The Right of Revolution and the Question of Secession A proper account of sovereignty must understand and reconcile it with the right of revolution, which is also elemental to international law. Every people has a right of revolution if faced with unbearable oppression. So said Thomas Jefferson in 1776. So said Abraham Lincoln in 1861. From the standpoint of the law of nature and nations, that is not a constitutional or positive right; it is a natural right. It inheres in human beings as a consequence of the natural rights they have to preserve their lives and liberties. "The principle of territorial integrity is only the external dimension of sovereignty—the more holistic concept. It is the application of international law to the external boundaries of states. But sovereignty also has an internal dimension: the right of a people to choose the sovereign whose authority they will abide by."

The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy - l’Institut pour la paix et la diplomatie

Sovereignty's Other Half: How International Law Bears on Ukraine - The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy - l’Institut pour la paix et la diplomatie

By choosing to view the Ukraine crisis solely through the lens of territorial integrity, Western policymakers systematically overlook one critical ...