The Vienna Convention of 1983: context, failure and aftermath

Abstract: This thesis examines the Vienna Convention on succession of States in respect of State Property, Archives and Debts, which was adopted in 1983 but subsequently failed to enter into force as too few states ratified it. Attention is given to the section of the Convention concerned specifically with the fate of archives in state succession, and the reasons why most of the major western nations, in particular those who had formerly or still possessed colonies, voted against the text. Given that this thesis analyses the failure of the Convention largely in terms of the political and historical circumstances surrounding it, particular attention is given to the context of decolonisation and Third World activism which sought to combat the neocolonial order which followed decolonisation, as well as the relative decline in power of the Third World during the debt crises of the 1980s. The context of historical efforts to resolve archival disputes and create legal frameworks in which to do so is also examined, before considering some of the most irreconcilable points of contention at the conference itself in part three. The concluding section considers some of the criticism leveled at the conference in its aftermath, in particular claims from those western nations which voted against it, while looking at both the subsequent consequences of this failure and the prospects for future agreements. This is a two years master's thesis in Archival Science.