Thursday, June 08, 2006

Montenegro and Post-Imperalist Sucessionism

Bye bye


One of the most basic human rights, albiet one that might not be often enough achieved, is for people to be able to determine their government. The 20th century saw the collapse of alot of worldwide imperialism (the French, British, Dutch, Belgian, Portuguese and Italian colonies in Africa, the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America, , the U.S. and Japanese colonies in Asia, as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union) and as the aftermath of this shakes-out the dynamic of what exactly will be the future political borders of post-colonial empires is in play.

Of course, one of the new political entities created in the 20th century is the European Union. Many of those countries previously under the sphere of the Soviet Union would like to join the European Union for its economic benefits and what might turnout to be relative political stability compared to military empire. It is good to see the EU supporting the Montenegrin referendum. Although it is unclear what Serbia will require of the new nation for its “divorce settlement”, it is positive that this is happening as it will provide a signpost for many other peoples who would like freedom from what they see as political oppressors.