self-government
/ˌsɛlfˈɡʌv(ə)nmənt
/noun [mass noun]
1Government of a country by its own people, especially after having been a colony.It consisted of the landed gentlemen of NSW who assumed they would constitute the government when the colony acquired self-government....
- By disempowerment, the tribunal referred to the denigration and destruction of Maori autonomy, or self-government.
- A former province of a state is being prepared for substantial autonomy and self-government.
Synonyms
independence, self-rule, home rule, self-legislation, self-determination, sovereignty, autonomy, non-alignment, freedom
2 old-fashioned term for self-control.The purposes of this extensive popular involvement in an enlarged domain of public life are at once greater self-government and self-realization.
Derivatives
self-governed
- His conscious decision to leave behind his family ties, which also implies a deliberate distancing from his Southern heritage, makes him apt to develop a self-governed identity and to acquire legacies which are chosen, not given.
- Mount Athos is a self-governed part of the Greek state subject to that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs politically, and to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in regards to religion.
- The Irish industry is entirely self-governed but there are government proposals to introduce legislation for the industry.