Hur man blir en stat: folkets självbestämmande?

Abstract

How to become a state: the people’s self-determination?

International politics is conducted in a system of sovereign states, but how have the states come about, and how should new states come about in the future? Why Montenegro (2006) and South Sudan (2011) but not for example Catalonia or Ambazonia? A principle of state formation is included in the UN Charter and in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: the right of self-determination of peoples. The paper explores the extent to which the current 193 member states of the UN have in fact been formed in accordance with this principle and considers its future implications for separatist movements, governments faced with separatism and third parties considering separatist movements in foreign countries and the recognition of newly formed states.