About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

7 Int'l J. on Minority & Group Rts. 279 (2000)
Autonomy: Applications and Implications

handle is hein.journals/ijmgr7 and id is 299 raw text is: International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 7: 279-290, 2000. 279 © Kluwer Law International. Printed in the Netherlands. Book Reviews M. Suksi (ed.), Autonomy. Applications and Implications, Kluwer Law Inter- national, The Hague, 1998. ISBN: 90-411-0563-8; 388 pages; index; price: USD 100; GBP 63; NLG 185. A recent search of the Barnes and Noble web site yielded 249 books with the word 'autonomy' in their title. Of course, these included issues as far ranging as personal growth, feminism, education, and health care, in addition to the focus of the book under review on international and constitutional law. But such a plethora of titles demonstrates only too clearly that autonomy often exists pri- marily in the mind of the beholder, and the term's lack of definition - even in international law - needs to be kept in mind by readers of this and similar books. Like all edited volumes, the chapters in Autonomy are somewhat uneven, al- though the overall quality and organization of the book are excellent. Its 19 chapters (including short introductory and concluding remarks by the book's editor) are divided into four sections, dealing respectively with conceptual or philosophical issues; public international law, including self-determination and the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples; case studies of national ar- rangements, including Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Saami in Finland, as well as issues of domestic entrenchment and cultural autonomy; and the impact on autonomous arrangements of three European organizations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, European Union, and Council of Europe. Perhaps reflecting the difficulty of defining autonomy in the abstract, the first section is the weakest in the book, and the reader should not be put off by the occasionally confusing or tangential (at least for the international lawyer) discussions in the chapters by Hans-Joachim Heintze, Juha Riikki, and Matti Wiberg. The chapter by Kjell-Ake Nordquist does offer an interesting analysis of the conditions under which the creation of autonomous regimes might serve as an instrument of conflict resolution. It concludes that internal conditions - in particular, whether or not a state is democratic - are much more influential than external actors in determining whether or not autonomy is likely to resolve con- flicts successfully. These observations are important, for too many potential intervenors (and even parties themselves) tend to view 'autonomy' as a panacea

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most