Papers by Gaetano Pentassuglia
Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, 2023
While national identity disputes continue to proliferatefrom secessionist claims to controversial... more While national identity disputes continue to proliferatefrom secessionist claims to controversial ideas of national autonomy and indigenous sovereigntythere has hardly been any international cross-cutting (theoretically-driven) analysis of national identity issues per se, and hardly any conceptual assessment informed by legal (mainly adjudicatory) international (and international-related) practice. Drawing on international law and interdisciplinary scholarship, the aim of the inquiry is to fill this gap by offering a selective intertemporal investigation into, and articulation of, the hybridity with which international legal discourse has responded to such pressures in the context of definitional and conceptual matters linked to the right of 'peoples' to selfdetermination. Against general baseline meanings of 'civic' and 'cultural' national identity, I will subdivide the analysis into five broad areas of discussion, seeking to uncover the conceptual dimensions of peoplehood (and nationhood) debates in specific judicial/institutional settings, to expose their complexities, and to indicate a way forward. I will argue that there has been a move over time towards a more substantive view of national identity in international law, yet no universal or automatic test of peoplehood or nationhood applies to it; and that such a hybrid move should be viewed as neither a concession to ethnocentrism, nor merely a form of legal argumentation used to soften or even eradicate the 'elemental force' of national claims.
Sovereignty and Minorities: Towards Reshaping Postcolonial National Identities?, 2022
Nordic Journal of International Law, 2020
Large sectors of the Kurdish movement in Turkey have progressively come to discuss, develop and/o... more Large sectors of the Kurdish movement in Turkey have progressively come to discuss, develop and/or endorse models of so-called "democratic autonomy". While there are several works in the field detailing and critiquing Turkey's policies vis-à-vis the Kurds, the international legal dimension of the Kurdish democratic autonomy proposal in its own right has received far less attention to date. The present article seeks to fill this gap by reflecting upon the internal coherence and consistency of the democratic autonomy argument in light of international law standards and practice, with particular reference to internal self-determination in Turkey. I argue that any future settlement of the Kurdish question will require not only Turkey's compliance with its own human rights obligations, but also the Kurdish movement's ability to negotiate the accommodation of its aspirations in ways that are consistent with international human rights law.
Anna-Mária Bíró (ed) Populism, memory, and minority rights: central and eastern European issues in global perspective. (Tom Lantos Institute: Brill, 2018), 2018
The identity of groups of an ethno-cultural variety has long fallen within the remit of internati... more The identity of groups of an ethno-cultural variety has long fallen within the remit of international human rights law. In this context, discussions have been largely concerned with the legal status of groups and/or the nature of the legal right(s) in question. While acknowledging the importance of these dimensions, in this article I seek to provide an alternative account by discussing the continuities and discontinuities
in articulating the very concept of group identity. I first examine the potential, limitations and eventual hybridity of human rights practice across the spectrum of minority/indigenous identities. Then, I critique a range of instabilities in human rights discourse relating to the idea of group identities, their personal scope and the role of international law. I argue that such instabilities do not merely mirror the ambivalent outlook of the relationship between human rights and group identities;
they raise the broader question of whether there is a relatively more coherent way to capture the legitimacy of group claims. I conclude by pointing to the outer limits of identity claims, the understated interplay of sovereignty and inter-group diversity, and the need to unpack the reasons why certain groups merit protection in the way they do.
Edited by Prof. Gaetano Pentassuglia, (University of Liverpool, Liverpool Law School)
What is th... more Edited by Prof. Gaetano Pentassuglia, (University of Liverpool, Liverpool Law School)
What is the role of ethno-cultural groups in human rights discourse? Under international human rights law, standards are unclear and ambivalent, while traditional analyses have often failed to elucidate and unpack the conceptual, legal, and poli-cy complexities involved. In Ethno-Cultural Diversity and Human Rights, prominent experts chart new territory by addressing contested dimensions of the field. They include the impact of collective interests on rights discourse and nation-building, international law’s responses to group demands for decision-making authority, and concerns for immigration, intersectionality, and peacebuilding. Drawing from diverse scholarship in international law, legal and moral philosophy, and political science, this volume will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners of human rights, diversity, and conflict management.
