this is the right to form a government and administration in accordance with the wishes of
the community.7 Historically, the doctrine of self-determination has acted as the assertion of
national identity and statehood at the expense of large multinational empires. This doctrine has
also contributed in the resolution of colonial empires. Similarly, in recent times, the doctrine of
self-determination helped in the unification of Germany, the fall down of the Soviet Union and
its empire, the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the breakup of Czechoslovakia. At the same time
conflicts are also going on in Africa, Asia and Europe, to achieve autonomy and secession and as
a result, self-determination conflicts can be seen in different parts of the world like Chechnya,
Darfur, Sri Lanka and Kosovo.
Although the roots of the doctrine of self determination lie in the ideals behind French and
American revolutions but as a political concept, self-determination, was initially articulated as a
tool to maintain order and to spread democratic ideals in the first part of 20th century.8 Before
the Bolshevik Revolution, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin were also in favor of the doctrine of
self-determination as an anti-imperialist measure that was required to ensure world peace.9
7 Gudmundur Alfredsson, 1996, “Different Forms of and Claims to the Right of Self- Determination” in Self-
Determination: International Perspectives ed. Donald Clark and Robert Williamson, (United States of America: St.
Martin’s Press, Inc
8 Hakan Ozoglu, Kurdish Notable and the Ottoman State (University of New York Press, 2004
9 Hugh Seton- Watson in Nations and States(Methuen, Limited: 1977)

At the same time, self-determination was also considered by Woodrow Wilson as the basis of
offering no rights to the people of Austro-Hungarian Empire and also to rebuild order that was
based on new and more democratic principles following the end of the World War I. On the basis
of the tenets mentioned in his Fourteen Points Speech, he insisted on the right of the people ruled
by the Germans and the Habsburgs, to have self-determination.10 As a result, these demands
featured in the Versailles peace process was still under the rubric of the colonial order for
satisfying the interests of great powers. Although the inducements to break apart the
multinational empires that was present with Wilson and replacing these empires with nation-
states so a more peaceful and democratic global order can be achieved, the essence of this desire
of self-determination is based on the stress on the relationship between peoples and independent
states. It was two decades later, when self-determination was used with the negative connotation
by Adolf Hitler. He had used this concept for justifying the consolidation of German-speaking
territories in order to achieve, "Volksraum".
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that self-determination has two aspects, internal and
external. Internal aspect oself-determination can be described as the right enjoyed by the people
of a particular state to govern themselves without any interference from the outside. On the other
hand, external self-determination can be described as the right available to the people according
to whom they can decide own political status and the people are free from alien domination
which includes the formation of their independent state.11 However, independence is not the only
possible outcome in case of the exercise of the right of self-determination.
Under international law, self-determination has been accepted in 1960s and it has been construed
as the right available to all colonial territories of becoming free or to assume any other status that
10 Hurst Hannum, 1990, Autonomy, Sovereignty, and Self-Determination University of Pennsylvania Press
11 Human Rights Watch, 2013, World Report: Democratic Republic of the Congo