Among the examples of civil wars, armed secessionist movements and minority uprisings in the world today, many involve conflict between a minority group s aim for political self-determination, and the nation state s resistance to any diminution of sovereignty. With the expansion of the international regime of human rights, minority groups have reconceptualised their struggle with the understanding that a minority which is linguistically, religiously or ethnically distinctive is entitled to self-determination if their aspirations cannot be met.

This book explores the relationship between...