Sovereignty is an important concept in International Relations. Before, the concept of sovereignty is formally introduced, it is important to mention that the word ‘state’ and ‘country’ will be interchangeably used in this context.
Sovereignty can be referred to as the independent authority over a territory (country or state). States can be said to be sovereign if there is no authority in the form of an international organization or supranational entity to tell them what to do. Examples in this case are India and Pakistan which became sovereign after 1947 when United Kingdom transferred power to local authorities.
Sovereignty also refers to the territory and also to the allegiance of the people who live in it. Territorial disputes throughout …show more content…
It can be defined as the organization that issues and enforces binding rules for the people within a territory. In the eighteenth century, the world was split in forms of political organizations other than the state such as the city-states, empires and tribes. The state is only a recent political invention. The world today mostly exists in the form of nation-states, since it has become a useful form of political organization. States today have become principal actors in the political drama of the modern age.
However, the term ‘state’ does not simplify the diverse political phenomena that exist in the modern world. States such as New Zealand, India and Canada and Soviet Union under Stalin and Germany under Hitler vary from each other in a striking manner: The political culture and political systems are almost incomparable. Yet, they are all considered to be ‘states’.
Similarly, some forms of government certainly look like states but are far from it. For example, the Russian Federation and the European Union perform many states like function but are not the same as Argentina or Taiwan. The Vatican and Luxembourg are not the same as France and …show more content…
FEATURES OF A STATE
Every state has its own national anthem, a flag, a coat of arms and currency. But, aside from these, there are certain essential features which are necessary for statehood. These symbols are:
• Territory: A state has a geographical area which it considers its own. This area can be as large as India or as small as Slovenia. It may take the shape of a continent or an island. The borders of such a state can be undisputed or constantly challenged. Territory also includes air space and coastal waters. The only condition with respect to territory is that it must be more or less enduring. An iceberg of the size of France cannot be considered a state because of the same reason. With respect to a territory, a state is often loosely called as a country.
• People: A state has a group of people whose common consciousness and identity makes them a collective entity. To qualify as ‘people’, the group of individuals must have a shared experience. The exact parameters of experience-religion, language or history are highly contested. Even then, every state has a number of people who may not have the same ‘experience’ and are therefore called as minorities. To make it simple, every state must have a population. No deserted island can therefore itself be a state but it can be a part of a
Sovereignty can be referred to as the independent authority over a territory (country or state). States can be said to be sovereign if there is no authority in the form of an international organization or supranational entity to tell them what to do. Examples in this case are India and Pakistan which became sovereign after 1947 when United Kingdom transferred power to local authorities.
Sovereignty also refers to the territory and also to the allegiance of the people who live in it. Territorial disputes throughout …show more content…
It can be defined as the organization that issues and enforces binding rules for the people within a territory. In the eighteenth century, the world was split in forms of political organizations other than the state such as the city-states, empires and tribes. The state is only a recent political invention. The world today mostly exists in the form of nation-states, since it has become a useful form of political organization. States today have become principal actors in the political drama of the modern age.
However, the term ‘state’ does not simplify the diverse political phenomena that exist in the modern world. States such as New Zealand, India and Canada and Soviet Union under Stalin and Germany under Hitler vary from each other in a striking manner: The political culture and political systems are almost incomparable. Yet, they are all considered to be ‘states’.
Similarly, some forms of government certainly look like states but are far from it. For example, the Russian Federation and the European Union perform many states like function but are not the same as Argentina or Taiwan. The Vatican and Luxembourg are not the same as France and …show more content…
FEATURES OF A STATE
Every state has its own national anthem, a flag, a coat of arms and currency. But, aside from these, there are certain essential features which are necessary for statehood. These symbols are:
• Territory: A state has a geographical area which it considers its own. This area can be as large as India or as small as Slovenia. It may take the shape of a continent or an island. The borders of such a state can be undisputed or constantly challenged. Territory also includes air space and coastal waters. The only condition with respect to territory is that it must be more or less enduring. An iceberg of the size of France cannot be considered a state because of the same reason. With respect to a territory, a state is often loosely called as a country.
• People: A state has a group of people whose common consciousness and identity makes them a collective entity. To qualify as ‘people’, the group of individuals must have a shared experience. The exact parameters of experience-religion, language or history are highly contested. Even then, every state has a number of people who may not have the same ‘experience’ and are therefore called as minorities. To make it simple, every state must have a population. No deserted island can therefore itself be a state but it can be a part of a