✅States + sovereignty

The fundamental characteristic of a nation state is

sovereignty

Sovereignty implies that

not only do states enjoy ultimate authority within their territory, and so have supreme decision making + enforcement powers, they also enjoy legal equality w other nation states

• sovereign states don’t recognise the authority of?

any supposedly supreme international body

Recognition + respect of state sovereignty impacts on?

most global issues such as attempts to deal w conflict, poverty, human rights, + the environment (CHEP). The idea of the nation state brings together the legal/political entity of a state + the cultural entity of a nation

The 1648 treaty of Westphalia recognised?

the exclusive sovereignty of each state over its lands + people + acts as the basis for the relationship between most sovereign states today

Sovereign states are considered by many to be the?

• building blocks of global politics which hold both internal + external sovereignty

Internal sovereignty

• The power of a body within the state to make decisions that are binding on individuals + groups in the territory, + the ability to maintain order

What do Max Weber + Joseph Schumpeter say abt internal sovereignty

• Philosopher Max Weber describes this as a monopoly over the use of legitimate violence within the state. Political economist Joseph Schumpeter adds to this- a monopoly over the ability to raise taxes within the state

External sovereignty

• There is no legal/ political authority above the state

• The right of autonomy to make decisions within the territory of the state free form external interference

• No state or legal body has the right to intervene in the sovereign affairs of any nation-state

• All states are legally equal (regardless of size, population, power, etc)

This that have caused views on state sovereignty to have developed over time

• Peace of Westphalia 1638

• Fourteen points 1918

• Montevideo convention 1933

• UN founded 1945

• Post-WW2 decolonisation

• End of the Cold War 1989/ ‘end of history’ 1992

• Peace of Westphalia 1638

• Is important in the development of state sovereignty, allowed a state sovereignty over its own affairs, it defined the theory of sovereign equality of states as:

  • No state has the legal right to intervene in the sovereign affairs of another state

  • All states, whatever their size, possess the same legal right to independence

• Fourteen points 1918

• Established the principle that nation-state sovereignty should be founded upon the right of self-determination based on a shared ethnic heritage, led to the creation of new states after WW1

• Montevideo convention 1933

• Determined that a sovereign state must possess:

  • A defined territory

  • A permanent population

  • A viable govt

  • The capacity to enter into diplomatic relations w other states

• UN founded 1945

• The organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members

• No state, however powerful has the right to intervene in the affairs of another state, since all states claim rights to determine policy within their own borders, call states claim equal territorial integrity

• The legitimacy of a nation-state also derives from its acceptance as a nation state by other nation state

• E.e. Palestinians, Kurds, + Catalans all claim nation-statehood, but since the UN doesn’t accept their claims, they remain unrecognised

• Post-WW2 decolonisation

• After ww2 old colonial empires were dismantles and new nation-states were established  

• End of the Cold War 1989/ ‘end of history’ 1992

• 1989-1991 as communism collapsed thru Easter Europe, new nation states were established upon Wilsonian principles of self-determination

Why state sovereignty is important + what are the implications for global politics

1. As a cause of conflict- states come into conflict where they disagree over who should have sovereignty over a territory (e.g. Israel - Palestine)

2. As a basis for international law- the UN grants each member state 1 vote, regardless of size, it upholds the integrity of nation-states against the threat or use of force; and will not intervene in any states' domestic issues

Challenges to state sovereignty

• National/ state sovereignty is recognised in most elements of global politics today + states tend to be the major decision makers in global politics + their primacy is recognised in international law w most law being established by + signed by representatives of states. The concept of non-interference still remains although challenges more + more in recent years

• The numerous emerging threats to the traditional concept of absolute state sovereignty:

Globalisation

Human rights

Military intervention

Non-state actors

Climate change/ contemporary issues

IGOs

Regionalism

How globalisation is a threat to state sovereignty

the growing interconnectedness of the world in trade, finance + production means that states have less independence than in the past

How human rights are a threat to state sovereignty

the creation of international courts + tribunals such as the ICC means that member states are expected to allow their citizens to be tried by these courts

How military intervention is a threat to state sovereignty

there has been a growing trend towards using military intervention for humanitarian reasons, e.g. in Iraq + Libya. This ignores the wishes of the sovereign states that experience these interventions

How non-state actors are a threat to state sov

such as TNCs + NGOs appear to have a growing role in global politics

How climate change/ contemporary issues are a threat to state sov

climate change is a global issue - states need to work collectively thru treaties like the Paris agreement which was adopted in 2015

How IGOs are a threat to state sov

hundreds of IGOs like the international monetary fund (IMF) have been created since the end of WW2, leading to certain decisions being made at this level instead of at the state level, e.g. the WTO (world trade organisation) imposes trade tariffs to help create stability in world trade

How regionalism is a threat to state sov

the growth across the world of regional organisations like the African union + EU has led to some decision making being transferred from states to a regional body

Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• The principle of non-interference

• Military force

• Citizenship

• National borders

• Intergovernmentalism

• Lack of a world govt

how the principle of non-interference is evidence for the continued importance of state sov

• A key element of the treaty of Westphalia in 1648 was the principle that states shouldn't interfere in the affairs of other states

• This allowed them to exercise absolute power within their borders + have independence of action in the international arena

How military force is Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• Most armed forces are still under sovereign control of the state, e.g. the British army, navy + air force were never incorporated into a combined EU military force

• States that have nuclear weapons carefully guard their control over them

How citizenship is Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• The power to decide who is + isn't a citizen remains firmly in the control of the govt of sovereign states, e.g. Shamima Begum was a British Citizen who left the UK to join the Islamic state in Syria when she was 15 + the UK govt stripped her of her citizenship on security grounds in 2019

How national borders are Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• Large amounts of time + resources are committed to policing national borders, e.g. Sunak's govt's policy of reducing the no. migrants reaching Britian in 'small boats'

• States have also committed significant resources to defending national borders from invasion by other states, e.g. Ukraine defending itself against Russia's 2022 invasion

How intergovernmentalism is Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• IGOs such as the UN follow the principle of intergovernmentalism which gives member states the power to veto resolutions, e.g. Russia + China vetoed a US-sponsored draft of a resolution that called for an immediate + sustained ceasefire in Gaza in March 2024

• It limits the power that IGOs have over their member states

• If states don't like the policies of an IGO, then they have the power of withdrawing from the IGO, e.g. Brexit

How lack of a world govt is Evidence for the continued importance of state sovereignty

• States remain important actors as there has never been a world gov. it can still be argued that there is nothing 'above' the state

• A powerful state may be able to act on the international stage w/out fear of any serious consequences, even when their actions are denounced as illegal, e.g. the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 + Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022