![]() ![]() The idea of a golden age of autonomous sovereign state actors is a widespread illusion and feeds the misconception that sovereignty is being eroded. Similarly, the word model ascribed to the term sovereign state is a telling hint of the inaccuracy of the description assigned to entities regarded as states. What is typically known as the Westphalian sovereign state model then, comprising the principles of autonomy, territory, mutual recognition and control has little in common with events surrounding the Peace of Westphalia and as John Agnew has noted ‘sovereignty in anything like its modern form is a relatively recent ’ (1994). The Western state system enclosed weaker indigenous empires starting in the Americas and culminating in Africa in the nineteenth century before transferring sovereignty over to their previous colonial dependencies (Jackson 2007, 304). The relationship connecting the notion of sovereignty to the modern state system has undoubtedly been one of mutual exclusivity and one that dates back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As Robert Jackson has observed, ‘the sovereign state system and globalisation emerged and evolved together’ (Jackson 2007, 303). Indeed over the past few centuries more people have found themselves living in a world organised territorially in a system of sovereign states (Jackson 2007, 303). Part of this review of sovereignty has dealt with the position of the state as its highest social realisation (Onuf 1991, 425-426). Debates over the prospects for modernity, the concept of sovereignty and its normative implications have come under mounting scrutiny. The concept of sovereignty has received somewhat of a surge of attention in recent years. Finally there will be a brief discussion into the moral arguments mentioned in the literature that emerged in the years following the Septemattacks, focusing on the future of state sovereignty in international law. ![]() Crucially it has exposed the necessary paradox between the call for intervention by the international community and the branding of challenges to territorial boundaries as terrorism. The impact contingent sovereignty has had on territorial integrity has been two-fold. ![]() The case of post 2001 Afghanistan will be drawn upon as an example of a so-called ‘weak’ state, where the relationship between sovereignty and territory is exposed. A background investigation into the concept of territory will build the argument that the idea of sovereignty as the cornerstone of international law in global politics may not be as absolute as previously imagined. This section will offer an overview of the arguments that the US has promoted in National Security Strategy documents, that states have a responsibility to maintain effective political control within their territories, or find that its sovereignty is more likely to be contingent. The following, drawing primarily upon the work of Stuart Elden will provide an analysis into the concepts of state sovereignty and territorial integrity before discussing the notion of ‘contingent sovereignty’. A number of states have been seen as potential ‘breeding ground’ for lawlessness such as Somalia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq (Elden 2009, 109). The legal principle of territorial integrity then, is of fundamental importance when looking at the context of the ‘war on terror’. The relationship between territory and sovereignty has been seen to challenge not only the state itself however, but also regional and global security throughout history. What is known as the sovereign state model has established itself as the cornerstone of the international system. The concept of territory is traditionally understood to be a bounded space under the control of people, and in this context usually a state (Elden 2005). Since the end of World War II the international political system has been organised around the notion of equal sovereignty of states, internal competence for domestic jurisdiction, and preservation of existing boundaries, and yet that these ideals have been violated frequently is incontestable (Elden 2006, 11). Click here for all contributions and the contact details of this contributor Article ![]()
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