Self-Determination and National Minorities

Thomas Musgrave is a lecturer in law at the University of Wollongong in Australia. He has practised as a barrister in Canada.

• 1. The Origins of National Consciousness ; 2. Self-Determination and the First World War ; 3. The Inter-War Years: The Minorities Treaties Regime ; 4. Self-Determination in Modern International Law: International Instruments and Judicial Decisions ; 5. Self-Determination in Modern International Law: The Practice of States ; 6. The Protection of Minorities ; 7. Definitions of the Term "People" ; 8. Secession ; 9. Irredentism ; 10. Historical Title ; Epilogue

The book's great strength from the point of view of non-lawyers lies in the clarity with which it unfolds, expounds and analyses the arguments that have been used by international bodies, states and ethnic movements to justify particular courses of action and inaction. The complex inter-relationships between self-determination and minority protection, which lie at the core of the book, are especially well handled the book's realism will appear to scholars whose firm disciplinary grounding in realpolitik may prejudice them against legally-based approaches.