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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk 1 brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online The London School of Economics and Political Science Moments of Self-determination: The Concept of ‘Self- determination’ and the Idea of Freedom in 20th- and 21st- Century International Discourse Rita Augestad Knudsen A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, October 2013 1 2 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 97.228 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Susan Høivik. 2 3 Abstract This thesis examines how the concept of ‘self-determination’ has featured in high-level international discourse at key moments in the 20th and 21st centuries. The exact language of ‘self-determination’ was internationalised in 1918 by Woodrow Wilson in the political context of the First World War, and in reaction to Lenin’s earlier references to the concept, which he had developed between 1903 and 1917. Subsequently, ‘self-determination’ has been cited in important international legal settings, as in the League of Nations’ Aaland Islands case (1920–1921), in the UN Charter (1945), during the UN discussions on General Assembly Resolution 1514 (1960) and the International Covenants on Human Rights (1966), and at the International Court of Justice proceedings on Kosovo (2008–2010). Together, these uses of ‘self-determination’ constitute the ‘self- determination moments’ of my thesis. Taking a hitherto unexplored approach to ‘self-determination’, this thesis builds on previous scholarship on the concept – produced primarily within the fields of international law and international relations – and examines it from the perspective of intellectual and international history. Applying the methodology of Quentin Skinner, the thesis shows that the significant international mentions of ‘self- determination’ have sought legitimation. Specifically, the thesis argues that the central international references to ‘self-determination’ over the past hundred years have sought legitimation by invoking two different ideas of freedom: a ‘radical’ idea of freedom, and a ‘liberal- conservative’ one. Based on a wide-ranging analysis of archival materials, published primary sources, original interviews, and relevant secondary works, the thesis finds that the liberal-conservative idea of freedom has dominated the international appearances of ‘self- determination’ at the selected ‘self-determination moments’. However, it is the radical idea of freedom that has repeatedly triggered the re-emergence of ‘self- determination’ as a meaningful concept in international discourse, and kept its potency alive. 3 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .……………………………………….………………5 Glossary of Acronyms ……………………………………………………6 Introduction ………………………………………………………………7 1. Towards Internationalisation: Lenin’s Concept of ‘Self- determination’ .…………………………..………………………………57 2. Woodrow Wilson’s Internationalisation of ‘Self-determination’ …. 91 3. ‘Self-determination’ from Ignorance to International Codification …………………………………………………………...……………….126 4. ‘Self-determination’ Defined? ………………………………………161 5. Self-determination Today: The International Court of Justice Proceedings on Kosovo ……………………...…………………………201 Conclusions ……………………..………………………………………237 Works Cited …………………….………………………………………249 4 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have existed were it not for the following people, to whom I am deeply grateful. First of all, let me express my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Dr Kristina Spohr. Not only did she help me to make sense of my earliest thoughts on issues of ‘self- determination’, she has continued to support my doctoral project with supreme vigour and devotion. Professor Quentin Skinner has been another invaluable source of inspiration and guidance – above all, in sharpening the methodological and conceptual framing of this thesis, as well as in graciously commenting on a draft of the introduction. I am also grateful to Professor John Breuilly and Dr John Hutchinson, each of whom generously read and commented on a draft of what was to become the first two chapters of my thesis. Gary Blank, Glauk Konjufca, and Gent Carrabregu provided invaluable reflections on later drafts. And Mahon Murphy and Alex Channer have been especially insightful and stimulating discussion partners throughout my doctoral studies. As this work neared completion, Susan Høivik very kindly applied her vast expertise in copyediting to polish the language of my thesis, for which I am sincerely grateful. Several institutions have also provided assistance: Above all, the LSE Department of International History, but also the LSE Postgraduate Travel Fund, and the Lise og Arnfinn Hejes Fond provided scholarships without which work on this thesis would have been difficult, if not impossible. I am also grateful to the History Department and Harriman Institute of Columbia University (CU) in New York, as well as to the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva for hosting me and providing engaging intellectual environments during my stays in the two cities. The LSE-CU exchange bursary enabled my visiting Columbia, and Foundation Pierre du Bois was central in making possible my visit to Geneva. During my stay at Columbia, Professors Mark Mazower, Samuel Moyn, Anders Stephanson and Matthew Connelly found time to give me valuable advice, as did Professor Jussi Hanhimäki at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. In both places, the attentive and thoughtful assistance provided by Line Lillevik, Alla Rachov and Eliane Minassian were of great value. I also wish to thank the Webster for their excellent facilities and staff, as well as the UN archivists and librarians in New York – and in Geneva, the staff at the UN and League of Nations archives and libraries. In London, my work was made much easier by the staff at the National Archives, Kew, as well as the librarians at the LSE and the British Library. Finally, I find impossible to express the extent of my gratitude to my parents, Kim P. Augestad and Sverre Knudsen, who continue to be immense sources of inspiration and support. Any shortcomings in this thesis, however, are of course solely of my own making. Rita Augestad Knudsen, Oslo, 2 October 2013 5 6 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS ACP Andrew Cordier Papers ARMSNY United Nations Archives, New York EULEX European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States (document collection) FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia HRC United Nations Commission on Human Rights ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICHRs International Covenants on Human Rights (ICCPR and ICESCR) ICJ International Court of Justice ICO International Civilian Office, Kosovo KFOR Kosovo Force KLA Kosovo Liberation Army LNA League of Nations Archives, Geneva MIA Marxists Internet Archive NSGT Non-self-governing territory PWW Papers of Woodrow Wilson RSDLP Russian Social Democratic Labour Party TNA The National Archives, London UNCIO United Nations Conference on International Organisation, San Francisco (1945) UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNMIK United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo UNOGA United Nations Office in Geneva Archives UNSC United Nations Security Council 6 7 INTRODUCTION ‘Self-determination’ emerged as a significant international concept in the early 20th century, when Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Woodrow Wilson brought the exact term into international political discourse.1 During the decades following Lenin’s and Wilson’s statements and writings, the two most ambitious organisations in contemporary international affairs re- asserted the language of ‘self-determination’ in legal contexts. First, the League of Nations invoked ‘self-determination’ in the 1920–1921 Aaland Islands case. Second, and more importantly, the UN codified the concept in its 1945 Charter as well as in the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (the ‘Decolonisation Declaration’) and in the two International Covenants on Human Rights (ICHRs) in 1966. And attesting to the current international importance of the concept of ‘self-determination’ is the fact that it featured in the 2008– 2010 proceedings on Kosovo’s declaration of independence at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN Court. All these appearances of the concept of ‘self-determination’ have revealed diverging perspectives on its conceptual and practical meaning. Lenin and Wilson mentioned it with two very different conceptualisations in mind. The 1960s Decolonisation Declaration and the 1966 ICHRs were preceded by lengthy discussions

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