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From Feudal Law to Minority Rights: The Legal Metamorphosis of the Schleswig-Holstein Question
German Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 63 (2020), Iss. 1 : pp. 153–187
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Andreas von Arnauld, Co-Director,Walther Schücking Institute for International Law, University of Kiel; Co-Editor, German Yearbook of International Law.
Abstract
From a modern international law perspective, the referenda over Schleswig held in early 1920 would be framed in terms of minority rights and self-determination of peoples. However, the ‘Schleswig-Holstein question’, which had erupted into a series of armed conflicts challenging the European Concert for two decades during the mid-19th century, is deeply rooted in feudal law. It is thus linked to an ‘international law’ that was predominantly understood as defined by the interpersonal relations between the ruling monarchs and princes. This article traces the development of the ‘question’ over time in a changing legal environment, from its feudal origins over the instrumentalisation of historical documents in the context of German and Danish 19th-century nationalism to the Treaty of Versailles and the present day where it has finally become possible to normalise the ‘Schleswig-Holstein question’ by framing it in terms of minorities, autonomies, and referenda.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andreas von Arnauld\nFrom Feudal Law to Minority Rights: The Legal Metamorphosis of the Schleswig-Holstein Question | 153 | ||
| I. Introduction: A Journey in Time | 153 | ||
| II. Of Feudal and Family Relations: The Background to the ‘Question’ | 155 | ||
| A. The Schauenburg Counts: Doubling the Fealty | 155 | ||
| B. The Nobles Intervene: The ‘Treaty of Ribe’ | 156 | ||
| C. Family Business: From the Oldenburg to the Gottorf Dynasty | 158 | ||
| D. Striving for Sovereignty: The Dukes Reduced | 160 | ||
| E. A Sovereign Exchange: The Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo | 161 | ||
| III. The ‘Question’ Unfolds: The Rise of Nationalism | 153 | ||
| A. Scattered Imperial Dreams and the Search for National Identities | 153 | ||
| B. ‘Up ewig ungedeelt’: Ribe Revis(it)ed | 153 | ||
| C. Schleswig Incorporated? Frederiksborg Revis(it)ed | 153 | ||
| D. The Succession Dispute: Lex Regia versus Lex Salica | 153 | ||
| IV. A Concerted Effort: The Schleswig-Holstein Question Challenges the European Order | 153 | ||
| A. The Revolutionary Path to the London Protocols | 153 | ||
| B. Of Constitutions and Executions: Schleswig-Holstein Turns Prussian | 154 | ||
| C. The Suppressed Plebiscite: The Road to Versailles | 154 | ||
| V. The ‘Question’ Reframed: Minorities, Autonomies, and Referenda | 155 | ||
| A. A Late Napoleonic Victory: The 1920 Schleswig Plebiscites | 155 | ||
| B. Beyond Versailles: Minorities, Autonomies, and Electoral Rights | 155 |