Relationship between Self Determination and Nationalism in the Balkans

Abstract

The former Yugoslavia is seen as a symbol of the federation, for more than 50 years even though in itself there were big contradicts between different parts of it. In fact the creation of the Yugoslavia has been the real deny of the nation of Croats, Albanians, Bosnians, Macedonians and others. A key element in this long process full of deep-armed conflicts was the application of the right of peoples to self-determination. A continuing debate among international lawyers is whether or not there exists a right to self-determination1. In the light of recent developments, especially after the Kosovo independence, paper calls for more specific guidelines regarding the right to self-determination, secession and for sure the right to territorial integrity. The so-called "international community" lacks a clear, principled and practicable policy towards self-determination claims. This is the key issue of this paper, trying through the evolution of the right to self determination and its relation to nationalism, how this concept has affected the meaning and the application of the right to self determination in the world wide and more specifically in the former Yugoslavia. So, using a comparative way but at the same time by exploring the specification of each case in discussion, to arrive to a more clear and solid principle of the right to self-determination.