First Peoples
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Indigenous constitutional recognition from the point of view of self-determination and its exercise through democratic participation
This paper is on Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and its exercise through democratic participation.
The normative principle of the right to self-determination has been adopted as the legal right underpinning Indigenous polities’ human rights worldwide. Within the framework of liberal democratic governance, the right to self-determination is the gold standard for virtually all countries with Indigenous populations—except for Australia.
The author first expounds on why the right to self-determination—as configured in international law, translated by many states and adopted by Indigenous communities—enhances liberal democratic governance. Then, the paper provides a cursory glance at the many and varied ways in which Western and non-Western liberal democracies have made efforts to accommodate Indigenous peoples in their public institutions.
