CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Lleshi, Arilda |
|---|---|
| Title | Self-Determination and Secession |
| Summary | This paper looks at the phenomenon of self-determination and secession. More specifically, it answers the question: Does a right to self-determination entail a right to secession? I hold that a right to self-determination generates a right to secession, but a defeasible one. The self-determining group has to meet a number of other criteria: it has to show that a majority of the group supports the claim, it has to have a morally eligible claim, it has to be willing to negotiate, it has to be mindful of the possibility of large-scale violence. The debate around secession is between the self-determination camp which holds that the group has a primary right to secession and the remedialists who hold that groups are eligible for secession only in cases of grave injustices. I propose an intermediary approach centered around the political negotiation process. I do not draw clear lines between the cases that qualify for secession and those that don’t. Instead, I defend a broad right to self-determination based on the concept of political legitimacy, but hold that such a right has to be reviewed throughout the negotiation process. A grievance generates a stronger claim to secession, but when a clear majority is in favor of secession, we should not dismiss this claim as illegitimate either. Change is a constant in internal relations. Borders have changed and will continue to change. We should accept this as a natural aspect of the system. Instead of creating theoretical frameworks that categorize cases a priori, we should be more flexible as new cases arise. |
| Supervisor | Miklosi, Zoltan |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/lleshi_arilda.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University