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104-524: In the revolution of March 1848, the Niederösterreichisches Landeshaus played an important role as the focal point of the revolutionary forces. The uprising was subsequently crushed by the military. In 1918 it was the seat of the parliament of the new Republic of German Austria . After the legislature and the ministries moved out of the building in 1997, the building underwent substantial renovations and restoration work, and

208-731: A European power by the grant of a League of Nations mandate . One of the German objections to the Treaty of Versailles was a somewhat selective application of the principle of self-determination as the Republic of German-Austria , which included the Sudetenland , was seen as representing the will to join Germany in those regions, while the majority of people in Danzig wanted to remain within

312-606: A formal note of protest to the Allies against blocking German-Austrian union, on 10 September 1919 Renner signed the Treaty of Saint Germain and it was ratified by the Constituent National Assembly on 17 October. According to its provisions, on 21 October the country changed its official name from "Republic of German-Austria" to "Republic of Austria". It also lost the Sudetenland and German Bohemia to Czechoslovakia , South Tyrol and Istria (including

416-577: A free association of equal states. As India obtained its independence, multiple ethnic conflicts emerged in relation to the formation of a statehood during the Partition of India which resulted in Islamic Pakistan and Secular India. Before the advent of the British , no empire based in mainland India had controlled any part of what now makes up the country's Northeast, part of the reason for

520-413: A majority in the area known as German West Hungary and agitated to join to Austria were successful and the area became the state of Burgenland , with the notable exception of the region around the city of Ödenburg (Sopron) which was also intended to be the state capital, but due to a very contentious plebiscite, remained part of Hungary. The only other part of the former German counties of Burgenland in

624-676: A minority can secede. In the United States Abraham Lincoln acknowledged that secession might be possible through amending the United States Constitution . The Supreme Court in Texas v. White held secession could occur "through revolution, or through consent of the States." The British Parliament in 1933 held that Western Australia only could secede from Australia upon vote of a majority of

728-492: A minority has long been contested in democracies with majority rule. For instance, in his first inaugural speech Abraham Lincoln argued that: Plainly the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism. Unanimity

832-529: A republican form and preserved the potential for the continuation of the monarchy. On 25 October, the Provisional Assembly called on all German-inhabited Lands to form their own provisional assemblies. On 11 November 1918, Charles I gave up his right to take part in Austrian affairs of state. He deliberately avoided using the term "abdication", as he wanted to retain his freedom of action in

936-687: A result of the Germanisation process in the 19th century, 90% of the people in Danzig were German by 1919, which made the Allied leaders at the Paris peace conference compromise by creating the Free City of Danzig , a city-state in which Poland had certain special rights. Through the city of Danzig was 90% German and 10% Polish, the surrounding countryside around Danzig was overwhelmingly Polish, and

1040-404: A separate people, but under current law cannot claim the right to self-determination. On the other hand, she finds that secession within a single state is a domestic matter not covered by international law. Thus, there are no on what groups may constitute a seceding people. A number of states have laid claim to territories, which they allege were removed from them as a result of colonialism. This

1144-478: A signatory of the Treaty of Saint Germain . Self-determination Self-determination refers to a people 's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage . Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law , binding, as such, on the United Nations as an authoritative interpretation of

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1248-436: A territory subject to a historic territorial claim are prevented from exercising a right to self-determination. This interpretation is rejected by many states, who argue that Paragraph 2 of UN Resolution 1514(XV) states that "all peoples have the right to self-determination" and Paragraph 6 cannot be used to justify territorial claims. The original purpose of Paragraph 6 was "to ensure that acts of self-determination occur within

1352-629: A unification with Germany whereas Vorarlberg in May 1919 held a plebiscite where 81% supported accession to Switzerland. Several German minority populations in Moravia , including German populations in Brno (Brünn), Jihlava (Iglau) and Olomouc (Olmütz), as well as the German enclave of Gottschee in Carniola also attempted to proclaim their union with German-Austria, but failed. The areas now outside of

1456-512: Is a sizable minority group. In democratic societies, majority rule is often used to determine the outcome in electoral and voting processes. However, a major critique of majority rule is that it may result in the tyranny of the majority , especially in cases in which a simple majority is used in order to determine outcome. This flaw is particularly poignant when there is a large minority group whose interests are not being represented, and who may then seek to secede. The right to self-determination by

