Neocolonial Constraints to Self-Determination in the Global South: Invisible Forces Shaping Ambazonia and Biafra : Towards Recognising Neocolonial Actors as Bearers of Human Rights Responsibility

Sammanfattning

This thesis challenges traditional human rights frameworks that conceptualise the right to self-determination as an internal matter of states and assign primary responsibility to the states within which such claims arise. It argues, instead, that external actors, particularly neocolonial powers, whose interests and activities significantly influence the realisation of human rights in the Global South should be recognized as co-responsibility bearers alongside the states concerned. To illustrate how neocolonial dynamics affect the realisation of self-determination, the thesis examines two case studies: the relationship between France and Cameroon, and that between Britain and Nigeria. It then analyses how these dynamics shape contemporary self-determination claims, specifically Ambazonia in Cameroon and Biafra in Nigeria. Methodologically, the study combines doctrinal legal analysis with document analysis, structured through Toulmin’s model of argumentation. The central arguments are grounded in two theoretical frameworks: postcolonialism and dependency theory. The study finds that while the traditional, internalist human rights approach provides a useful framework for analysing self-determination in developed (Global North) contexts, its applicability is limited in many developing states, where political and economic systems are often significantly influenced by external actors. The thesis therefore calls for greater scrutiny of external influences and contends, relying on the Peter Parker’s Power-Responsibility principle, that neocolonial actors should be recognised as responsibility holders where their actions materially affect self-determination outcomes within states subject to their influence.