ABSTRACT
In the last fifty years, the principle of self-determination has been incorporated into international law, despite continuing disagreements about its definition, meaning, and justification. The democratic principle of self-determination has come to be accepted as an integral part of international law, at least since the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Charter at the end of the 1940s. This is not to say that there have not been some persistent critics of the adoption of any idea of self-determination. Such critics have generally been suspicious either of the philosophical underpinnings of self-determination per se or of the elasticity of the term, which seems to allow for a variety of misapplications. The national principle of self-determination can be defined as the idea that nationalities may rightfully determine the boundaries, membership, and political status of their own communities, including asserting a right to statehood.
