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Autonomy, Sovereignty and Self-Determination: The Accommodation of Conflicting Rights

Author(s): Hannum, Hurst

Hardcover - 514 pages; Softcover - 522 pages (1962, reprinted 1990)
ISBN: 0-8122-8206-X

Price: US $55.00 (Hardcover); US $24.95 (Softcover)

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About This Publication

Demands for "autonomy" or minority rights have given rise to conflicts, often violent, in every region of the world and under every political system. Through an analysis of contemporary international legal norms and an examination of several specific case studies — including Hong Kong, India, the transnational problem of the Kurds and Saamis, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, and the Sudan — this insightful and original work goes beyond mere slogans and identifies a realistic framework in which ethnic, religious, and regional conflicts might be addressed.

This book suggests that a new principle of international law can be discerned from contemporary definitions of sovereignty, self-determination, and human rights. This new right of autonomy supports creative attempts to deal with conflicts over minority and majority rights before they escalate into civil war and demands for secession. It recognizes the right of minority and indigenous communities to exercise meaningful internal self-determination and control over their own affairs in a manner that is consistent with the ultimate sovereignty — as that term is properly understood — of the state.

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About The Author(s)

Hurst Hannum is Professor of International Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. A graduate of Boalt School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, he served as Executive Director of The PAIL Institute from 1980 to 1989 and was a Jennings Randolph Peace Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace. He has served as counsel in cases before the European, Inter-American, and UN human rights bodies and has been interviewed frequently by national and international media on human rights and international legal issues.

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Availability

Autonomy, Sovereignty and Self-Determination: The Accomodation of Conflicting Rights is available from:

University of Pennsylvania Press
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Baltimore, MD 21211

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Autonomy, Sovereignty and Self-Determination is also available from Amazon.com.

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Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments			ix
Part I   The International Legal Context
1.	Introduction			3
2.	Sovereignty, Statehood, and Nationalism			14
3.	Self-Determination			27
4.	The Rights of Minorities			50
5.	Indigenous Rights			74
6.	Human Rights			104
Part II   Searching for Solutions: Nine Case Studies
	Introduction			123
7.	Hong Kong			129
8.	India and the Punjab			151
9.	The Kurds			178
10.	The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua			178
11.	Northern Ireland			203
12.	The Saami (Lapp) People of Norway, Sweden, and Finland			247
13.	Spain - The Basque Country and Catalonia			263
14.	Sri Lanka			280
15.	Sudan			308
Part III   Other Examples of Autonomous Arrangements
	Introduction			333
16.	Federal or Quasi-Federal Structures			337
	Eritrea (1952-1962)
	Greenland
	Netherlands Antilles
	Switzerland (1848-1874)
	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
17.	Territories of International Concern			370
	Aland Islands
	Free City of Danzig
	Memel Territory
	New Zealand - The Associate States of the Cook Islands and Niue and the Territory of Tokelau
	The Saar (1920-1935)
	The Saar (1945-1955)
	Free Territory of Trieste
18.	Other Situations of Interest			407
	Belgium
	Indian Peoples in Brazil
	China
	Fiji
	Italy - the South Tyrol
	Malaysia
Part IV   Conclusion
19.	Conclusion			453
	The Content of Autonomy
	The Right to Autonomy
	Selected Bibliography			479
	Index			485