1560-430: Is an integral part of the German republic" (Article 2). The latter provision reflected the deputies' view that felt that Austria would lose so much territory in any peace settlement that it would no longer be economically and politically viable as a separate state, and the only course was union with Germany. This was enforced by the refusal of Hungary to sell grain and of Czechoslovakia to sell coal to Austria-Germany. As

1664-428: Is defined as the entire population of the occupied territorial unit, no matter their other differences. Meanwhile, in cases where people lack representation by a state's government, the unrepresented become a defined as a separate people. Present international law does not recognize ethnic and other minorities as separate peoples, with the notable exception of cases in which such groups are systematically disenfranchised by

1768-461: Is impossible. The rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly inadmissible; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left. However, liberal proponents for the right to self-determination by minority groups contradict this notion by arguing that, in cases where the minority is not able to become the majority, and that minority is territorially concentrated and does not want to be governed by

1872-466: Is justified by reference to Paragraph 6 of UN Resolution 1514(XV), which states that any attempt "aimed at partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter". This, it is claimed, applies to situations where the territorial integrity of a state had been disrupted by colonisation, so that the people of

1976-467: Is no contradiction between the principles of self-determination and territorial integrity, with the latter taking precedence. Allen Buchanan , author of seven books on self-determination and secession, supports territorial integrity as a moral and legal aspect of constitutional democracy. However, he also advances a "Remedial Rights Only Theory" where a group has "a general right to secede if and only if it has suffered certain injustices, for which secession

2080-607: Is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action." During World War II , the principle was included in the Atlantic Charter , jointly declared on 14 August 1941 by Franklin D. Roosevelt , President of the United States, and Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who pledged The Eight Principal points of the Charter. It was recognized as an international legal right after it

2184-547: Is not a recognized legal definition of "peoples" in international law. Indeed, Ivor Jennings called Wilson's doctrine "ridiculous" because, though on the surface it seems reasonable to "let the people decide", in practice "the people cannot decide until someone decides who are the people". Reviewing various international judgements and UN resolutions, Vita Gudeleviciute of Vytautas Magnus University Law School finds that, in cases of non-self-governing peoples (colonized and/or indigenous) and foreign military occupation, "a people"

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2288-674: Is now used for exhibitions and for private functions and events. It was renamed the Palais Niederösterreich in 2004. 48°12′36″N 16°21′53″E  /  48.21000°N 16.36472°E  / 48.21000; 16.36472 This article about a palace in Austria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . German Austria The Republic of German-Austria ( German : Republik Deutschösterreich , alternatively spelt Republik Deutsch-Österreich ) and German-Austria (German: Deutschösterreich )

2392-561: Is recognized under international law. The concept emerged with the rise of nationalism in the 19th century and came into prominent use in the 1860s, spreading rapidly thereafter. During and after World War I , the principle was encouraged by both Soviet Premier Vladimir Lenin and United States President Woodrow Wilson . Having announced his Fourteen Points on 8 January 1918, on 11 February 1918 Wilson stated: "National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. 'Self determination'

2496-419: Is the appropriate remedy of last resort." He also would recognize secession if the state grants, or the constitution includes, a right to secede. Vita Gudeleviciute holds that in cases of non-self-governing peoples and foreign military occupation the principle of self-determination trumps that of territorial integrity. In cases where people lack representation by a state's government, they also may be considered

2600-543: Is the will of the people that makes a state legitimate. This implies a people should be free to choose their own state and its territorial boundaries. However, there are far more self-identified nations than there are existing states and there is no legal process to redraw state boundaries according to the will of these peoples. According to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the UN, ICJ and international law experts, there

2704-462: The American and French revolutions, and the emergence of nationalism . The European revolutions of 1848 , the post-World War I settlement at Versailles , and the decolonization movement after World War II shaped and established the norm in international law. The American Revolution has been seen as the earliest assertion of the right of national and democratic self-determination, as well as

2808-731: The Atlantic Charter and accepted the principle of self-determination. In January 1942 twenty-six states signed the Declaration by United Nations , which accepted those principles. The ratification of the United Nations Charter in 1945 at the end of World War II placed the right of self-determination into the framework of international law and diplomacy. On 14 December 1960, the United Nations General Assembly adopted United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) subtitled " Declaration on

2912-460: The Charter 's norms. The principle does not state how the decision is to be made, nor what the outcome should be (whether independence , federation , protection , some form of autonomy or full assimilation ), and the right of self-determination does not necessarily include a right to an independent state for every ethnic group within a former colonial territory. Further, no right to secession

