New States in Latin America
New States in Latin America
Chapter 2 examines the emergence of recognition of de facto states. Crafted by early nineteenth‐century American and British foreign policy‐makers in response to unilateral secessions in Latin America, the de facto standard was a repudiation of dynastic rights and an embodiment of the classical liberal belief that people had a natural right to live under an independent government of their choosing. As a corollary of that right of self‐determination, they had a right vis‐à‐vis international society not to be interfered with as they pursued their choice. The requirement that third parties abstain from intervening in the self‐determination process logically demanded their respect for the self‐determination outcome. The formation of an effective entity in which the population habitually obeyed the new rulers was taken as an authoritative expression of the will of the people to constitute an independent state. In the absence of international agreement as to what constitutes a valid method of ascertaining popular will, it was this inference of popular consent that in the American and British eyes converted the fact of new independent states into the right to independence and external recognition.
Keywords: de facto statehood, self‐determination, non‐intervention, popular consent, independence, unilateral secession, habitual obedience, natural rights, popular will, effective control
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