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Tools and Forms for the Realization of Internal Self-Determination: Systems of Power Sharing

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Self-Determination and Secession

Abstract

There is a need to accommodate the identity differences and settle the demands for secessions active all around the world, undergoing under the quests for self-determination. Globalization processes soften the strong shell of state sovereignty, and secession is neither preferable nor a real solution for addressing complex issues arising from communities’ quest for self-governance. Since there is little help from international law standards in our efforts to promote security and peaceful coexistence, it may be better to look at another angle and try to find solutions through measures that are part of the state’s democratic traditions. Through these measures, demands can be accommodated through various forms and tools suitable for the realization of the internal aspect of the right to self-determination. There are a wide range of options that need to be taken into account. Although there is no strict and clear answer as to “how,” the presumptions and possible solutions are worth trying and can create a variety of power-sharing options.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sisk (2003).

  2. 2.

    Sisk (2003).

  3. 3.

    Sisk (2003).

  4. 4.

    The creator of this political model is Arend Lijphart. See more in Lijphart (1980, 1999).

  5. 5.

    Sisk (2003).

  6. 6.

    Lijphart (1980, 1999).

  7. 7.

    Waterbury (2002).

  8. 8.

    Waterbury (2002).

  9. 9.

    Lijphart (1971, 1999).

  10. 10.

    Lijphart (1999), p. 42.

  11. 11.

    Mullerson (2003).

  12. 12.

    Lijphart (1971, 1999).

  13. 13.

    Horowitz (2003).

  14. 14.

    Mullerson (2003).

  15. 15.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  16. 16.

    Henrard (2000), pp. 297–314.

  17. 17.

    Nincic (1970) and Osterland (1993).

  18. 18.

    Hannum (1990).

  19. 19.

    Cassese (1995), p. 364.

  20. 20.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  21. 21.

    Smith (1998).

  22. 22.

    Tamir (2002).

  23. 23.

    Kiss (1986) and Cassese (1995).

  24. 24.

    Henrard (2000).

  25. 25.

    Musgrave (2000).

  26. 26.

    Raz (1988).

  27. 27.

    Tamir (2002).

  28. 28.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  29. 29.

    Summers (2007).

  30. 30.

    Steiner (1991) and Henrard (2000).

  31. 31.

    The most important international instrument in relation to this issue is the non-binding OSCE document from Copenhagen from 1990, which noted that autonomy is one of the ways to ensure the rights of minorities, but at the same time stressed that such a statement does not create obligations for states, i.e., the document has more political rather than legal force, Document of the Copenhagen meeting of the Conference on the human dimension of CSCE/OSCE, 1990.

  32. 32.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  33. 33.

    See more at Security Council support for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in SC Res. 1590 (2005).

  34. 34.

    See more at Council Endorsement of the Framework Agreement at Skopje, 13 August 2001 in SC Res. 1371 (2001).

  35. 35.

    Summers (2007).

  36. 36.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  37. 37.

    Document of the Copenhagen meeting of the Conference on the human dimension of CSCE, 1990.

  38. 38.

    Recommendation 1201, on an additional protocol on the rights of national minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, 1993, article 11.

  39. 39.

    Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Strasbourg, 1995.

  40. 40.

    Fisher (1978).

  41. 41.

    Hannum (1990).

  42. 42.

    Cassese (1995).

  43. 43.

    Hannum (1990).

  44. 44.

    Hannum (1990).

  45. 45.

    Hannum (1990).

  46. 46.

    ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna—“Basque Country and Freedom”) started as an idea that evolved into a violent movement and, ultimately, into a political party.

  47. 47.

    Although the term Basque Country is traditionally used to refer to the geographical area from both sides of the Pyrenees, which extends between the frontier between the territories of Spain and France, the Basque Country is referred to in government documents as the Basque provinces in Spain, the Basque Autonomy region. Currently, the historical and cultural area of the Basque Country is divided into three political structures: two in Spain, the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, composed of three Basque provinces (Alava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya), and the Community of Navarra, which have their own administrative structures, while the third province, which is significantly smaller and composed of three municipalities, is in France and does not have its own structure.

