Self-determination in post-communist era

The paper is analysing self-determination, along with sovereignty, as main characteristics of the current international order. Self-determination, as a political concept, played a historical role in the clash of the big multinational states in Europe, but the idea itself is ambiguous, thus it was frequently misused and differently interpreted. The most recent aspects of the meaning of self-determination include the inability of the traditional definitions to account for new challenges and needs of national and other groups such as environmental issues. Further problems arise when the concept of self-determination is taken from its political origins and placed within the international-law framework where its potential ambiguities and different interpretations can cause considerable problems. The self-determination principle should be reformulated in light of its practical application, relative to newly emerging international conflict management mechanism, where the principle itself should be encompassed within a more comprehensive human rights philosophy