Description: "Self-determination is, without doubt, one of the most important concepts of the international legal order, but debates still exist around what precisely it means. This book brings conceptual clarity to its study and practice. It argues that the accepted categorisation of international and external self-determination is not helpful, and suggests a new typology. This new framework has four categories: polity-based, identitarian, colonial, and remedial forms. Each will be distinguished by the grounds, or the legitimacy-claim, on which they are based. This not only ensures consistency, it moves the question out of the purely conceptual realm and addresses the practical concerns of those invoking self-determination. By presenting international lawyers with a typology that is both theoretically consistent and more practically useful, the author makes a significant contribution to our understanding of this keystone of international law."--
Brief description: Tom Sparks is Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Germany.