Challenges to state sovereignty

Question 1

Differentiate between IGOs and regional groupings.

Answer 1

IGOs operate on a national scale, member-states from around the world.
Regional groupings operate within smaller area, member-states geographically close.

Question 2

What are 3 main challenges to state sovereignty?

Answer 2

• Regional groupings
  
  • Contested and changing state borders
• Issues requiring multilateral resolutions

Question 3

What is a region?

Answer 3

Concept describing a combination of close nations, frameworks and common cultural identities

Question 4

What are the motivations to join regional groupings?

Answer 4

In interest of states to gain advantage
- Economic benefits (open trade)
- Security benefits (reduced likelihood of member-states attacking each other)
- Cultural benefits (greater movement of people across borders e.g in EU)

Question 5

How do regional groupings challenge sovereignty?

Answer 5

Delegation of power to a higher authority.
- states can opt to transfer power to supranational organisations

Question 6

How does the European Union challenge sovereignty?

Answer 6

Member-states obliged to follow rules and policies of EU.
- not permitted to pass local laws contradicting EU (EU law prevails)
27 member states transferred decision–making power to EU.

Question 7

What is an example where EU law prevails?

Answer 7

EUCJ (EU court of justice) ruled that chamber in Poland 2017 with power to discipline judges violated EUCJ law. Chamber lacked ‘independence and impartiality.’

Question 8

How else does EU challenge state sovereignty?

Answer 8

Allows citizens of member-states to travel freely within EU without need of passport of visa

Question 9

How does Brexit demonstrate power of EU?

Answer 9

32st Jan 2020 UK left EU. Transition period required UK to comply with all EU laws and rules for 1, even though they had left.
EU states still had access to UK waters for commercial fishing, after DEC 21, 2020 after transition period.

Question 10

How is EU’s power limited?

Answer 10

States must agree before EU attains additional powers. Cannot transfer additional powers without agreement and further treatuies.
-e.g foreign affairs and defence sovereignty of states not transferred.

Question 11

How does concept of contested and changing borders challenge state sovereignty?

Answer 11

Most important way state can maintain sovereignty -retain control of borders
- challenge = states’ borders become contested by other global actors, or changed due to forced outside of control.

Question 12

What are borders?

Answer 12

Not geographic, can only be defined and marked.
Uncertainty can lead to tension and armed conflict. South Sudan and Sudan (Dec 2013)

Question 13

How can borders be challenged?

Answer 13

Internally - secessionist groups wanting to break away from state they exist in
Externally - disputes over recognised borders (Russia Ukraine 2022)

Question 14

Examples of contested and changing borders

Answer 14

Russia ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, 2022
- Ukraine claims war was unprovoked, aimed at seizing land. Russia intent on preventing NATO from gaining military foothold in Ukraine.

Question 15

What are issues that require maltlateral resolution

Answer 15

e.g climate change
Transnational challenges that have arise, forcing states to work together to resolve crisis.
Towards specific grouping, to form regional grouping
e.g nuclear disarmament

Question 16

How does climate change challenge state sovereignty (Paris agreement)?

Answer 16

Attempts at resolution have resulted in larger multilateral agreements (e.g Paris Agreement 2015)
- all states which ratify treaty bound to create domestic legislation or policies to reduce global emissions
- challenges political sovereignty of states - prevents states from being able to freely legislate.

Question 17

What is an example of where the EU challenged the sovereignty of a state?

Answer 17

The 2015 Polish reforms to the justice system, established by the Legal and Justice party, initiating mechanisms to discipline judges in court, appointing judges from parliament and others.
- the EUCJ decided from 2019-2021 that these reforms were unlawful, and ruled against them
- Argued that it was against EU law, could be pressure from parliament to judiciary.
- for every day changes were not made, 1 million Euros were charged.

This challenged the sovereignty of Poland as it could not make its own laws and exercise effective control within its recognised borders - laws made were required to be changed.