Self-governance

Last updated

Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, has been self-governed since 2009. Pictured: Nuuk, Greenland. Nuuk and Katuaq - Visit Greenland.jpg
Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, has been self-governed since 2009. Pictured: Nuuk, Greenland.

Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. [2] [3] [4] It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of institution, such as family units, social groups, affinity groups, legal bodies, industry bodies, religions, and political entities of various degree. [4] [5] [6] Self-governance is closely related to various philosophical and socio-political concepts such as autonomy, independence, self-control, self-discipline, and sovereignty. [7]

Contents

In the context of nation states, self-governance is called national sovereignty which is an important concept in international law. In the context of administrative division, a self-governing territory is called an autonomous region. [8] Self-governance is also associated with political contexts in which a population or demographic becomes independent from colonial rule, absolute government, absolute monarchy, or any government that they perceive does not adequately represent them. [9] It is therefore a fundamental tenet of many democracies, republics and nationalist governments. [10] Mohandas Gandhi's term "swaraj" is a branch of this self-rule ideology. Henry David Thoreau was a major proponent of self-rule in lieu of immoral governments.

Background

This principle has been explored in philosophy for centuries, with figures in ancient Greek philosophy such as Plato positing that self-mastery is necessary for true freedom. Plato believed that individuals or groups cannot achieve freedom unless they govern their own pleasures and desires, and instead will be in a state of enslavement. [11] [12] He states that self-mastery is the ability to be one's own master, it means being able to control one's own impulses and desires, rather than being controlled by them. Accordingly, this principle is not only a fundamental moral freedom but also as a necessary condition of political freedom and by extension the freedom and autonomy of any political structure. [11]

John Locke further developed this idea, arguing that genuine freedom requires cognitive self-discipline and self-government. He believed that man's capacity for self-governance is the source of all freedom. He believed that freedom is not a possession but an action, that is, it is not something that you have but something you do. [13] Locke proposes that rationality is the key to true agency and autonomy, and that political governance is enabled by the governing of one's own judgement. [14] His political philosophy was a prominent influence on Immanuel Kant, and was later taken up in part by the Founding Fathers of the United States.

The nature of self-governance, that freedom relies upon self-regulation, has further been explored by contemporary academics Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, William E. Connolly, and others. [15]

Self-governance is not just a philosophical concept but also a practical one. It can be seen in various forms such as self-regulation, self-control, self-management and self-leadership. It is an important concept in the fields of management, leadership, and governance, and is seen as a key to achieving personal and organizational goals. Self-governance can also be seen in the context of community and society, where it refers to the ability of individuals to take responsibility for their own actions and the actions of their community.

Additionally, self-governance is also closely related to the concept of self-determination. Self-determination refers to the idea that individuals and groups have the right to govern themselves, to make decisions about their own lives and to determine their own future and political status without outside interference. [16] This concept is closely linked to the idea of self-governance because it emphasizes the importance of individuals and groups being able to take control of their own lives and to make decisions about their own future. It is also closely linked to the idea of autonomy, which refers to the ability of individuals and groups to make decisions for themselves, without external influence or control.

Means of self-governance

The means of self-governance usually comprises some or all of the following:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government</span> System or group of people governing an organized community, often a state

A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and advocating that the interests of the individual should gain precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or institutions such as the government. Individualism makes the individual its focus, and so starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political philosophy</span> Sub-discipline of philosophy and political science

Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.

A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-determination</span> The right of all people to freely participate in the political procedures of their government

The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law, binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. As a principle of international law it is related to the concepts of equal rights, political liberty and representative government with full suffrage; the legitimacy of the territorial status quo depends upon representative government and equal rights. Essentially, those subject to the jurisdiction of the state and its laws must enjoy the same political liberties "without distinction as to race, creed or color". It is wrong to state the principle as "the right freely to determine...political status". Rather, it strongly implies the equality of political rights in a "one man, one vote" democratic government and free and full participation in the political process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social contract</span> Concept in political philosophy

In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Conceptualized in the Age of Enlightenment, it is a core concept of constitutionalism, while not necessarily convened and written down in a constituent assembly and constitution.

Group rights, also known as collective rights, are rights held by a group as a whole rather than individually by its members; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people; even if they are group-differentiated, which most rights are, they remain individual rights if the right-holders are the individuals themselves. Historically, group rights have been used both to infringe upon and to facilitate individual rights, and the concept remains controversial.

In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defined from a human resources perspective, where it denotes a level of discretion granted to an employee in his or her work. In such cases, autonomy is known to generally increase job satisfaction. Self-actualized individuals are thought to operate autonomously of external expectations. In a medical context, respect for a patient's personal autonomy is considered one of many fundamental ethical principles in medicine.

Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights.

Popular sovereignty is the principle that the leaders of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political legitimacy. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any particular political implementation. Benjamin Franklin expressed the concept when he wrote that "In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns".

