The principle of self-determination, as a fundamental principle recognized by international law, once made significant contributions to the establishment of nation-states, the disintegration of the global colonial system, and the formation of the modern international system. However, as oppressed peoples around the world have gained liberation, achieved political self-determination, and established sovereign states, the scenarios for applying the principle of self-determination have gradually disappeared.

Nonetheless, under the propaganda for self-determination by Western countries, the principle has become a weapon to claim legitimacy for separatist movements in some countries and regions, and a key factor undermining sovereignty and causing regional conflicts.

Recently, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the so-called "Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act." The act references the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, seeking to connect the notion of "self-determination" in international law with the so-called "Tibet issue."

Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the true meaning of self-determination, as well as its progressiveness and limitations within different historical contexts, and clarify its applicable scenarios in international law.

The legal basis of self-determination

Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations (1945) provides that "to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples." This is one of the earliest legal documents proposing self-determination as an international principle.

Since then, the United Nations General Assembly has also adopted several legal documents directly related to the principle of self-determination. The most important ones include the 1953 Right of Peoples and Nations to Self-determination, which calls on all member states of the United Nations to "uphold the principle of self-determination of all peoples and nations"; the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which proclaims that "all peoples have the right to self-determination"; the two international covenants on human rights in 1966, which stipulate that "All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development"; and the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (commonly known as the Friendly Relations Declaration), which states that the establishment of a sovereign and independent State, the free association or integration with an independent State or the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people.

These international documents have established self-determination as an important legal basis for peoples and nations to oppose colonial rule and for respecting fundamental human rights. Through the confirmation of these legal documents, self-determination has gradually evolved from a domestic political principle into a basic principle and fundamental right of international law.

However, in light of contemporary issues such as separatism and regional conflicts stemming from the principle of self-determination, it becomes imperative to revisit and reflect upon the historical genesis and evolution of the concept, along with its historical contributions and the temporal and spatial constraints inherent to it.

How did self-determination emerge and develop?

The concept of self-determination originated in Western Europe from the 17th to 19th centuries, with bourgeois democratic revolutionary ideas and the principle of state sovereignty having a profound impact on the concept's formation. In the medieval period, European states were in a state of feudal fragmentation, with many small nations and states suffering from the oppression and enslavement of feudal monarchies and the Roman Church. During the Enlightenment, many revolutionary political ideas were conceived in Europe, the most significant of which were the concepts of state sovereignty and nationalism.

In 1648, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which had transformed from a civil conflict within the Holy Roman Empire into a vast, pan-European conflict and marked the first all-encompassing European war in history, was followed by the signing of the Peace of Westphalia. This treaty established a modern international order predicated on the sovereign state as the fundamental unit, and the principle of sovereign equality consequently became the legal foundation upon which nations base their autonomous management of internal affairs, engage in equitable diplomatic relations, and defend against external interference.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, alongside the development of the capitalist economy and the rising bourgeoisie's aspirations for political power, there emerged in Europe a conceptual transformation from the principle of "sovereignty of the monarch" to that of "sovereignty of the people." This shift in ideology eventually served as the intellectual armament of the nascent bourgeoisie in their struggle against feudal monarchical rule and in their pursuit of national self-determination and autonomy.

Hence, it can be argued that the concept of self-determination originated from the European bourgeoisie's resistance against feudal despotism and their engagement in democratic revolutions. Notably, the French Revolution of 1789 is regarded as a seminal historical event where the principle of self-determination was first put into practice. During this bourgeois revolution, the principle of self-determination was officially incorporated into the drafts of the French Constitution, profoundly impacting the course of subsequent bourgeois revolutions across Western Europe.

By 1871, Western European nations had largely accomplished the unification of their states and formed modern nation-states through the principle of self-determination. This indicates that the concept of self-determination, in its inception and evolution, corresponded to the political aspirations of the burgeoning bourgeoisie in Western Europe. For Europe, which was striving to escape the constraints of feudal despotism and the disarray of divided rule, the idea of self-determination was imbued with a progressive significance.

If the notion of self-determination, initially nurtured in Western Europe, grew out of the democratic ethos of the bourgeoisie's rebellion against feudal despotism, then by the 20th century, with the maturation of capitalism into imperialism, the concept of self-determination expanded globally. It became integral to the struggles of oppressed nations worldwide against imperialism, colonialism, and national subjugation, in order to gain independence. In this era, the development of the self-determination doctrine was most significantly advanced by Vladimir Lenin's principle of self-determination and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points."