3016-717: The Chinese Civil War . The Korean War shifted the focus of the Cold War from Europe to Asia, where competing superpowers took advantage of decolonization to spread their influence. In 1947, India gained independence from the British Empire . The empire was in decline but adapted to these circumstances by creating the British Commonwealth —since 1949 the Commonwealth of Nations —which is

3120-607: The Empire of Japan renounced control over many of its former possessions including Korea , Sakhalin Island , and Taiwan . In none of these areas were the opinions of affected people consulted, or given significant priority. Korea was specifically granted independence but the receiver of various other areas was not stated in the Treaty of San Francisco , giving Taiwan de facto independence although its political status continues to be ambiguous. In 1941 Allies of World War II declared

3224-544: The Habsburg empire . However, this imposition of states where some nationalities (especially Poles , Czechs , and Serbs and Romanians ) were given power over nationalities who disliked and distrusted them was eventually used as a pretext for German aggression in World War II . Wilson publicly argued that the agreements made in the aftermath of the war would be a "readjustment of those great injustices which underlie

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3328-579: The Indian independence movement . And Italy, Japan and Germany all initiated new efforts to bring certain territories under their control, leading to World War II. In particular, the National Socialist Program invoked this right of nations in its first point (out of 25), as it was publicly proclaimed on 24 February 1920 by Adolf Hitler . In Asia, Japan became a rising power and gained more respect from Western powers after its victory in

3432-582: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes from seizing some of its territory. Countries on the winning side of the war took many territories with German majorities. The Czechs insisted on the historic borders of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown ; thus, three million Germans became Czechoslovak citizens, an indirect precipitant of the Sudetenland crisis 20 years later. A victor nation, Italy occupied and

3536-659: The Reich . However, the Allies ignored the German objections; Wilson's 14 Points had called for Polish independence to be restored and Poland to have "secure access to the sea", which would imply that the German city of Danzig (modern Gdańsk , Poland ), which occupied a strategic location where the Vistula River flowed into the Baltic Sea , be ceded to Poland. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919,

3640-776: The Russo-Japanese War . Japan joined the Allied Powers in World War I and attacked German colonial possessions in the Far East , adding former German possessions to its own empire. In the 1930s, Japan gained significant influence in Inner Mongolia and Manchuria after it invaded Manchuria . It established Manchukuo , a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia . This was essentially

3744-480: The Soviet threat of seizing parts of Inner Mongolia induced China to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence , provided that a referendum was held. The referendum took place on October 20, 1945, with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence. Many of East Asia 's current disputes to sovereignty and self-determination stem from unresolved disputes from World War II. After its fall,

3848-791: The Special Committee on Decolonization to ensure decolonization complete compliance with the principles of self-determination in General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV). However, the charter and other resolutions did not insist on full independence as the best way of obtaining self-government , nor did they include an enforcement mechanism. Moreover, new states were recognized by the legal doctrine of uti possidetis juris , meaning that old administrative boundaries would become international boundaries upon independence if they had little relevance to linguistic, ethnic, and cultural boundaries. Nevertheless, justified by

3952-599: The Sudetenland and German Bohemia . The German population of Bohemia and Moravia was 3 million. From 1914 to 1918, Austria-Hungary fought in the First World War as one of the Central Powers and an ally of Germany. By May 1918, the empire was facing increasing military failure and defeat, as well as domestic unrest caused by food and fuel shortages. Additionally, the demands of the empire's nationalities were becoming increasingly radicalised, encouraged by

4056-418: The rise of nationalism led to Greece , Hungary , Poland and Bulgaria all seeking or winning independence. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels supported some of these nationalist movements, believing nationalism might be a "prior condition" to social reform and international alliances. In 1914 Vladimir Lenin wrote: "[It] would be wrong to interpret the right to self-determination as meaning anything but

4160-793: The 1990s Yugoslavia began a violent break up into 6 states. Macedonia became an independent nation and broke off from Yugoslavia peacefully. Kosovo , which was previously an autonomous unit of Serbia declared independence in 2008, but has received less international recognition. In December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president and the Soviet Union dissolved relatively peacefully into fifteen sovereign republics , all of which rejected Communism and most of which adopted democratic reforms and free-market economies. Inside those new republics, four major areas have claimed their own independence, but not received widespread international recognition. After decades of civil war, Indonesia finally recognized

