"The principle of national self-determination is one of the two or three most influential, but least understood, concepts in modern political thought. While recent philosophical examination has failed to look at the concept in any systematic fashion, Omar Dahbour examines all of the arguments that have been given for national self-determination, whether by international lawyers, moral philosophers, democratic theorists, or political communitarians.

Without trying to justify or condemn nation-states, Dahbour attempts to rescue this frequently invoked idea from nationalistic misuse and applies it to current political struggles against globalization and imperialism."--BOOK JACKET.