Lenin remarked on the concept of self-determination around the time of the October Revolution (1917), distinguishing between "oppressor nations" and "oppressed nations" on a global scale. He advocated for self-determination for the latter group, which he identified mainly as those enduring colonial subjugation.

Lenin further stated that the self-determination of nations meant the political separation of these nations from alien national bodies, and the formation of an independent national state, and that self-determination of nations could not have any other meaning than political self-determination, state independence, and the formation of a national state. Clearly, the essence of Lenin's perspective on self-determination was to combat colonial domination and national oppression, and to affirm the right of every nation to form its own state. Lenin's ideas on the right to self-determination were instrumental in the Russian populace overthrowing the Tsarist regime, the establishment of Soviet republics, and the national liberation movements of numerous Asian and African colonies and semi-colonies in the aftermath of World War I and World War II.

In contrast to Lenin's self-determination principle, which was anchored in the ideals of national equality and liberation, Wilson's "Fourteen Points" also encompassed the principle of self-determination, albeit from a perspective rooted in Western ideas of democracy and human rights. Wilson posited that the people of the world were in a position to determine for themselves the form of government under which they would live, and that the only legitimate government was that which was based upon the consent of the governed.

While Wilson's commitment to the liberation and independence of oppressed nations may not have been as staunch as Lenin's, his stance was also not characterized by double standards typical of the Western European bourgeoisie. Given that the United States had significantly fewer colonies compared to the European powers, Wilson's promotion of self-determination, albeit with a degree of self-interest—intended to displace European powers from their colonies and reduce their spheres of influence—nevertheless objectively fostered the advancement of national liberation movements and the emergence of numerous new nations in the aftermath of two world wars. By the 1970s, the process of decolonization had largely been completed, leading to the substantial collapse of the global colonial system.

The progressiveness and limitations of self-determination

Self-determination is a product of specific spatiotemporal conditions, and its meaning has shifted with the changes in these conditions.

From the 17th to 19th centuries, the right to self-determination was instrumental in combating monarchies and theocratic rule, and in the establishment of nation-states, it was, therefore, historically progressive. Nonetheless, the notion of self-determination as articulated by the Western European bourgeoisie was considerably constrained, largely due to the application of double standards regarding this concept. Since the French Revolution, self-determination has been the guiding principle for European nations in the formation of their nation-states. Yet, upon achieving self-determination and establishing their nation-states, European powers initiated a path toward colonial expansion. The Western European bourgeoisie was disinclined to extend the principle of self-determination to other oppressed nations and states globally.

Moreover, in the course of their colonial expansions, Western powers often manipulated the principle of self-determination, using it to vie for the colonies of other nations and extending their own spheres of influence. Instances include the United States' acquisition of the Philippines and Cuba from Spain, and Britain's takeover of Egypt from the Ottoman Empire.

As the 20th century unfolded, encouraged by Lenin's leadership in the October Revolution and Wilson's articulation of the "Fourteen Points," self-determination was placed into the hands of the numerous colonial territories and oppressed peoples, serving as an ideological weapon for them to dismantle the colonial system and realize national emancipation. Nevertheless, evidence has demonstrated that the principle of self-determination during the decolonization process retained its limitations, persisting as a disingenuous political principle under the auspices of imperialist powers' double standards.

In the aftermath of World War I, the principle of self-determination was included in Wilson's "Fourteen Points," yet it was utilized as an instrument by the victorious nations to reallocate the territories and colonies of the defeated. A case in point is the Treaty of Versailles, which ceded the defeated Germany's rights in China's Shandong to the victorious Japan.

During World War II, the Atlantic Charter, signed in 1941, also acknowledged the right to self-determination. However, akin to Wilson's plan, this principle was again selectively applied, primarily to territories seized by defeated nations such as Germany. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill explicitly stated that the right to self-determination enshrined in the Atlantic Charter was inapplicable to British colonies, including India. Even during the first two decades following the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, Western nations were persistently averse to employing the principle of self-determination in the context of anti-colonial struggles. Yet, as the tide of global decolonization became inexorable and with the United Nations' promulgation of a suite of pertinent legal instruments, Western countries began to recalibrate their stance, endeavoring to redefine the scope and role of the right to self-determination.

The authors are Zhu Lun, distinguished professor, Jiangsu University, and Sun Mingchen, School of International Culture and Communication, Beijing City University.

Liu Xian /Editor    Zhang Rong /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Liu Xian /Coordination Editor

Liu Li /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

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