The beginning of the 21st century is characterized by global structural changes and worldwide concern for the problems surrounding the relationships between states and minority groups. Autonomy has become a code word for an all-purpose means of inclusion of sub-state groups in the three major functions that make for the essence of international law: the allocation of competence, the furtherance of common interest and the maintenance of international peace. Since to be autonomous is to be a law to oneself, and autonomous agents are self-governing agents, the authors of this present volume try...

Ours is an era of decline for the nation state and one of world-wide concern for the problems surrounding sub-state groups: minorities, peoples and indigenous populations. The often violent resurgence of conflicts between these groups and States in even the stable democracies poses a challenge to international law as well as to liberal political principles.
In this volume, an expert in international minority rights provides not only significant clarification of the legal issues involved, but also trenchant insights taken from a wide range of humanitarian disciplines: from philosophy and...