  48. 48.

    Espiau Idoiaga (2006).

  49. 49.

    The Spanish Constitution was formally approved by a national referendum, and Spain became a democratic state that guaranteed the protection of the nationalities and regions within their borders and historic rights. But despite these safeguards, the Constitution did not fully satisfy the Basque nationalists, given that they did not sufficiently participate in political decision-making. As a result, 55.4% of the Basque Country electorate abstained from voting, Espiau Idoiaga (2006).

  50. 50.

    See more at Constitution of Spain, 1978, articles 1, 2, 3, 137–139, 143–158, Additional Provision 1.

  51. 51.

    Constitution of Spain (1978).

  52. 52.

    Constitution of Spain (1978).

  53. 53.

    Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, Organic Law (Ley Orgánica) 3/1979, 18.12.1979.

  54. 54.

    53% of the population of the Basque Community voted on the referendum for acceptance of the Autonomous Statute, while 41% abstained, Espiau Idoiaga (2006).

  55. 55.

    The Basques are a very old culture, and they believe that they are one of the original European cultures. The Basque language is one of the few languages in Europe that does not have Indo-European roots. It is incredibly complicated, and its concentration in the Basque Country makes it a basic identity symbol for the Basque people. See more in Spencer and Croucher (2008).

  56. 56.

    See more in the Constitution of Spain (1978).

  57. 57.

    Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, Organic Law (Ley Orgánica) 3/1979.

  58. 58.

    Hannum (1990).

  59. 59.

    See more in the Constitution of Spain (1978).

  60. 60.

    See more in Ruiz Vieytez (2013), pp. 79–105.

  61. 61.

    Basque nationalism in France is supported by a very small group. Only a few rural municipalities are led by Basque nationalists, and the movement has no significant political representation at the regional level. The Basque language does not have the status of an official language. Basque separate identity is reflected through the recognition of Basque culture and language within the institutional framework of France. It is interesting to note that in the French Basque Country where the political framework provides relatively few opportunities for the political expression of a separate identity, most of the people do not see the Basque identity as active and potentially innovative, in contrast to the much more dynamic environment in Spain. See Bray (2012).

  62. 62.

    The plan carries the name of the President of the Basque Government, who submitted it to the Basque Parliament in 2002 and defended it in front of the Spanish Parliament in 2005 as a new political pact for coexistence; see Fundación para la Libertad, Internet source.

  63. 63.

    Shikova (2016), pp. 237–264.

  64. 64.

    Salat (2015).

  65. 65.

    Nimni (2000).

  66. 66.

    Nimni (2005).

  67. 67.

    Nimni (2015).

  68. 68.

    Lapidoth (1997).

  69. 69.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  70. 70.

    Lapidoth (1997).

  71. 71.

    Vizi (2015).

  72. 72.

    Smith (2013b) and Vizi (2015).

  73. 73.

    Korhecz (2015), Smith (2013a, b), and Tomaselli (2016).

  74. 74.

    Malloy et al. (2015).

  75. 75.

    Korhecz (2015).

  76. 76.

    Lapidoth (1997).

  77. 77.

    Act on the Rights of Nationalities of Hungary (2011).

  78. 78.

    Hungarian Constitution, 2012.

  79. 79.

    Vizi (2015).

  80. 80.

    N.b. According to the official data from Census 2011, Nationality data.

  81. 81.

    Dobos (2016).

  82. 82.

    Act on the Rights of Nationalities of Hungary (2011), art. 22.

  83. 83.

    Hungarian Const., 2011, art. 29.

  84. 84.

    Advisory Committee, 2010.

  85. 85.

    See more Shikova (2021).

  86. 86.

    Kymlicka (1996).

  87. 87.

    Danspeckgruber (2002).

  88. 88.

    Cassese (1995).

  89. 89.

    Shelton (2003), p. 68.

  90. 90.

    Kohli (2002).

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    Natalija Shikova

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Shikova, N. (2023). Tools and Forms for the Realization of Internal Self-Determination: Systems of Power Sharing. In: Self-Determination and Secession. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34322-3_12

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