Nations as a Link

Woodrow Wilson introduced the principle of self-determination for nations. It then became a right of peoples in de-colonization. What development took place Alfredsson gives a simple answer nation was too ethnically loaded and for all practical purposes in the United Nations, it was replaced by the term peoples. Both terms depict the exact same group of persons. So it is no longer a matter of national self-determination but a people s right to self-determination. 

Alfredsson s explanation seems too easy and indeed there is more to it. When Capotorti in the 1970s tried to reach agreement on a definition, he received a 

Originally, the Latin word nation means origin or membership of a community, a relationship with a commtmity one was bom into. The term nation underwent several changes in understandings over time which explains the confusion that still exists today.  

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has discussed the concept of a nation at length based on a report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. The result is, in short, that it is impossible to find a common definition of nation . Sometimes, nation depicts the citizenship while at other times the term describes an ethno-cultural community. Its link to political ideologies also remains problematic. The rapporteur concludes that the definition of nation should be flexible. I disagree in so far as this term muddies the waters and complicates the relations between minorities and peoples. While I recognize that is may be extremely difficult to find a common definition, 1 think it is the more important to precisely map the uses of nation in order to reach a better tmderstanding. 

On the other hand, there may be the case of a nation-state where there is truly only one nation in the state. Here, nation and people depict the exact same group of human beings. Where there are several nations in one state, a nation can also be a minority. China again serves as a good example. The Han-Chinese are only one of the 56 nations recognized in the China. However, they accord for over 90 % of the 

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