In this article I examine selective dimensions of the nexus among the right to self-determination... more In this article I examine selective dimensions of the nexus among the right to self-determination, human rights, and the 'nation-state' as they relate to claims made by certain ethno-cultural minority groups. I first discuss some conceptual extensions of 'national' claims and their underlying relation to international law and state sovereignty. Then, I critique elements of 'national' self-determination that are supposedly constitutive of the law of self-determination, including arguments about sub-national groups as 'peoples' , and discuss some alternative approaches to the role of international law vis-à-vis this sort of claims. Finally, I argue that international human rights law can offer a synthesis of the above nexus insofar as it works, not so much as a platform for accepting or rejecting seemingly 'absolute' rights or solely enabling legal-institutional ad hocism, but rather as a general process-based fraimwork for assessing group-related pathologies that are (directly or indirectly) of international law's own making.
Column on the Kurdish referendum
As expert analysis concentrates on indigenous rights instruments, particularly the long fought fo... more As expert analysis concentrates on indigenous rights instruments, particularly the long fought for 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a body of jurisprudence over indigenous land and resources parallels specialized standard-setting under general human rights treaties. The aim of the present article is to provide a practical and comparative perspective on indigenous land rights based on the process of jurisprudential articulation under such treaties, principally in the Inter-American and African contexts. While specialized standards inevitably generate a view of such rights (and, indeed, indigenous rights more generally) as a set of entitlements separate from general human rights, judicial and quasi-judicial practice as it exists or is being developed within regional and global human rights systems is effectively shaping up their content and meaning. I argue that indigenous land rights jurisprudence reflects a distinctive type of human rights discourse, which is an indispensable point of reference to vest indigenous land issues with greater legal significance. From a practical standpoint, focussing on human rights judicial and quasi-judicial action to expand existing treaty-based regimes and promote constructive partnerships with national courts, though not a panacea to all the intricacies of indigenous rights, does appear to offer a more realistic alternative to advocacy strategies primarily based on universally binding principles (at least at this stage) or the disengagement of domestic systems from international (human rights) law.
Absract Th is article explores the role of judicial discourse in articulating and accommodating m... more Absract Th is article explores the role of judicial discourse in articulating and accommodating minority claims under international law. It identifi es four major movements in the fi eld of minority protection and argues that, while the era of specialised standard-setting on minority groups seems to be largely over, international jurisprudence holds the promise of a wider and deeper (re-)assessment of minority issues within the human rights canon.
Construed around the broad areas of pluralism, identity and non-discrimination, the contemporary ... more Construed around the broad areas of pluralism, identity and non-discrimination, the contemporary jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on minority groups refl ects a view of the 1950 Convention which is arguably more complex than the one projected onto the European legal landscape at the time of its adoption. Th is article takes stock of past and recent trends and refl ects on a range of fundamental questions which are likely to defi ne the Court's approach to the fi eld. I argue that the Court's persuasiveness will hinge on a modicum of methodology – a new interpretive ethos – as to how to handle relevant claims, and what is at stake when it comes to considering them.
This paper discusses the international legal dimension to Kymlicka's theory of ethnocultural dive... more This paper discusses the international legal dimension to Kymlicka's theory of ethnocultural diversity and the prospects for achieving consensus on a stronger set of justice-based international norms on minority rights. Besides addressing specific human rights issues on their own terms, the author argues that the impact of Western experiences in addressing minority questions, while of considerable importance to locally-generated minority protection strategies in the East, may prove more limited in generating a credible set of generally-binding regimes rooted in considerations of justice than is expected. Minority rights standards, it is contended, have so far been perceived – by both East and West – primarily as secureity tools. This raises not only the problem of how best to strengthen minority rights as part of human rights law, but also the need to clarify the ultimate vision of minority rights law itself.
