Sovereignty

2. TERRITORIAL WATERS Article 2(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)48 provides that, “[t]he sovereignty of a coastal State ex-tends, beyond its land territorial and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelagic State, its archipelagic waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea”. This maritime zone extends up to 12 nautical miles (Article 3, UNCLOS). The only major exception to this sovereign power of the state is the right of…

Without the efficacious presence of an absolute monarchy only chaos, war and hardships could arise. Multiple nations divided and in misery, different opinions everywhere one went and no definite resolution, some had no intention of following the law, all these conflicts sum up to the state of Europe before the emergence of absolute monarchy. When the ideal government finally surfaced in the 1600s and 1700s religion, fear and repercussions were elements utilized by a ruler to manage a harmonious…

Both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes were two extraordinary individuals; both lived through the be-heading of the king, the English Civil war, and the aftermath of the 30 years war. Trying to see the world through their eyes would be somewhat impossible, but their works give us glimpses to beginning to see their perspective. Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes) and Two Treatises of Government (John Locke) is works that give models of a competent government. Locke and Hobbes brought forth the concept of the…

In order to understand why Hobbes believes that people cannot live peacefully in the absence of government, one must examine his conception of the laws of nature. He begins in Chapter XIV, stating the first law of nature as simply “to seek peace and follow it” (XIV, 322). He goes on to identify the second law of nature as to “lay down [one’s] right to all things” and to not seek more power over others than one would have others hold over them (XIV, 322). The third law of nature follows from the…

Various schools of international system theorists like Waltz and Wendt agreed that the international system is anarchic, meaning that there is no dominant authority, all states are considered sovereign and in juridical terms equal and non-existent or weak institutions. Yet, they disagree about what the definition of anarchy is, what constitutes anarchy, what about anarchy causes states to act in certain ways and if anarchy can even be overcome in a meaningful way. On the other hand, Kang and…

The state’s role in an individual’s life is a central idea in political philosophy. J.S. Mill questioned the limits to which the state had the right to interfere with the freedom of an individual. He developed a principle, which centered on the concept of harm caused by one individual against another individual. Mill then used his harm principle to argue against the paternalistic nature of the state. He argued the nature of the state and he also argued its potential role as serving the public…

Prompt: Some critics have claimed that Hobbes’s political theory betrays his science (if we are so rational, for example, why is the best government an absolute monarchy?) Is this claim true or false? Or is it true in part and false in part? I. Introduction i. Opening remarks Thomas Hobbes is by far and large considered to be the founding father of modern political philosophy. Any political conflict can be assimilated into elements that have roots in his ideas. He was a part of a ‘new…

Watson attempts to create a historical survey of the states systems that were formed in Europe and then spread to the “civilized” world. This states systems was challenged after World War II by the anti-colonial revolution and the demands of the Third World states for a new international order. Watson tries to move beyond on the mechanistic and sterile concept of international system to the more focused and perhaps more complicated concept of international society. Watson focuses on the global…

Midterm // Philosophy of Human Rights // Conner Hanke The predominant discrepancy between Beitz’ practical approach and Griffen’s naturalist theory is that the practical approach is a structural account and Griffen’s is a substantive account. Beitz’ approach is structural in the sense that the protection and enforcal of human rights is contingent on state governments and the international community as a whole. The contingency of human rights’ existence on state governments is the answer to his…

The concept of old war evolved alongside the creation of the state system, originated from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Even though the development of modern state grew slowly at first, Westphalia has been a turning point in laying the foundation for a Europe of territorial states. The delineation of boundaries helped the dichotomy of internal/external, being the root of classical definition of old war. 1.1 Clausewitz theory Carl von Clausewitz , influenced by the campaigns of Frederick…