National Self-Determination
According to Dictionary.com, national self-determination is the "creation of national governmental institutions by a group of people who view themselves as a distinct nation" (Dictionary.com). Aspects such as common race, language, or culture are characteristics of a group of people who view themselves as a distinct nation.
During the time period of World War I, empires consisted of multiethnic states that were forced to be united and ruled by monarchs (Brown). In Europe, geography defined ethnicity, causing the lack of assimilation of various ethnicities (Brown). As a result, national self-determination became popular with the Allied leaders (Brown). Ethnic conflict was the reason World War I started. Gavrilo Princip desired for the Serbian population in Austria-Hungary to be liberated from Austria-Hungary and incorporated into Serbia. Sarajevo, the city where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated had a large Serbian population which was later incorporated into Yugoslavia after the Treaty of Versailles was completed. Guided by Wilson's Fourteen Points, other ethnicities such as the Poles, Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians, and Slovenes were given their own states to prevent racial conflict in the future (Brown).
National self-determination was not always executed properly in Wilson's Fourteen Points (Brown). National self-determination was used as the reason for ethnic cleansing for the Greeks and Turks (Brown). The Greeks pushed the Turks out of Greece and the Turks did the likewise in Turkey. Against the concept of national self-determination, Greece and Turkey also incorporated ethnic minorities into their respective countries (Brown). Other failures of national self-determination include the creation of Yugoslavia which was Serbian expansionism, and the possession of German and Ottoman colonies by the British and French (Brown). Great Britain and France did not practice national self-determination with the colonies they gained in the spoils of the Treaty of Versailles (Brown).
National self-determination may have created more problems that it solved. Wilson was vague in his concept of national self-determination in his Fourteen Points (Roark). The creation of small states carved from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire created small states more susceptible to larger nations because the newly created states did not have the military power to defend an invasion (Coming to Terms). For example, the new states taken from Germany's borders in the Treaty of Versailles prompted Hitler to annex the lost territories and reincorporate the German people who were the minority in the newly created states (Coming to Terms). Current disputes in the Middle East and in the Balkans are a result of the Treaty of Versailles (Roark). Certain regions were decided by the Allied and Associated Powers as "uncivilized" and were incorporated into larger states such as Yugoslavia. In some cases, ethnic rivals were forced to make a democratic government work which brewed tensions and future conflict (Roark). In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was divided between Great Britain and France, with local leaders in control of the various mandates (Roark). Full independence was not immediately given to these regions which caused tensions to build between the Jews and Arabs and these tensions continue today (Roark). If the different ethnicities in these regions were given full independence, current racial conflicts may not be as prevalent today.
During the time period of World War I, empires consisted of multiethnic states that were forced to be united and ruled by monarchs (Brown). In Europe, geography defined ethnicity, causing the lack of assimilation of various ethnicities (Brown). As a result, national self-determination became popular with the Allied leaders (Brown). Ethnic conflict was the reason World War I started. Gavrilo Princip desired for the Serbian population in Austria-Hungary to be liberated from Austria-Hungary and incorporated into Serbia. Sarajevo, the city where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated had a large Serbian population which was later incorporated into Yugoslavia after the Treaty of Versailles was completed. Guided by Wilson's Fourteen Points, other ethnicities such as the Poles, Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians, and Slovenes were given their own states to prevent racial conflict in the future (Brown).
National self-determination was not always executed properly in Wilson's Fourteen Points (Brown). National self-determination was used as the reason for ethnic cleansing for the Greeks and Turks (Brown). The Greeks pushed the Turks out of Greece and the Turks did the likewise in Turkey. Against the concept of national self-determination, Greece and Turkey also incorporated ethnic minorities into their respective countries (Brown). Other failures of national self-determination include the creation of Yugoslavia which was Serbian expansionism, and the possession of German and Ottoman colonies by the British and French (Brown). Great Britain and France did not practice national self-determination with the colonies they gained in the spoils of the Treaty of Versailles (Brown).
National self-determination may have created more problems that it solved. Wilson was vague in his concept of national self-determination in his Fourteen Points (Roark). The creation of small states carved from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire created small states more susceptible to larger nations because the newly created states did not have the military power to defend an invasion (Coming to Terms). For example, the new states taken from Germany's borders in the Treaty of Versailles prompted Hitler to annex the lost territories and reincorporate the German people who were the minority in the newly created states (Coming to Terms). Current disputes in the Middle East and in the Balkans are a result of the Treaty of Versailles (Roark). Certain regions were decided by the Allied and Associated Powers as "uncivilized" and were incorporated into larger states such as Yugoslavia. In some cases, ethnic rivals were forced to make a democratic government work which brewed tensions and future conflict (Roark). In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire was divided between Great Britain and France, with local leaders in control of the various mandates (Roark). Full independence was not immediately given to these regions which caused tensions to build between the Jews and Arabs and these tensions continue today (Roark). If the different ethnicities in these regions were given full independence, current racial conflicts may not be as prevalent today.