Governmentality is a concept first developed by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the later years of his life, roughly between 1977 and his death in 1984, particularly in his lectures at the Collège de France during this time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty</span> Creation and experience of societal freedom

Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.

"Two Concepts of Liberty" was the inaugural lecture delivered by the liberal philosopher Isaiah Berlin before the University of Oxford on 31 October 1958. It was subsequently published as a 57-page pamphlet by Oxford at the Clarendon Press. It also appears in the collection of Berlin's papers entitled Four Essays on Liberty (1969) and was reissued in a collection entitled Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty (2002).

<i>Merdeka</i> Indonesian and Malay term for "independent" or "free"

Merdeka is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or "free". It is derived from the Sanskrit maharddhika (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had acquired the meaning of a freed slave. The term is also used in other Indonesian languages.

The history of political thought encompasses the chronology and the substantive and methodological changes of human political thought. The study of the history of political thought represents an intersection of various academic disciplines, such as philosophy, law, history and political science.

Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various and often mutually warring views depending on their understanding of these principles but generally support private property, market economies, individual rights, liberal democracy, secularism, rule of law, economic and political freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion, constitutional government and privacy rights. Liberalism is frequently cited as the dominant ideology of modern history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic confederalism</span> Political ideology and government structure

Democratic confederalism, also known as Kurdish communalism or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features of a confederation based on the principles of autonomy, direct democracy, political ecology, feminism, multiculturalism, self-defense, self-governance and elements of a cooperative economy. Influenced by social ecology, libertarian municipalism, Middle Eastern history and general state theory, Öcalan presents the concept as a political solution to Kurdish national aspirations, as well as other fundamental problems in countries in the region deeply rooted in class society, and as a route to freedom and democratization for people around the world.

Digital self-determination is a multidisciplinary concept derived from the legal concept of self-determination and applied to the digital sphere, to address the unique challenges to individual and collective agency and autonomy arising with increasing digitalization of many aspects of society and daily life.

References

  1. ↑ Greenland in Figures 2012.
  2. ↑ Rasmussen 2011, pp. x–xi.
  3. ↑ Sørensen & Triantafillou 2009, pp. 1–3.
  4. 1 2 Esmark & Triantafillou 2009, pp. 29–30.
  5. ↑ Sørensen & Triantafillou 2009, p. 2.
  6. ↑ Sørensen & Torfing 2009, p. 43.
  7. ↑ Rasmussen 2011, p. x.
  8. ↑ Ghai & Woodman 2013, pp. 3–6.
  9. ↑ Berlin 1997, pp. 228–229.
  10. ↑ Rasmussen 2011.
  11. 1 2 Young 2018.
  12. ↑ Laks 2007.
  13. ↑ Casson 2011, pp. 159–160.
  14. ↑ Casson 2011, pp. 160–161, 167.
  15. ↑ Rasmussen 2011, p. xiii.
  16. ↑ "Legal Aspects of Self-Determination". The Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  17. ↑ Esmark & Triantafillou 2009, p. 31.
  18. ↑ Esmark & Triantafillou 2009, p. 32.

Works cited

  • Greenland in Figures 2012 (PDF). stat.gl. ISBN   978-87-986787-6-2. ISSN   1602-5709. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  • Sørensen, Eva; Triantafillou, Peter (2009). "The Politics of Self-Governance: An Introduction". The Politics of Self-Governance. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7546-7164-0.
  • Esmark, Anders; Triantafillou, Peter (2009). "A Macro Level Perspective on Governance of the Self and Others". The Politics of Self-Governance. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7546-7164-0.
  • Sørensen, Eva; Torfing, Jacob (2009). "The Politics of Self-Governance in Meso Level Theories". The Politics of Self-Governance. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7546-7164-0.
  • Ghai, Yash; Woodman, Sophia (2013). Practicing Self-Government: A Comparative Study of Autonomous Regions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-107-01858-7.
  • Young, Carl (2018). "Plato's Concept of Liberty in the Laws". History of Political Thought. Imprint Academic. 39 (3). ISSN   0143-781X.
  • Laks, André (2007). "Freedom Liberty and Liberality in Plato's Laws". Social Philosophy and Policy. 24 (2): 130–152. doi:10.1017/S0265052507070197. S2CID   144268937. Archived from the original on 2022-04-22. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  • Berlin, Isaiah (1997). Hardy, Henry; Hausheer, Rodger (eds.). The Proper Study of Mankind. Chatto & Windus. ISBN   978-0374527174.
  • Casson, Douglas John (2011). "Freedom, Happiness, and the Reasonable Self". Liberating Judgment: Fanatics, Skeptics, and John Locke's Politics of Probability. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0691144740.
  • Rasmussen, Claire Elaine (2011). The Autonomous Animal: Self-governance and the Modern Subject. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   978-0816669561.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.