Minorities Minority Rights And Internal Self Determination

The book questions the classic idea of self-determination – the right to self-determination is a right of peoples, not of minorities – by examining the content of the right to self-determination and the content of minority rights. Self-determination has four dimensions: the political, the economic, the social and the cultural dimensions. Minorities have minority rights that touch on most aspects of life as a member of a minority. If there is an overlap between minority rights and the different dimensions of self-determination, the concept that the right to self-determination is only applicable to peoples loses credibility. No global and general conclusion is envisaged; there are restrictions in place. The work is limited to the European framework and is further restricted to classic minorities. The argument is based on a legitimacy and justice approach. The analysis in this book shows that some minority rights overlap with the different dimensions of internal self-determination. In short, classic minorities in Europe have a right to internal self-determination.

The Western Sahara Case

The revival of group consciousness in Eastern European countries in the wake of the Cold War has put the protection of subnational groups high on the political agenda. The present book bears witness to the renewed interest in the legal position of subnational groups in international law. This book and the Conference, at which provisional versions of most of the contributions were presented, originate in perceived deficiencies of contemporary international law to protect subnational groups within a legal framework of which the principal subjects are states. Divided into three parts, the book commences with an analysis of the antagonistic relation between the right of peoples to self-determination and the right of states to territorial integrity, and the need to redefine these concepts in the post-Cold War era. The book continues with the highly controversial issue of the attribution of rights to subnational groups and the identification of subnational groups which would be entitled to such rights. The second part deals with the identification and protection of peoples and minorities at different levels of organization, viz. subnational, national and supranational. This part is followed by an analysis of the modes and means by which international obligations vis-à-vis subnational groups can be enforced. Not only the judicial means are considered, but also the justifiability of recourse to military means to the cause of subnational groups. This book not only provides an in-depth analysis of contemporary international law with respect to the protection of peoples and minorities, but also of the law as it is developing in the post-Cold War era.

In this book Linzhu Wang offers an insightful analysis of the rights of China's minorities from the perspective of self-determination.

In A Dialogical Concept of Minority Rights, Hanna H. Wei offers a re-conceptualisation of the notion of minority rights as the first step of a possible solution to some of the theoretical and practical difficulties of minority protection.

Drawing from diverse scholarship in international law, legal and moral philosophy, and political science, Ethno-Cultural Diversity and Human Rights brings prominent experts together to address contested dimensions of the role of ethno-cultural groups in human rights discourse.

Most discussions of multiculturalism and group rights focus on the relationship between the minority and the majority. This volume advances our understanding of minority rights by focusing on conflicts that arise within minority groups and by examining the different sorts of responses that the liberal state might have to these conflicts. Groups around the world are increasingly successful in maintaining or winning autonomy. In light of this trend, a crucial question emerges: what happens to individuals within groups who find that their group discriminates against them? This volume brings together distinguished scholars who examine this question by weaving together normative political theory with case studies drawn from South Africa, the United States, India, Canada, and Britain. Classical liberalism, deliberative democracy, feminism, and associative democracy are among the theoretical frameworks used to offer solutions to the complex set of issues raised by minorities within minorities.