tates are sovereign when they exercise supreme control over
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Supreme Control what happens inside their borders.
overeignty is defined as a state's ability to rule itself. States are
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sovereign when they have full control and authority over what
happens inside their borders. Sovereignty is an essential principle
in global politics.
What is sovereignty?
tates should respect the sovereignty of other states, as well as
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maintain and defend their own sovereignty. International
organizations, such as the United Nations, base their rules on
respect for state sovereignty.
tates govern themselves
S hey can decide and enforce their own laws, collect taxes,
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independently, having full and spend the money raised on their own priorities and
Internal sovereignty responsibility for, and power over needs, as well as decide their own trade policies and
what happens within their borders. agreements with other countries.
state with sovereignty has complete control over its own
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government and it has external sovereignty when it allows
other states control over what happens within their borders.
tates generally respect each other's borders and
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boundaries by not interfering or intervening in what
ow states interact externally with
H goes on within the borders of those states.
External sovereignty others and with international
organizations. tates may keep representations on other
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states' internal actions through international
organisations or intergovernmental bodies
such as the UN.
state's sovereignty is dependent on other states recognizing the state as a state. Different
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groups such as Islamic State may call themselves as state, but if no other states or international
organizations recognize them as one, they cannot be considered a sovereign state.
State sovereignty I nternational legitimacy is essential in order for a state to be considered
and legitimacy an independent sovereign country.
egitimacy is commonly defined in political science and sociology as the belief that a
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rule, institution, or leader has the right to govern.
I dentifying whether people live in sovereign state may suffer an insurgency, such
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a permanent place, or whether the as Iraq and Syria, leading to refugees fleeing the
a permanent population
population is less fixed, such as country. In this sense the population is no longer
refugees. permanent, but still a sovereign state.
I dentifying territorial borders through
any borders are disputed between nation
M on-state groups are
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maps; decisions of the International Court of
states. For example, between Israel and the increasingly taking
a defined territory and borders Justice and international law which agree
Palestinian Territories or in the Kashmir control of territory
he Montevideo Convention (1933) outlined
T state borders, or say when this borders are
region between India and Pakistan. from nation states.
different features or aspects that a state in dispute.
should have in order to be considered a
sovereign nation: I dentifying whether a government ragile states, such as Somalia and the Democratic
F
exists and whether it has full Republic of Congo, do not have effective governments that
effective government
authority and control over the have authority across the whole of the country. However,
state's territory. they are still recognized sovereign states.
aking diplomatic relations between states
T he European Union has its own High Representative
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t he capacity and legitimacy to enter into through international summits, membership of for Foreign Affairs and its own overseas aid budget,
Montevideo Convention (1933) relations with other states international organizations, or bilateral and which allows it to have an increasingly significant and
multilateral partnerships. independent voice on the world stage.
or example, the European Union has a single currency, flag, a parliament and a central bank. It also has a defined external border and the internal borders between its member
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states are large irrelevant. It has a foreign policy and is increasingly antering into relations with other states through its High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Even though the EU
Sovereignty is not an independent single nation state, it has many of the identifying features of independent states.
he Montevideo Convention is used to determine whether a
T he United Nations is the key international body which agrees
T I t is possible to gain independent statehood,
nation is a sovereign state, however there are many challenges the legitimacy of state borders and makes rulings on borders that usually by holding a referendum, and to become
to this method because some non-state groups conform to some are contested. Being recognized as a state of the United Nations is recognized by the UN. However, there are many
features of statehood. the ultimate confirmation of independent statehood. contested states and borders around the world.
I n 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from the Republic of Serbia. There was not a referendum to ask the Kosovan
population directly whether they wanted Kosovo to be an independent state, and yet the United States and other countries
Kosovo
supported its decision to become independent. Even though this independence happened legally, the UN has not declared
Kosovo a full independent member state of the UN.
I n 2014, the Russian Federation annexed the region of Crimea in Ukraine. A referendum was held, but the UN
Claims of and Disputes declared the referendum illegitimate, due to the presence of Russian troops. Russia justified its actions using the
Crimea/Ukraine
over Sovereignty example of Kosovo's independence, and even when the SC attempted to pass a resolution that declared the
referendum illegitimate, Russia vetoed this.
hina said that it does not recognize the authority of the ICJ and will not comply with its decisions of
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expanding its territorial waters in the South China Sea. The United States Navy sent warships to carry out
South China Sea
regular "freedom of navigation" patrols through waters that China claims as its own, but that the United States
considers to be international waters.
tates are affected by issues that
S limate change, global terrorism and
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Borders are decreasing in significance
cross borders. migration.
ultinational corporations have a lot of
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conomic globalization is reducing the
E tates are reducing barriers to
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power and can force states to change their
economic importance of states trade and to join trade agreements
economic policies in return for investment.
State sovereignty becoming I GOs are becoming more numerous and he European Union has supranational powers and can
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less Significant more powerful make laws and enforce them on its member states.
xternal intervention by states acting unilaterally or through IGOs has been
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I nternational conventions no longer regard
used against Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Pakistan (2011), Libya (2011) and
state sovereignty as absolute
Ukraine (2014).
on-state actors (terrorist groups) are
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arge parts of Syria and Iraq came under
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frequently challenging state sovereignty and
the control of Islamic State (2015).
attempting to define new borders
tates still decide their own specific economic
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Borders still define independent states
and political policies, within their borders.
conomic policy (import and export tax,
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ajor economic crises require action by
M he financial crisis of 2008 was resolved by nation states
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trade partnerships) is still decided by nation
nation states. and IGOs (G20, G8, International Monetary Fund).
states
tates choose to join IGOs and are key
S here is no world governing body with the
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State sovereignty still Significant contributors to these. power to act above the nation-state level.
he majority of borders are respected by
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tates can still abuse human rights or break
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nation states. Violations by other nation Intervention in Libya (2011).
international law with impunity
states have decreased and are very rare.
hile it is true that non-state actors are challenging state sovereignty,
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this is not widespread, there remains broad international consensus
about what makes a state legitimate in international law.
tates are still the most important actor in
S tate sovereignty should be protected and the most
S imits the use of force by other states to
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Realist global politics, able to act independently and significant actors in global politics are defined by bring what happens in another state under,
protect their borders. states within sovereign state boundaries. say a dictatorship, under control.
Theories
tates still exist but cooperate with each
S tates maximize their security and
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Liberal other on both economic and political prosperity by pooling, rather than
matters. defending, their sovereignty.