SS 20-1 - Chapter 8
National Self-Determination
Chapter Issue: To what extent should national self-determination be pursued?
Related Issue #2: Should nations pursue national interest?
Name: ___________________
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Chapter 8: National Self-Determination
Chapter Issue: Should national self-determination be pursued?
RELATED ISSUE#2: Should nations pursue national interest?
What is National Self-Determination (pages 182-183)
When a people pursue national self-determination, they are trying to gain – or keep – the power
to control their own affairs. They want to make their own decisions about what is in their
national interest.
Self-Determination is described in your textbook index as “the power to control one’s own
affairs. National self-determination is the power of people in a country or nation to make their
own decisions about what is in their interest.”
American president Woodrow Wilson called for the “free self-determination of nations” as World
War I was ending. However, it became abundantly clear that the Allies’ idea of selfdetermination applied only to countries of northern Europe. It DID NOT extend to nations, such
as those in Yugoslavia that had been part of the Ottoman Empire. And it did not apply to nations,
such as Timor-Leste, that were colonies of European empires.
Self-Determination and Nation States (page 183)
American historian Louis L. Snyder said that a people’s desire for self-determination underpins
their right to freely choose how they will be governed. But Snyder also noted that the desire for
self-determination can bring people together – OR drive them apart.
Read “Voices” by Louis L. Snyder on page 183.
The debate over who has the right to self-determination – and what this right means – is reflected
in the charter of the United Nations. But, there is definitely some controversy concerning the
charter. According to the charter, the UN exists to strengthen peace in the world. To keep the
peace, the UN develops friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of all peoples. And all countries that belong to the UN have
the right to “sovereign equality”. BUT, the UN does not say what happens when peoples within
sovereign nations want self-determination. The International Court of Justice was established in
1945 as part of the UN and this court has ruled that peoples, as well as governments, have the
right to self-determination. So the sovereignty of a nation-state can sometimes conflict with a
people’s right to self-determination.
Look at the example of KOSOVO on page 183 to see how even today, the United Nations and
the world community disagree on the pursued sovereignty of a supposed independent nation of
the world. Kosovo and its declaration of independence from Serbia is still under dispute.
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
What Are Some Effects of Pursuing National Self-Determination?
At the end of World War I, American president Woodrow Wilson believed that national selfdetermination would bring peace and security to the world. Who could deny the appeal of a
world in which all peoples could control their own lives and pursue their national interests?
But pursuing national self-determination can have both positive and negative effects. An action
that is in one people’s national interest may not be in another people’s interest. Even defining “a
people” has proven difficult.
Javier Leon Diaz, an international human rights lawyer, says that no precise legal definition of
the term “people” exists. But Leon Diaz also says that the term is often used to describe groups
who:
♦ share a common historical tradition, language and religion
♦ identify themselves as a distinct cultural group
♦ have a traditional connection to a particular territory
But understanding the term “people” is only the first step toward resolving various peoples’
struggle for the right to self-determination.
Decolonization and Self-Determination (page 184)
Sometimes a people’s struggle for self-determination has a long and tangled history. Many
struggles for self-determination are the result of events that caused a people to lose control over
their government, their economy, their society, or their culture. Past civic and ethnic claims and
conflicts can affect what a people are able to achieve like the example of Kosovo from page 183.
The struggle between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs has gone on for generations.
Decolonization refers to what happens when a colonial power withdraws from a colony. The
people of the the former colony may then form a sovereign nation-state. A strong link between
decolonization and the idea of national self-determination is built into the charter of
the United Nations. Decolonized countries can join the UN and exercise sovereignty under
international law. But decolonized peoples must often deal with the after-effects of colonization.
Colonial powers often forced peoples who were once separate — with different languages,
religions, traditions, and cultures — into a single colony. When decolonization occurs, violent
conflicts such as that in Rwanda may arise.
Look at Figure 8-5 on page 184 to examine the effects on decolonization on certain states
colonial states of European powers throughout the world.
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
What Are The Effects of Pursuing National Self-Determination (pages 184-192)
Decolonization in Indochina (page 185)
1. Which European countries ruled much of Southeast Asia in the early 1900s?
2. Which parts did France control and what was the region renamed?
3. When did Japan invade Indochina?
4. What did some peoples in the area become committed to doing?
5. What happened specifically in Vietnam as result of the Japanese invasion?
6. When World War II ended, which country took back control of Vietnam?
7. When did the war between France and the Vietnamese end?
8. How was Vietnam divided?
9. What was the result of this division?
10. What had the peace treaty called for the people of South Vietnam?
11. What was the fear of the Americans if an election did take place?
12. How was South Vietnam ruled instead?
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
The Vietnam War (page 185)
13. How many U.S. troops were fighting in Vietnam and Cambodia by 1969?
14. How did war supporters argue the need for the Americans to fight this war?
15. Who was President of the United States in 1954?
16. What is the domino theory?
17. What did other war supporters say why the Americans were fighting in Vietnam?
18. Name two reasons why Americans began to oppose the Vietnam war in the 1960’s?
More to the Story
The United States never formally declared war on Vietnam – despite more than 10 years of active
combat and the death of more than 58,000 American soldiers.
