Liberal Theories of Self-Determination: Towards Peaceful Settlement of Self-Determination Disputes

Abstract

The right to self-determination has stood the test of the time and is still a topic of academic discussion even though the decolonization process is thought to have ended long ago. Today's debates on self-determination are largely focused on what justifies a group's right to self-determination and under what conditions such claims are regarded to be legitimate beyond the decolonization context. After scrutinizing the history of the self-determination concept and examining relevant international legal instruments promulgated during the United Nations era, this thesis evaluates the mainstream liberal theories of self-determination. Upon finding that the Remedial Right Theory does not rest upon morally acceptable philosophical foundations, this thesis suggests a revision of the remedial right paradigm in order to improve it by eliminating the requirement for a moral threshold that the group has to endure before being able to exercise its right to external self-determination.