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Article snippet: The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, which the United Nations high commissioner for human rights has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” highlights a problem that the world has not yet figured out how to solve — and that can contribute, in extremes, to the world’s worst atrocities. National self-determination, the idea that a nation should have the right to freely choose its political status, is a central tenet of the international system. It is enshrined in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter, which states that its purpose is “to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.” But scholars have long recognized that there is a problem inherent in self-determination that can make it an enemy of the freedoms it is intended to protect. Self-determination means not only defining what a nation is, but also who belongs in that nation and who is an outsider. And during times of political upheaval, when national identity comes under pressure and different groups compete for claims to self-determination, such definitions can provide an impetus for mass violence and even genocide against those deemed to be outsiders. It is easy enough to define a “state” — a place with borders, territory and a sovereign government. But a “nation” is a hazier concept — a group of people bound together by some common characteristic, which may or may not match up precisely with state borders. That is w... Link to the full article to read more