Decolonisation and Self-Determination à Géométrie Variable: The Forgotten Vicissitudes of Post-Soviet Peoples
Journal: German Yearbook of International Law
Year: 2024

Abstract: All peoples have the right to self-determination. Notwithstanding, the mainstream definition of people posits there are only two types of peoples: those already constituted as States and colonial peoples inhabiting non-self-governing territories. Under this definition, peoples are colonial when separated by sea from their metropolis. Far from neutral, this definition has historically advantaged land powers, e. g., China, the United States, and Russia/The Soviet Union (USSR), since the