The self-determination of peoples is a major issue in the world community: both radical and subversive, it serves to grant statehood to oppressed peoples, but also to disrupt existing State structures. This book, the first comprehensive legal account, sets out to trace how this political ideal has turned into an international legal standard. Scrutinising State practice through national digests and UN proceedings the author pinpoints the limits within which this political postulate has gained a foothold in the body of international law and assesses the extent to which it has had an impact on existing legal norms. This is primarily a legal inquiry which, however, looks at law within its historical and political context and, given its judicial underpinning, makes an important contribution to the study of the interplay of law, history, and politics in international relations.

The definitive study of the doctrine of self-determination of peoples.
Reviews
'Overall, this is one of the most comprehensive and useful modern studies of the principle of self-determination in international law'. ASIL Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9780521637527
Author Antonio Cassese
Format Paperback
Page Count 396
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 570g
Dimensions(mm) 227mm * 152mm * 23mm