Definition of State Soveriegnty

Sovereignty is the principle of “absolute”, “unrestricted” and “supreme” power (Heywood, 2004, p. 153; Heywood, 2007, p. 76) from “unchallengeable legal authority or unquestionable political power” (Heywood, 2007, p. 153; Philip’s Encyclopaedia 2008, 2008, ‘sovereignty’) “above all in society” (Heywood, 2004, p. 76) within a certain territorial boundary (Berridge and James, 2003, p. 222; Bevir, 2009, p. 196). Sovereignty allows a state to “make law and [be] subject to none” (Bodin, 1967, p. 19; Miller, 2004, p. 70), to be free from internal and external coercion (Baylis, Smith et al., 2011, p. 4). Alan James declares that the “state’s legal hand [is] completely free” to control its own destiny if it is sovereign (James, 1986, p. 53). Internally, sovereignty allows the people to govern themselves (Hoffman and Graham, 2009, p. 28) and therefore it allows all those who live within the boundaries to be protected from internal and external aggression (Hoffman and Graham, 2009, p. 13). A sovereign state is de jure, it has the right to compel people to ‘comply to the law’ (Heywood, 2004, p. 91) and it is also de facto, the sovereign state has the “ability to command obedience” (Heywood, 2004, p.91) which shows “force” (power) (Heywood, 2004, p.91). Not all states are both de jure (legal) and de facto (political), however, some have the ability to be one of the two, but it will still be sovereign. Externally, “all states are equal under international law” (United Nations, 1945, Article 2.1) and no state can interfere in other state’s internal affairs (autonomous and self-determining) (Treaty of Westphalia, 1648; United Nations Charter, 1945, Article 2,7; Baylis, Smith et al., 2011, p. 23).

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