This article frames a themed collection on Nationalism and Self‐determination in the Horn of Africa. It demonstrates how the praxis of self‐determination in the Horn of Africa has contributed to normative developments. On the basis of case studies of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan/South Sudan this article argues that nationalism and self‐determination have had different meanings in the political cultures across the different countries and have changed over time. We contend that such indeterminacy is unavoidable and should be welcomed. Nationalism is driven by historical circumstances that are contingent and often transitory. Self‐determination claims based on such nationalism are equally contingent and transitory. When the principle of self‐determination gets translated into concrete legal entitlements (for instance, a referendum on independence), it tends to solve one problem only by creating others. Instead, the pursuit and realization of self‐determination require constant political processes.

中文翻译：

---

自决的必要不确定性：非洲之角的政治，法律与冲突

本文围绕非洲之角的民族主义和自决问题设计了一个主题收藏。它表明了非洲之角的自决原则对规范发展的贡献。在对厄立特里亚，埃塞俄比亚，索马里和苏丹/南苏丹的案例研究的基础上，本文认为民族主义和自决权在不同国家的政治文化中具有不同的含义，并且随着时间的推移而发生了变化。我们认为，这种不确定性是不可避免的，应该受到欢迎。民族主义是由历史情况决定的，这些历史情况是偶然的并且往往是短暂的。基于这种民族主义的自决主张同样具有偶然性和短暂性。当自决原则转化为具体的法律权利时（例如，关于独立性的全民投票），它往往只能通过创造其他问题来解决一个问题。相反，追求和实现自决需要不断的政治进程。