4264-778: The 19th century. The French Revolution legitimatized the ideas of self-determination on that Old World continent. Nationalist sentiments emerged inside traditional empires: Pan-Slavism in Russia; Ottomanism , Kemalist ideology and Arab nationalism in the Ottoman Empire; State Shintoism and Japanese identity in Japan; and Han identity in juxtaposition to the Manchurian ruling class in China. Meanwhile, in Europe itself,

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4368-572: The Adriatic port of Trieste ) to the Kingdom of Italy , and Carniola , Lower Styria and Dalmatia to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes . Article 88 of the treaty, sometimes called a "pre- Anschluss attempt" , stated: The independence of Austria is inalienable otherwise than with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations . Consequently Austria undertakes in the absence of

4472-696: The American president Woodrow Wilson 's commitment to self-determination in his Fourteen Points published in January 1918. In October, the independence of Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (the latter unified with Serbia that December to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , later called Yugoslavia), Hungary withdrew from the dual monarchy and the Austro-Hungarian army surrendered to Italy at Vittorio Veneto . With

4576-634: The Christian Social Party, and the Social Democrat Karl Seitz . A 20-member executive committee was appointed to make constitutional recommendations to the Assembly and, on the committee's subsequent recommendation, a State Council was created as an executive body on 30 October. The Council immediately nominated 14 State Secretaries to head up an administrative structure that mirrored the imperial ministries. As at

4680-475: The Empire collapsed and a ceasefire was announced, the Provisional Assembly sought to forestall socialist revolution by organizing a coalition government led by the minority Social Democrats. Karl Renner became Chancellor and Victor Adler became Foreign Minister. The Social Democrats co-opted newly created soldier and worker councils and used their control over labour unions to implement social policies that blunted

4784-479: The German people in Austria are resolved to determine their own future political organization to form an independent German-Austrian state, and to regulate their relations with other nations through free agreements with them. They also elected three Presidents of the Assembly, one from each of the three political groupings: Franz Dinghofer ( de ) of the German National Movement, Jodok Fink of

4888-526: The Germans represented only 37% of the population. However, Upper and Lower Austria , Salzburg , Carinthia , Vorarlberg and most of Styria and Tyrol had a predominantly German population. These territories were the core "Austrian" provinces and had a population of 6.5 million. While Bohemia and Moravia were predominantly Czech , Germans constituted a majority in a strip of territories that edged their borders, recently self-proclaimed as provinces of

4992-649: The Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples ", which supported the granting of independence to colonial countries and people by providing an inevitable legal linkage between self-determination and its goal of decolonisation. It postulated a new international law-based right of freedom to exercise economic self-determination. Article 5 states: Immediate steps shall be taken in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories , or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to

5096-655: The Kingdom of Hungary also not to become part of the Austrian Republic due to the treaty was Preßburg ( Bratislava ) which went to Czechoslovakia (now the capital of Slovakia ). German-Austria originally consisted of nine provinces ( Provinzen ): Despite the prohibition of the use of the term "German-Austria", the republic's unofficial national anthem between 1920 and 1929 was "German Austria, you wonderful country" ( Deutschösterreich, du herrliches Land ). Its words were penned by then-Chancellor Karl Renner ,

5200-645: The League of Nations to decide if Japan had committed aggression or not, stated the majority of people in Manchuria who were Han Chinese who did not wish to leave China. In 1912, the Republic of China officially succeeded the Qing Dynasty, while Outer Mongolia , Tibet and Tuva proclaimed their independence. Independence was not accepted by the government of China . By the Treaty of Kyakhta (1915) Outer Mongolia recognized China's sovereignty. However,

5304-528: The Polish delegation led by Roman Dmowski asked for Wilson to honor point 14 of the 14 points by transferring Danzig to Poland, arguing that the city was rightfully part of Poland because it was Polish until 1793, and that Poland would not be economically viable without it. During the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the inhabitants of Danzig fought fiercely for it to remain a part of Poland, but as

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5408-547: The Social Democrat position to allow further negotiation to take place. The Christian Social Party accepted it as well, but said they had reservations because of their "religious and dynastic convictions". Calling themselves "the Germans of the Alps and Sudetens ", all 208 deputies met on 21 October, and unanimously voted that they now constituted the "Provisional National Assembly" for German-Austria. They declared that:

5512-464: The Soviet Union acknowledged the right of secession for its constituent republics. This presented a challenge to Wilson's more limited demands. In January 1918 Wilson issued his Fourteen Points of January 1918 which, among other things, called for adjustment of colonial claims, insofar as the interests of colonial powers had equal weight with the claims of subject peoples. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 led to Soviet Russia 's exit from