In the early 20th century, and idealistic young man later known as Ho Chi Minh sailed from
Vietnam to France. He was inspired by the French values of liberty, equality, and brotherhood –
and he hoped to bring these values back to his country. When Ho learned that U.S. president
Woodrow Wilson was saying all nations should have self-determination, he tried to present
Wilson with a list of French abuses in Vietnam. But Wilson would not talk to him. Disappointed,
Ho joined the Communist Party, but he always said, “It was patriotism, not communism, that
inspired me.”
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Cambodia, Justice, and the Pursuit of National Self-Determination (page 186)
1. What do people seeking self-determination want?
2. What helps people bring justice to those who have committed crimes against them?
3. What was Cambodia once a part of?
4. Who was Pol Pot and what movement did he lead in Cambodia?
5. What were the people of Cambodia forced to do?
6. Who overthrew Pol Pot’s government in 1979?
7. Why did Cambodia remain unstable after this event in 1979?
8. What happened for the people of Cambodia in 1993?
9. When was peace finally achieved in Cambodia?
10.What did the UN set up in Cambodia in 2003?
11.What does the tribunal include?
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
12.What was the disagreement?
13.What has now complicated the legal process?
14.Why do these trials serve little purpose for the people of Cambodia today?
Tibet and the Pursuit of National Self-Determination (page 187)
1. What is the Tibet Autonomous Region?
2. Describe 1950 Tibet and China.
3. What did Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru say concerning Tibet in 1959?
4. Why do Tibetans worry about assimilation in the 21st century?
Successor States: India, Pakistan and Kashmir (page 190-192)
1. What is a successor state?
2. Provide examples of successor states from the former Soviet Union.
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
3. What does the UN have to say when it comes to the choices people have who have lived in a
predecessor state?
4. Which present day countries did Britain rule at the beginning of the 20th century?
5. What is the similarity between the East India Company’s and the Hudson’s Bay Company?
6. When the East India Company’s rule over India began to slip, how did the British government
keep control of India? Was this fair to the people of India? Why or why not?
7. How did Indian nationalism begin to rise?
8. Who emerged as the leader of the self-determination movement in India in the 1920’s?
9. What did this man who led the independence movement in India believe in?
10. What was the British reaction during the 1930’s and 1940’s in India?
11. What did Gandhi believe were the keys to achieving Indians’ goals?
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
The Creation of Pakistan (page 191)
1. Which two religious groups were working together for Indian independence in the late
1800s?
2. What problem resulted in 1906?
3. What did the Muslims do? What did they call for?
4. Who was the leader of the Muslim League in 1940?
5. What did he insist upon and what would the separate Muslim nation be called?
6. How did Jinnah describe Muslims?
7. What did Gandhi want?
6. What did he tell Jinnah?
7. Who’s view prevailed?
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
8. What two nations were formed in August 1947?
9. What is the most prevalent religious group in India?
10. What is the most prevalent religious group in Pakistan?
11. What happened in both countries where ONCE, Hindus and Muslims had lived together
peacefully?
12. What was the result of the violence for Muslims living in India and Hindus living in
Pakistan?
13. Do you believe, according to the map in Figure 8-10 on page 190 that the division of India
into India and Pakistan to be logical? Explain!
Pursuing National Self-Determination in Kashmir (page 192)
1. Why can a people’s desire for self-determination be sometimes lost?
2. What makes the Kashmiri people distinct?
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
3. What happened in the years 1947 and 1948 concerning the people of Kashmir’s right to selfdetermination?
4. What did India do to Kasmir and what have the results of this been for the people of Kashmir?
5. What is different about the part of Kashmir controlled by India?
6. What is life like for people living in Kasmir along the dividing line between areas controlled
by Pakistan and India?
