 Self-determination adds a new dimension to argument about sovereignty in international law also because it is no longer only states that advance a claim to ultimate authority—in some sense, and to some degree, people can too. This means that international law is no longer immune from tensions between the state and the people that have featured prominently in many political struggles. In cases of secession (Crawford 1979; Buchanan 2008) in particular, the claim of the extant state to ultimate authority can be challenged by a population now empowered to articulate a competing claim under the banner of an internationally recognized legal principle (the legal merits of such competing claims will, of course, vary).