5616-608: The Soviet Union violated principles of self-determination by suppressing the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and the Prague Spring Czechoslovak reforms of 1968. It invaded Afghanistan to support a communist government assailed by local tribal groups. However, Marxism–Leninism and its theory of imperialism were also strong influences in the national emancipation movements of Third World nations rebelling against colonial or puppet regimes. In many Third World countries, communism became an ideology that united groups to oppose imperialism or colonization. Soviet actions were contained by

5720-400: The United States which saw communism as a menace to its interests. Throughout the cold war, the United States created, supported, and sponsored regimes with various success that served their economic and political interests, among them anti-communist regimes such as that of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Suharto in Indonesia . To achieve this, a variety of means was implemented, including

5824-399: The concepts of consent and sovereignty by the people governed These ideas were inspired particularly by John Locke 's writings of the previous century. Thomas Jefferson further promoted the notion that the will of the people was supreme, especially through authorship of the United States Declaration of Independence , which became an inspiration for European nationalist movements during

5928-462: The conclusion of the Irish War of Independence , as established in the Anglo-Irish Treaty , it was still included in the Statute of Westminster. This statute built on the Balfour Declaration of 1926 which recognized the autonomy of these British dominions, representing the first phase of the creation of the British Commonwealth of Nations . Egypt , Afghanistan , and Iraq also achieved independence from Britain. Other efforts were unsuccessful, like

6032-407: The consent of the said Council to abstain from any act which might directly or indirectly or by any means whatsoever compromise her independence, particularly, and until her admission to membership of the League of Nations, by participation in the affairs of another Power. This clause effectively foreclosed any attempt by Austria to unite with Germany. Likewise, the Treaty of Versailles , dictating

6136-498: The cooperation of the U.S. President Ronald Reagan , Gorbachev wound down the size of the Soviet Armed Forces and reduced nuclear arms in Europe, while liberalizing the Soviet economy . In the revolutions of 1989–90 , the communist regimes of Soviet satellite states collapsed in rapid succession in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, and Mongolia. East and West Germany united, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into Czech Republic and Slovakia , while in

6240-424: The country as a whole; the previous two-thirds majority vote for secession via referendum in Western Australia was insufficient. The Chinese Communist Party followed the Soviet Union in including the right of secession in its 1931 constitution in order to entice ethnic nationalities and Tibet into joining. However, the Party eliminated the right to secession in later years and had anti-secession clause written into

6344-540: The creation of united Malaysia . The Netherlands retained its New Guinea part from the previous Dutch East Indies , but Indonesia threatened to invade and annex it. A vote was supposedly taken under the UN sponsored Act of Free Choice to allow West New Guineans to decide their fate, although many dispute its veracity. Later, Portugal relinquished control over East Timor in the aftermath of Carnation Revolution in 1975, at which time Indonesia promptly invaded and annexed it . In 1999, Indonesian president B. J. Habibie

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6448-426: The current Republic of Austria often had significant non-German minorities and occasionally non-German majorities and were quickly taken by troops of the respective countries they were to eventually join. Regarding East Silesia , plans for a plebiscite fell through, and the area was divided between Czechoslovakia and Poland. On the other hand, ethnic Germans in the western part of the Kingdom of Hungary that formed

6552-869: The early 1990s, the legitimatization of the principle of national self-determination has led to an increase in the number of conflicts within states, as sub-groups seek greater self-determination and full secession, and as their conflicts for leadership within groups and with other groups and with the dominant state become violent. The international reaction to these new movements has been uneven and often dictated more by politics than principle. The 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration failed to deal with these new demands, mentioning only "the right to self-determination of peoples which remain under colonial domination and foreign occupation." In an issue of Macquarie University Law Journal Associate Professor Aleksandar Pavkovic and Senior Lecturer Peter Radan outlined current legal and political issues in self-determination. There

6656-442: The empire collapsing, the Habsburg administration signed an armistice on 3 November and the last Habsburg emperor, Karl I , relinquished his powers on 11 November. On 21 October 1918, the deputies representing German-speaking areas in the Abgeordnetenhaus , the lower chamber of the Reichsrat , the imperial Parliament of Cisleithania , declared that they were the new Provisional National Assembly for German-Austria. With

