Title: Law, Power, and the Sovereign State: The Evolution and Application of the Concept of Sovereignty
Abstract: Law, Power, and the Sovereign State: The Evolution and Application of the Concept of Sovereignty, by Michael R. Fowler and Julie M. Bunck. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. Pp. 200. $13.95 (softcover). RoY E. THOMAN, PH.D.* I. INTRODUCTION Michael R. Fowler and Julie M. Bunck, both members of the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisville, have made a significant contribution by producing an outstanding work on sovereignty, a key concept serving as the foundation for all international relations and international law. They were motivated to write the book, in part, by what they regard as unwarranted attacks on both the concept of sovereignty and the nation-state system. Over a number of years it has become fashionable among some scholars to regard sovereignty as a condition that is, and should be, gradually dying out. According to this view the sovereign nation-state is becoming obsolete as it gives way to various forms of supranational integration. Chapter one of Fowler and Bunck's Law, Power, and the Sovereign State is titled Why Is Sovereignty Important?' Originally, sovereignty denoted the supreme power of a ruling monarch; over time the term evolved to refer generally to the independence of states.2 It comprehends two basic features: a government's supremacy in domestic matters, and a state's freedom from interference in foreign relations. A political community that has reached the status of sovereign statehood is regarded by its fellow nation-states as being capable of accepting and exercising appropriate international rights. Under international law sovereign states are accorded numerous rights, including those of diplomatic immunity, jurisdiction over domestic legal matters, and the capability to recognize states and governments. States also have rights, among others, to sign treaties and other agreements, to declare war and make peace, to protect their nationals in other countries, to join international organizations, and to register ships to travel the high seas. International law also requires that states act responsibly, which obligates states to respect the sovereign rights of other states. It is to be expected that political communities seeking international recognition want to achieve sovereign statehood. In the early 1990s various seccessionist movements pushed for sovereign status, including those in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Eritrea.3 The disintegration of the Soviet Union resulted in a number of new and revived sovereign entities including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. II. DEFINING SOVEREIGNTY The question of what constitutes a sovereign state is addressed in chapter two. Although all sovereign states must, of course, have territory, people, and a government,5 they vary remarkably in geographical expanse and in population. Just a few countries, including Russia, Canada, China, the United States, India, and Brazil, cover much of the earth's land surface. States also differ dramatically in the size of their populations-from China's 1.2 billion6 to Tuvalu's 9000 people residing on a mere ten square miles,7 and the world's smallest microstate, Nauru in the South Pacific, with a population of only 8400 on an eight square-mile patch.8 To make its case for sovereign recognition, a territorial entity must demonstrate its supremacy over all other potential power rivals within the territorial borders.9 The state must also prove true independence from any outside nation.lo A. The Chunk Theory Chapter three considers the chunk and basket theories of sovereignty. The chunk school perceives the concept in deductive, absolutist terms: [S]overeignty is possessed `in full or not at all.'ll Sovereignty is seen as analogous to a monolithic chunk of stone. Every nation-state has one of these stones, and all of the stones are identical. …
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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