ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the significance and impact of the principle of self-determination in current international law by focusing on its use in state-building practice, as a means to ground the discussion on self-determination in a clearly defined realm of practice. It argues that international law on self-determination is not irrelevant in this context, but its significance and impact remain largely unknown in legal scholarship. The book provides self-determination in the context of state-building and aims to understand the significance and impact of self-determination on state practice. It is a qualitative literary study and its methodological approach builds on a three-fold structure. The book seeks to understand the phenomenon of state-building from the perspective of international law. It provides a legal conceptualisation of the phenomenon of state-building and sets out to identify the overarching framework through which international law should approach state-building processes.
