Self-Determination and Secession

The principle of self-determination for ethnic groups and nations has often led to complicated questions of secession from existing States. This bundle underscores a number of issues that contributors to the ECMI’s publications have raised over the years, paying close attention to legal and political discussions that, sometimes, are not without controversy. Self-determination is frequently invoked when a possibility of secession is contemplated, but these concepts do not mean the same thing: whereas the aim of secession and self-determination is achieving a certain degree of territorial independence, the legal justification to invoke such a claim (and obtain sovereignty) differs in each case. Yet at the same time, Anthony Carty reminds us that international law does not permit by principle to subvert the territorial integrity of existing States on the grounds of a self-determination claim.  

Whereas originally linked to a context of decolonization, it is now accepted that the principle of self-determination could be triggered in two specific circumstances: in the event of annexation or occupation by a foreign State as well as in situations where grave violations of human rights are taking place (external dimension). Also, self-determination could be invoked in the case that a certain community claims political participation and the pursuit of economic, social and cultural development under the support of the host State (internal dimension). Only sometimes, as Boshko Stankovski indicates, are such claims addressed through political negotiations without entering into debates about the entitlement to self-determination, a view consistent with the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Reference Re Secession of Quebec. 

Lastly, this bundle puts special emphasis on separatist movements in the context of the EU, the latter playing a role in the politics of secession in Europe through the process of Europeanization. This concept, as explained by Ghia Nodia, encompasses a series of steps led by the EU aimed at integrating parties in conflict into European structures. According to Gergana Noutcheva et al., the EU has proven to be an effective mechanism when it comes to conflict settlement and conflict resolution in the context of Europeanization. At the same time, in the view of Angela Bourne writing about Catalonia and Scotland a decade later, this does not necessarily constitute an opportunity, but also a constraint for secessionist movements and their opponents. In this connection, EU membership is often seen as a guarantee of certainty by pro-independence campaigners, but this has not yet been proven inasmuch as the EU has not dealt so far with a situation where a new state separating from the territory of an existing member state seeks EU membership.  

 

List of related Publications: 

ECMI Founders