Autonomy: Theory and Practice

Autonomy has remarkable tradition in the West European macro region, but also tends to become one of the most determinative issues in East Central European countries. Based on English and Hungarian scientific literature this study tries to reveal the theoretical aspects of autonomy together with the complexity of its practical application. The author wishes to collect and summarize the different autonomy definitions published by scientists like Ruth Lapidoth, Hurst Hannum, Hans-Joachim Heintze and so on. The study also analyses those international documents which refer to the principle of or the right to autonomy. The second part of the study presents the two main types of autonomy: the cultural/personal and the territorial one.