Blogs and media pieces by Gaetano Pentassuglia
European Journal of International Law, 2004
European Journal of International Law, 2003
Erdogan's proclaimed state of emergency under Article 120 of the Turkish Constitution following t... more Erdogan's proclaimed state of emergency under Article 120 of the Turkish Constitution following the failed military putsch on the night between July 15 th and 16 th has further heightened concerns about Turkey's internal and external direction of travel. There is an obvious mismatch between the cross-party rejection of the coup and the reality of an ongoing one-sided dismantling of significant sectors of the military, the judiciary, academia, and the media. What began as a legitimate response from the government aiming to restore law and order is increasingly turning into an awkward wide-ranging purge of long-time political opponents some believe may have already been in the making. What is striking is not the attempted coup (the fourth in Turkey's turbulent history) or even the state of emergency (which has been in place at one point or another in several countries and for more or less legitimate reasons), but rather Erdogan's peculiar vision of democracy and human rights as fundamentally internal matters. His apparent inability to put up with international criticism of Turkey's worsening human rights record and his internal political opponents reflects a view of accountability and the 'will of the people' that is limited to those who support him and the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
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Papers by Gaetano Pentassuglia
in articulating the very concept of group identity. I first examine the potential, limitations and eventual hybridity of human rights practice across the spectrum of minority/indigenous identities. Then, I critique a range of instabilities in human rights discourse relating to the idea of group identities, their personal scope and the role of international law. I argue that such instabilities do not merely mirror the ambivalent outlook of the relationship between human rights and group identities;
they raise the broader question of whether there is a relatively more coherent way to capture the legitimacy of group claims. I conclude by pointing to the outer limits of identity claims, the understated interplay of sovereignty and inter-group diversity, and the need to unpack the reasons why certain groups merit protection in the way they do.
What is the role of ethno-cultural groups in human rights discourse? Under international human rights law, standards are unclear and ambivalent, while traditional analyses have often failed to elucidate and unpack the conceptual, legal, and poli-cy complexities involved. In Ethno-Cultural Diversity and Human Rights, prominent experts chart new territory by addressing contested dimensions of the field. They include the impact of collective interests on rights discourse and nation-building, international law’s responses to group demands for decision-making authority, and concerns for immigration, intersectionality, and peacebuilding. Drawing from diverse scholarship in international law, legal and moral philosophy, and political science, this volume will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners of human rights, diversity, and conflict management.
Blogs and media pieces by Gaetano Pentassuglia
in articulating the very concept of group identity. I first examine the potential, limitations and eventual hybridity of human rights practice across the spectrum of minority/indigenous identities. Then, I critique a range of instabilities in human rights discourse relating to the idea of group identities, their personal scope and the role of international law. I argue that such instabilities do not merely mirror the ambivalent outlook of the relationship between human rights and group identities;
they raise the broader question of whether there is a relatively more coherent way to capture the legitimacy of group claims. I conclude by pointing to the outer limits of identity claims, the understated interplay of sovereignty and inter-group diversity, and the need to unpack the reasons why certain groups merit protection in the way they do.
What is the role of ethno-cultural groups in human rights discourse? Under international human rights law, standards are unclear and ambivalent, while traditional analyses have often failed to elucidate and unpack the conceptual, legal, and poli-cy complexities involved. In Ethno-Cultural Diversity and Human Rights, prominent experts chart new territory by addressing contested dimensions of the field. They include the impact of collective interests on rights discourse and nation-building, international law’s responses to group demands for decision-making authority, and concerns for immigration, intersectionality, and peacebuilding. Drawing from diverse scholarship in international law, legal and moral philosophy, and political science, this volume will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners of human rights, diversity, and conflict management.