Self-determination is the right of a country to be independent, instead of being controlled by a foreign country, and to choose its own form of government. = independence. the right of the people of a particular country to govern themselves and to choose the type of government they will have. Process by which a group of people, usually possessing a degree of political consciousness, form their own state and government. The idea evolved as a byproduct of nationalism. According to the UN charter, a people has the right to form itself into a state or to otherwise determine the form of its association with another state, and every state has the right to choose its own political, economic, social, and cultural systems. Moreover, the administering authorities of dependent territories are enjoined to ensure political advancement and the development of self-government in those territories