Sovereignty

Institution in international relations that affirms a state's legitimate domestic and international autonomy; also an organizing principle of modern international relations.

Most often applied to states, sovereignty is a complex and evolving concept. Modern-state sovereignty originated in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the agreement that ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe. This war of religion had torn Europe apart and made political reorganization desirable. Thus, the treaty signed by the Western European powers represented a rejection of a hierarchical system in which they were subject to the pope and the Holy Roman emperor. It established, instead, a system of territorial nation-states. The new states were capable of exercising supreme authority within their territories and acting (theoretically) as equal actors in the international realm.

The system of mutual recognition of sovereign states forms the basis for modern international relations. This institution, however, depends heavily on recognition, de facto control, and legitimacy. For a system of sovereign states to endure, each state must accept the others as legitimate political and territorial entities with their own identities, power, and interests.

Sovereignty can therefore be very controversial; breakaway nations or states must be acknowledged by other entities before they can claim sovereign authority or participate (legally) in international relations. To gain acknowledgment—which can be quite difficult—states must be able to exert domestic sovereign control. Merely claiming to rule without the power, resources, or political will to substantiate the claim is insufficient. Would-be sovereign states generally must also demonstrate that they rule legitimately.

As it developed, sovereignty was understood as existing on two separate levels—internal and external. Internal sovereignty means that a state has certain spatial and political characteristics. A sovereign state is a territorial entity with clearly delineated borders. The state has ultimate authority within its borders over people, material resources, and domestic affairs, and is not subject to a higher power. Importantly, this authority is regarded as legitimate.

External sovereignty has intertwining political, territorial, and legal characteristics. The sovereign state is independent of all external authority and represents an autonomous unit; it has a political identity. In principle, it is free from the interference of other states in the conduct of its own domestic and international affairs; and it is thus responsible for its own security as well.

It is understood, therefore, that each state has a right and responsibility to protect and defend the integrity of its borders. As such, a sovereign state is seen as having a legitimate right to use force to resist direct invasion or indirect attempts at control. Sovereign states are therefore legitimate actors in international politics, with the power to formulate foreign policy, conclude treaties and trade agreements, form alliances, and wage war.

Sovereignty also has legal implications. For all states, sovereignty represents standing in international law. States may, rightfully, enter contracts, sue one another and be sued in international courts, conduct diplomatic negotiations, and so forth. They may also [Page 663]claim jurisdiction in international disputes. In the special case of failed states, the principle of sovereignty can be a safeguard against total disintegration. While a functioning government may not exist, previous recognition of sovereignty is generally a guarantee that a state will continue to survive, in a de jure sense, as a sovereign nation. The institution of sovereignty thus normalizes relations between states. In its political and legal manifestations, it provides an organizing principle for the contemporary international system.

...