Self-determination in the Twenty-first Century

Self-determination is a political-legal question; it denotes the legal right of people to decide their own destiny in the international order. Self-determination is a core principle of international law arising from customary international law, but also recognized as a general principle of law and enshrined in a number of international treaties; it is protected in the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a right of 'all peoples'. Contemporary notions of self-determination usually distinguish between 'internal' and 'external' self-determination, suggesting that 'self-determination' exists on a spectrum. Internal self-determination may refer to various political and social rights; by contrast, external self-determination refers to full legal independence/secession for the given 'people' from the larger politico-legal state.