6760-482: The end of October, therefore, the German-speaking part of the empire effectively had two governments: the new administration created by the Provisional National Assembly and the imperial government appointed by the emperor under Heinrich Lammasch , last minister-president of Cisleithania . The monarchy was still formally in existence and, in fact, the imperial government was pleased with the constitutional measures brought in on 30 October, believing that they did not assume

6864-415: The established boundaries of colonies, rather than within sub-regions". Further, the use of the word attempt in Paragraph 6 denotes future action and cannot be construed to justify territorial redress for past action. An attempt sponsored by Spain and Argentina to qualify the right to self-determination in cases where there was a territorial dispute was rejected by the UN General Assembly, which re-iterated

6968-403: The ethnically Polish rural areas included in the Free City of Danzig objected, arguing that they wanted to be part of Poland. Neither the Poles nor the Germans were happy with this compromise and the Danzig issue became a flash-point of German-Polish tension throughout the interwar period. During the 1920s and 1930s there were some successful movements for self-determination in the beginnings of

7072-438: The event that his Austrian subjects recalled him. Nevertheless, this decision effectively ended 700 years of Habsburg rule. The next day, 12 November, the National Assembly officially declared German-Austria a republic and named Social Democrat Karl Renner as provisional chancellor . On the same day it drafted a provisional constitution that stated that "German-Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German-Austria

7176-466: The first time women were allowed to vote. Out of the 38 German inhabited constituencies only 25 participated and 159 deputies were elected to the 170 seats with Social Democrats as the largest party. Social Democrats won 72 seats, Christians Socials 69 and German Nationalists 26. The Constituent National Assembly first met on 4 March 1919 and on 15 March a new government was formed, once again led by Karl Renner. Austrian Social Democrats, despite being one of

7280-403: The government of the state they live in. Other definitions offered are "peoples" as self-evident (from ethnicity, language, history, etc.) , or defined by "ties of mutual affection or sentiment" ("loyalty", or by mutual obligations among peoples). Professor Uriel Abulof suggests that self-determination entails the "moral double helix" of duality: 1. personal right to align with a people, and

7384-477: The impending collapse of the empire becoming apparent earlier in the month, the three main political groupings representing German-speakers in the lower chamber began negotiations on the way forward. The largest group was the German nationalists, a collection of smaller parties, with a total of 109 deputies elected in the last imperial elections, in 1911 . Their primary objective was Anschluss or union with Germany. The conservative monarchist Christian Social Party

7488-717: The independence of East Timor in 2002. In 1949, the Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War and established the People's Republic of China in Mainland China . The Kuomintang -led Republic of China government retreated to Taipei , its jurisdiction now limited to Taiwan and several outlying islands. Since then, the People's Republic of China has been involved in disputes with the ROC over issues of sovereignty and

7592-611: The information called for under Article 73e of the United Nations Charter in Article 3", which provided that "[t]he inadequacy of political, economic, social and educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying the right to self-determination and independence." To monitor the implementation of Resolution 1514, in 1961 the General Assembly created the Special Committee referred to popularly as

7696-519: The language of self-determination, between 1946 and 1960, thirty-seven new nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East gained independence from colonial powers. The territoriality issue inevitably would lead to more conflicts and independence movements within many states and challenges to the assumption that territorial integrity is as important as self-determination. Decolonization in the world

7800-542: The laws of historical growth. It is nothing but the remnant of what remained of the old Empire after other nations had broken away from it. It remained as a loose bundle of divergent Lands. On 13 November 1918, German-Austria asked Germany to start negotiations of union and on 15 November sent a telegram to President Wilson to support union of Germany and Austria. On 12 March 1919, the Constituent Assembly re-confirmed an earlier declaration that German-Austria

7904-474: The leading Marxist parties with its Austromarxism current, did not attempt to seize power or to institute socialism. However, the majority of conservative, Catholic politicians still distrusted them and this led to the fatal left–right split that plagued the First Republic and led to its downfall by 1934. Social Democrat leader Otto Bauer wrote: German-Austria is not an organism which has followed

8008-447: The majority, it may serve the best interest of the state to allow the secession of this group. Most sovereign states do not recognize the right to self-determination through secession in their constitutions. Many expressly forbid it. However, there are several existing models of self-determination through greater autonomy and through secession. In liberal constitutional democracies the principle of majority rule has dictated whether

8112-629: The model Japan followed as it invaded other areas in Asia and established the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Japan went to considerable trouble to argue that Manchukuo was justified by the principle of self-determination, claiming that people of Manchuria wanted to break away from China and asked the Kwantung Army to intervene on their behalf. However, the Lytton commission which had been appointed by

