INTERNAL SELF-DETERMINATION AND POWER-SHARING AS A MEANS OF ADDRESSING CLAIMS FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

Abstract

Shaped by the experiences of the two World Wars, self-determination emerged as a key 
element in the maintenance of international peace and gradually acquired its legal and political 
framework within the United Nations system, particularly through its incorporation into the 
founding documents, the international human rights covenants, and the resolutions adopted 
during the process of decolonization. Following the end of the Cold War, the transition and 
democratization of the states of the Eastern Bloc once again brought to the fore issues related 
to the status and rights of national minorities, creating a need to redefine the modes of 
implementation of self-determination. This paper analyses contemporary approaches to self
determination through innovative mechanisms of power-sharing and governance models aimed 
at ensuring effective political participation and establishing effective protection of the rights of 
national minorities, within existing state borders, through the devolution of power, federalism, 
autonomy, and other institutional arrangements, thereby contributing to the development of 
inclusive, representative, and multicultural democratic societies.