Self-determination and State-building in International Law: The Need for a New Research Approach

Abstract

This article offers a critical appraisal of the current debate on the role of self-determination in the context of post-conflict state-building. It starts by looking at what contribution existing literature has made in advancing our knowledge of the matter and it critically analyzes the value of this contribution from the perspective of international law. The key argument set forward is that if we aim to fully understand the role and significance of self-determination in international law a new interpretative framework should be used to study this principle. The discussion proceeds in two steps. First, the article takes issue with how self-determination was studied so far. It identifies a common framework through which the issue has been approached, defines the main characteristics of the approach used and critically examines the bases on which authors carry out their studies of self-determination. Second, it advocates for the opening up of innovative inroads aimed at elaborating a new way of thinking about self-determination. Ultimately, the piece points to the need of a new interpretative framework to approach this issue; it suggests what the new approach should look like and highlights the potential advantages of adopting a new perspective for studying self-determination in the context of post-conflict state-building.