8216-571: The most part, each had their own institutions. There were separate parliaments and separate governments and ministries for "imperial Austria" and "royal Hungary". Austria-Hungary was a multinational entity comprising Germans and Hungarians, as well as nine other major nationalities, who increasingly demanded the right to self-determination . Historically, the Germans had been dominant in the Habsburg monarchy , and their power and influence greatly outweighed their numbers. Even within Cisleithania

8320-681: The name Cisleithania . Cisleithania included the core "Austrian" provinces, together with Carniola , Dalmatia , the Austrian Littoral ( Gorizia and Gradisca , Trieste and Istria ) to the south, and Bohemia , Moravia , Silesia , Galicia and Bukovina to the north and east. The dual monarchy, or Austria-Hungary as it came to be known, was effectively two states with the Habsburg monarch as Emperor of Austria in Cisleithania and King of Hungary in Transleithania. For

8424-821: The new state of the First Austrian Republic was created in 1920. The Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs had been reconstituted as a dual monarchy by the Compromise of 1867 . It comprised the Magyar -dominated " lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ", the core of which was the Kingdom of Hungary and was sometimes referred to as Transleithania, and the German-dominated remainder of the empire, informally called "Austria" but semi-officially given

8528-681: The ongoing insurgency in Northeast India . In 1971 Bangladesh obtained independence from Pakistan. Burma also gained independence from the British Empire, but declined membership in the Commonwealth. Indonesia gained independence from the Dutch Empire in 1949 after the latter failed to restore colonial control. As mentioned above, Indonesia also wanted a powerful position in the region that could be lessened by

8632-664: The orchestration of coups, sponsoring of anti-communist countries and military interventions. Consequently, many self-determination movements, which spurned some type of anti-communist government, were accused of being Soviet-inspired or controlled. In Asia, the Soviet Union had already converted Mongolia into a satellite state but abandoned propping up the Second East Turkestan Republic and gave up its Manchurian claims to China. The new People's Republic of China had gained control of mainland China in

8736-573: The people of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom. On 15 December 1960 the United Nations General Assembly adopted United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV) , subtitled "Principles which should guide members in determining whether or nor an obligation exists to transmit

8840-449: The people's right to determine their politics; and 2. and mutuality (the right is as much the other's as the self's). Thus, self-determination grants individuals the right to form "a people," which then has the right to establish an independent state, as long as they grant the same to all other individuals and peoples. National self-determination appears to challenge the principle of territorial integrity (or sovereignty ) of states as it

8944-500: The political status of Taiwan. As noted, self-determination movements remain strong in some areas of the world . Some areas possess de facto independence, such as Taiwan, North Cyprus , Kosovo , and South Ossetia , but their independence is disputed by one or more major states. Significant movements for self-determination also persist for locations that lack de facto independence, such as East Turkistan ("Xinjiang"), Kurdistan , Balochistan , Chechnya , and Palestine . Since

9048-706: The process of decolonization . In the Statute of Westminster the United Kingdom granted independence to Canada , New Zealand , Newfoundland , the Commonwealth of Australia , and the Union of South Africa after the British parliament declared itself as incapable of passing laws over them without their consent. Although the Irish Free State had already gained internationally recognized independence at

9152-626: The right to existence as a separate state." Woodrow Wilson revived America's commitment to self-determination, at least for European states, during World War I. When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia in the October Revolution , they called for Russia's immediate withdrawal as a member of the Allies of World War I . They also supported the right of all nations, including colonies, to self-determination." The 1918 Constitution of

9256-407: The right to self-determination was a universal right. In order to accommodate demands for minority rights and avoid secession and the creation of a separate new state, many states decentralize or devolve greater decision-making power to new or existing subunits or autonomous areas . Self-determination can be at odds with the principle of majority rule and equal rights, especially when there

9360-638: The socialist appeal. Charles went into exile in Switzerland on 24 March 1919. Angered that he had left without a formal abdication, Parliament passed the Habsburg Law , which dethroned the Habsburgs and confiscated their property. Charles was permanently banished from Austria, while other male Habsburgs could return only if they gave up all claims to the throne. Timeline Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held on 16 February 1919 and for

9464-507: The terms of peace for Germany, forbade any union between Austria and Germany. With these changes and the settling of Austria's frontiers, the era of the First Republic of Austria began. On 22 November, the national assembly officially claimed sovereignty over all the majority-German territory of the former Habsburg realm: a total area of 118,311 km (45,680 sq mi) with 10.4 million inhabitants. This included nearly all

