Evolving nature of state sovereignty Flashcards
Nation state?
it is a political and territorial entity
“Nation” implies that there is a common ethnicity and cultural characteristics (i.e language)
“State” most often refers to the sovereign nature of the area in which a state has been formed
States are classified as sovereign if they are independent entities not controlled by other territories or entities
In order for sovereignty to exist, there has to be an agreement within the nation’s population that the state is legitimate and the holders of the will of the people
Westphalian Sovereignty?
A state’s sovereignty is dependent on other states recognizing the state as a state
The Treaty of Westphalia (1648) can be seen as the point where the ideas of statehood were formally established.
The principle of sovereignty has been supported through putting ideas such as diplomacy and non-intervention into practice.
Groups such as the Islamic State may call themselves a state, but if no other states or international organizations recognize them, they cannot be considered a sovereign state. International legitimacy is essential in order for a state to be considered an independent sovereign country.
Feature of Sovereign nations - Montevideo Convention (1933)
- A permanent population
Do people live in a permanent place? Is the population fixed? Refugees? - A defined territory and borders
Do the ICJ and international law agree on state borders? Identifiable borders on a map? - Effective government
Does a government exist? Does it have full authority and control over its territory? - The capacity and legitimacy to enter relations with other states
Does the state have diplomatic relations (i.e summits, IGO memberships, bilateral/multilateral partnerships)?
The Montevideo Convention is used to determine whether a nation is a sovereign state, however there are many challenges to this method as some non-state groups conform to some of the above features
Present-day status of sources of sovereignty
In modern global politics, the UN is the key international body which agrees the legitimacy of state borders and makes rulings on borders that are contested
→ being recognized as a full member state of the UN is the ultimate confirmation of independent statehood
At an international level, where borders or sovereignty are disputed, the resolutions of the UNSC and decisions of the ICJ are important statements of international law
Rulings from both institutions however are sometimes ignored
At a national level, states and regions seeking independence often hold a referendum, in which the population votes directly on whether it should become independent
(i.e Scotland voting against becoming an independent state, Catalonia wanting to secede from Spain)
Present day challenges to sovereignty
There has been much debate about the evolution and declining importance of the state, given the interactions of trade and challenges to centralized law, such as supranationality, humanitarian intervention, indigenous rights, and social movements
However, competing stakeholders keep the politics of states in motion
State sovereignty becoming less significant - Permeable borders
The traditional guarantee of territorial sovereignty (borders), are permeable in that they have increasingly been penetrated by external forces
States are affected by issues that cross borders (transnational issues) like climate change, global terrorism, and migration
State sovereignty becoming less significant - economic globalization
Many states are reducing barriers to trade and are joining trade agreements (TPP, EU). There is increasing freedom of movement for people and goods.
MNCs are also very powerful, and can influence states to change their economic policies in return for investment
State sovereignty becoming less significant - IGOS
Are becoming more numerous and more powerful. One of the most powerful organizations, the EU, has supranational powers and can make laws/enforce them on its member states
Other IGOs recognize that states face shared challenges and try to resolve these through collective action
State sovereignty becoming less significant - Collective dilemmas
Issues that are particularly taxing because they confound even the most powerful states when acting alone (i.e global problems require global solutions)
An increasing range of issues have acquired a collective/global character (i.e climate change, terrorism, transnational crim, pandemic disease)
Need to be tackled by IGOs
State sovereignty becoming less significant - International human rights
International conventions like the R2P no longer regard state sovereignty as absolute, but rather conditional for states who behave responsibly.
This is based on the view that human rights, and the idea that the fundamental individual rights are morally superior to the state’s right to independence and autonomy
State sovereignty still significant - Myth of borderless world
The image that world politics is dominated by transnational processes that elude state control is an exaggeration
Globalizing trends do not disempower states. States choose to engage in the global economy and do so for reasons of national self-interest
Borders still define independent states. States still decide their own economic and political policies, within their borders.
State sovereignty still significant - Economic policy
Importing, exporting, tax, trade partnerships are still decided by nation states. MNCs are undoubtedly powerful, but resolving major economic crises requires action by nation states.
2008 financial collapse was resolved by states and IGOs → bailing out failing multinational banks
State sovereignty still significant- States choose to join IGOs
States choose to join IGOs and are the key contributors to IGOs. There is no world governing body with the power to act above the nation-state level. Many IGOs allow states the right to veto and protect core national interests
Most IGOs are intergovernmental, where decisions are reached by consensus of the member state
State sovereignty still significant- States remain dominant
Although states are merely one actor amongst many on the world stage, they remain the most important actor. States exercise power in a way and to an extent that no other actor can
Using the administrative processes of government and relying on unchallengeable coercive power, their control over what happens within their borders is rarely challenged.
Failed states are an exception
State sovereignty still significant- Enduring attraction of the nation-state
There seems little likelihood that states will lose their dominance so long as they continue to enjoy the allegiance of the majority of their citizens.
As most states are nation-states, this is ensured by the survival of nationalism, as the world’s most potent ideological force.