Some Effects of Pursuing Self-Determination
Example
In Vietnam •
(p. 185,
•
Exploring
Nationalism)
•
•
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Conflicting Ideas
of National Interest
Japan invaded Indochina
during WWII
France wanted to keep
Vietnam under its control
The Viet Minh wanted
independence
The USA wanted to contain
communism
Effects
* Vietnam was divided
into two parts
*War raged between
North Vietnam,supp. By
China and USSR and
South Vietnam is
supported by USA
* war raged on in
Vietnam during the
1950’s, 60’s and 70’s
In Cambodia •
(p. 186)
•
•
•
In India
(p. 190)
•
In Pakistan
(p. 191)
•
•
•
Darcy Owen
Khmer Rouge & Pol Pot
controlled Cambodia and
ruled with terror in 1976-79
Khmer Rouge forced people
to give up their religion,
property, money
To get justice against the
Khmer Rouge, UN appointed
judges to work with judges in
Cambodia
Cambodians want justice
under Cambodian law
*Justice has been delayed
* most people of Cambodia
don’t want to care anymore,
most of those who were
responsible are dead, and
most witnesses are now
dead
*Cambodia has been much
more peaceful since 1998
* Khmer Rouge members
are apart of the Cambodian
government
British wanted to keep India
as a colony
India wanted independence
* Mohandas Gandhi’s
Gandhi wants to keep
Muslims and Hindus together
in one country (India)
Ali Jinnah wanted Muslims to
have their own country
* India was divided into
campaign of non-violence
and non-compliance to
end British rule
* Indian independence
achieved in 1947
India and Pakistan when
India achieved
independence
* Partition led to widespread ethnic violence
In Kashmir
(p. 192)
•
•
India wants the region
Pakistan wants the region
* decades of violence
In Tibet
(p. 187)
•
Tibet wanted to stay
independent from China
China wants Tibet to be a
part of China
* China encouraged Chinese
immigration to Tibet
* Tibetans now may
become a minority in their
own region due to so many
Chinese moving into Tibet
•
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
* many people
(Kashmirs) want their
own independence from
India and Pakistan
Positive and Negative Consequences
of the Pursuit of Self-Determination
People
South Asians of India and Pakistan
Positive
Outcomes
Example
Negative
Example
or Proof
Outcomes
or Proof
* Gandhi’s
* Division of India *Partition into
* non-violent
campaigns of
into two
India and East
independence
non-violence
separate states
Pakistan
movement led
and civil
(India and
(Bangladesh)
by Gandhi in
disobedience in
Pakistan)
and West
India
the 1930’s
Pakistan
* violence between
* success in
* independence
Muslims and
* the conflict has
achieving
achieved in
Hindus
led to MANY
independence
1947 for India
deaths in the
from Britain for
* Kashmir’s right
region
India
to selfdetermination *plebiscite has still
* establishment of * India and West
still in dispute
NOT been held,
independent
Pakistan
and the
states in the
violence
region
continues in
Kashmir
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Pursuit of National Self-Determination in Canada
People
or Place
History in
Canada
-long before
First
Nations Europeans came to
settle in Canada –
Aboriginals were
independent
-by 1800’s, First
Nations were a
minority in Canada
Inuit
-long before
Europeans came to
settle in Canada –
Inuit were
independent
Goals
-do not want to achieve
independence from Canada but
they do desire self-government
Achievements to
Date
-Royal Commission
concluded that they
should have the right to
govern themselves
- 724 hectares of
-desire to settle land claims and
farmland and $13.9
regain control of their economic
million transferred to
development
Tsawwassen people from
BC government
-many believe passing on their
culture and values to their
children is important
-Amiskwaciy Academy
combines Aboriginal
teaching with core Alberta
curriculum
-Nunavut Land Claims
Agreement – 20% of Canada’s
land mass
-creation of Nunavut in
1999
-Arctic College has 3
-Government of Nunavut does
campuses and 24
not have political parties –
dispersed community
decisions are made by consensus centers
-Education in Nunavut promotes -students now prepare for
Inuit culture, traditions, and
their role in contemporary
languages
Inuit society
Métis
-Metis could hunt in - hunt on their traditional land
their traditional lands regardless which province they
regardless of which were in
province they live in
-Metis pressed hard to own their
-Metis were included own land in Alberta, be
as Aboriginal people distinctive from First Nations
Québéc -Quebecois identify
- Alfred Janvier’s charge
of hunting a moose out of
season was dropped
- 1990, Alberta gov’t
granted Metis ownership
of 500,000 hectares of
land
-forgotten in Quebec are the
-interests of the
themselves as a
Aboriginal groups fighting for
Aboriginals of Quebec
distinct cultural
self-determination along with the clash with those of the
group with their own Francophones in the province
Francophones of Quebec
language and
-many Aboriginals say
traditions
that if Quebec was to
-so do the
separate, many would
Aboriginals of
leave Quebec and stay
Quebec
with Canada – but fight
for their land rights in
Canada
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
What Are Some Unintended Results of Pursuing National Self-Determination
(pages 199-201)
One people’s pursuit of national self-determination sometimes leads to unintended
results for other people. The division of India, for example, was an outcome
Mohandas Gandhi did not foresee when he started his campaign for Indian selfdetermination. Nor did he foresee the terrible conflicts that would follow this
division.
As people struggle for self-determination, they sometimes lose their homes,
personal security, economic prosperity, the necessities of life, and even life itself.
Those who are forced to leave their homeland may also lose their cultural heritage.
When people are trying to achieve or mantain national self-determination,
safeguarding their cultural heritage is often linked to safeguarding the territory that
is tied to their identity.
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Unintended Consequences
of the Pursuit of Self-Determination
Unintended
Consequence
Refugees
Pressure on
Host Countries
Afghan
Refugees
Darcy Owen
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:52:31 PM MT
Details of this Consequence