ABSTRACT
One of the key issues regarding minority rights law has been whether autonomy can provide a universal mechanism for resolving disputes between states and minority groups. This chapter addresses this issue by offering an historical and legalistic perspective on the emergence of an international right to autonomy. It also addresses the League of Nations' ambiguous support for cultural autonomy and self-determination, and assesses how national aggression emerged as the corollary of the vague provisions of the League Covenant. The chapter also examines the prevalence of the right to self-determination during the Cold War era and the ways in which the limits of this right necessitated a reformulation of an internal right to self-determination. It assesses the new legal developments in international law that have come to express the emergent dimensions of a universal right to autonomy.