9568-595: The territory of present-day Austria, plus South Tyrol and the town of Tarvisio , both now in Italy; southern Carinthia and southern Styria , now in Slovenia ; the recently proclaimed provinces of Sudetenland and German Bohemia (which later became parts of Nazi Sudetenland ), now in the Czech Republic ; and East Silesia (now divided between Poland and Czech Republic). In practice, however, its authority

9672-404: The war and the nominal independence of Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Georgia and Poland, though in fact those territories were under German control. The end of the war led to the dissolution of the defeated Austro-Hungarian Empire and Czechoslovakia and the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia as new states out of the wreckage of

9776-439: The whole structure of European and Asiatic society", which he attributed to the absence of democratic rule. The new order emerging in the postwar period would, according to Wilson, place governments "in the hands of the people and taken out of the hands of coteries and of sovereigns, who had no right to rule over the people." The League of Nations was established as the symbol of the emerging postwar order; one of its earliest tasks

9880-547: Was a constituent part of the German republic. Pan-Germans and Social Democrats supported the union with Germany, while Christian Socialists were less supportive. During spring and summer of 1919, unity talk meetings between German and Austrian representatives continued. All this changed after 2 June 1919 when the draft peace treaty with Austria was presented, which demonstrated that the Western Allies were opposed to any union between Germany and Austria. After submitting

9984-502: Was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethnic German population within what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire , with plans for eventual unification with Germany . The territories covered an area of 118,311 km (45,680 sq mi), with 10.4 million inhabitants. In practice, however, its authority

10088-443: Was awarded Trentino and South Tyrol , of which South Tyrol is still majority German-speaking. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) was given parts of Carinthia and Styria . The Klagenfurt region was retained after a plebiscite on 20 October 1920 , when three-fifths of voters voted to remain with Austria. Later plebiscites in the provinces of Tyrol and Salzburg yielded majorities of 98 and 99% in favor of

10192-668: Was contrasted by the Soviet Union 's successful post-war expansionism. Tuva and several regional states in Eastern Europe , the Baltic , and Central Asia had been fully annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II. Now, it extended its influence by establishing the satellite states of Eastern Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe , along with support for revolutionary movements in China and North Korea . Although satellite states were independent and possessed sovereignty,

10296-522: Was explicitly listed as a right in the UN Charter . Implementing the right to self-determination can be politically difficult, in part because there are multiple interpretations of what constitutes a people and which groups may legitimately claim the right to self-determination. As World Court judge Ivor Jennings put it: "the people cannot decide until somebody decides who are the people". The norm of self-determination can be originally traced to

10400-493: Was limited to the Danubian and Alpine provinces of the old Habsburg realm—with few exceptions, most of present-day Austria. However, the Allies of World War I opposed such a move. They had committed themselves to the cause of the Habsburg realm's minorities, and assumed almost without question that they wished to leave Austria and Hungary. German-Austria was largely powerless to prevent the forces of Italy, Czechoslovakia , and

10504-399: Was limited to the Danubian and Alpine provinces which had been the core of Cisleithania . Much of its claimed territory was de facto administered by the newly formed Czechoslovakia , and internationally recognized as such. Attempts to create German-Austria under these auspices were ultimately unsuccessful, especially since union with Germany was forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles , and

10608-543: Was pressured by Australia and the United Nations to give East Timor independence. The people of former Indonesian East Timor were given a choice of either greater autonomy within Indonesia or independence . 78.5% of East Timorese voted for independence, rejecting Indonesia's special autonomy proposal. The Cold War began to wind down after Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power as Soviet General Secretary in March 1985. With

10712-604: Was the next largest with 65 deputies and the Social Democrats , who favoured a democratic republic, had a representation of 37 deputies. In early October 1918, the Social Democrats were the first to call for all "German-Austrians" to be united in a German-Austrian state. They had recognised the right of all nationalities of the empire to self-determination and they said this should equally apply to German-Austrians. The German nationalists were willing to accept

10816-405: Was to legitimize the territorial boundaries of the new nation-states created in the territories of the former Ottoman Empire , Asia, and Africa. The principle of self-determination did not extend so far as to end colonialism; under the reasoning that the local populations were not civilized enough the League of Nations was to assign each of the post-Ottoman, Asian and African states and colonies to

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