Self-determination and Secession in International Law

Christian Walter, Professor of Law, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universitat,Antje von Ungern-Sternberg, Lecturer in Law, Ludwig-Maximilian-Universitat,Kavus Abushov, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy

Christian Walter is Professor of Law at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universitat, Munich. Previously, he worked as a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and Public International Law, Heidelberg, clerked at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and was as a professor of law at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat Jena and at the Westfalische-Wilhelms-Universitat, Munster. His research focuses on general questions of Public International Law, Comparative Law, and Law and Religion.

Antje von Ungern-Sternberg is Lecturer of Law at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universitat, Munich. After graduating in law and history, she worked as an academic assistant at the Westfalische-Wilhelms-Universitat, Munster, and clerked at the German Federal Constitutional Court. Her research interests include general questions of Public International Law, Comparative Law, and Law and Religion.


Kavus Abushov is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Baku. He received his PhD in political science from the Westfalische-Wilhelms-Universitat, Munster. He has taught at the University of Munster and held guest lectures at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, MIT, University of Toulouse, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. His research interests include international relations theory and foreign policy analysis, international relations, and transition processes of the post-Soviet space.

1. Introduction, Christian Walter, Antje von Ungern-Sternberg, Kavus Abushov
Part I: General Issues of Self-Determination and Secession
2. International Law and Self-determination: Peoples, Minorities, and Indigenous Peoples, Joshua Castellino
3. The Role of Recognition and Non-Recognition with Regard to Secession, Stefan Oeter
4. Secession and Use of Force, Antonello Tancredi
5. The Principle of "Uti Possidetis Juris": How Relevant Is It for Issues of Secession?, Anne Peters
6. Recent Developments: The Kosovo Advisory Opinion: What It Says and What It Does Not Say, Christian Walter
7. Secession in the CIS: Causes, Consequences, and Emerging Principles, Thomas Burri
Part II: Case Studies from the Commonwealth of Independent States
8. Transnistria, Bill Bowring
9. South Ossetia, Christopher Waters
10. Abkhazia, Farhad Mirzayev
11. Nagorno-Karabach, Heiko Kruger
Part III: Comparative Studies
12. Kosovo, James Summers
13. Western Sahara, Sven Simon
14. Eritrea, Gregory Fox