Traditional Notions of Sovereignty
What are the main two treaties or conventions that provide the principles of traditional state sovereignty?
The Peace of Westphalia Treaty - 1648
The Montevideo Convention - 1933
What is meant by pooled soverignty?
The process in which states voluntraily give up some independent decision-making when they join IGOs. (Examples - EU, NATO, UN, WTO). States share authority with other states through the IGOs to achieve collective goals.
What is sovereinty?
States authority to govern itself (effectively), control its territory, and be recognised by other states as indepedent.
What is the difference between self-determination and state soveregnty?
Self-dterminantion applies to a group of people ( nations or ethnic groups) - the group has a right to decide their own political status and pursue their economic, social and cultural development (Example - South Sudan, Kosovo or indigenous groups like the Maori people). It can lead to independence (UN Charter & Intrnational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
State sovereignity applies to states (Montevideo Conventions on Statehood-1933) rather than groups.
What do you understand by responsible sovereignty?
If a state abuses its coercive power or fails to protect its citizen from genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes aganist humanity and war crimes then other states or the international community have a moral justification to interevne.
Identify 2 terms that are closely related to sovereignty?
Independence
Self- determination
Statehood
What are the two main principles of sovereignty that were established by The Peace of Westphalia?
States should have unchallenged control over what happens within their territory. Within the state, any other claims made by other actors will always be secondary.
All states are expected to respect the independence of each other and not, in any way, interfere with the internal workings of each other.
What are the three ideas that liberals use to defend their claim that state soverignty is declining in modern global politics?
Increased interdependence and globalisation.
Rise of international norms and human right (R2P)
Growing importance of IGOs (Pooled Sovereignty)
Multiple actors involved in modern global political issues.
Sovereignty is a key concept of the Global Politics course. What are the 3 main thematic topics that relate to Sovereignty?
Rights and justice,
Development,
Peace and conflict.
What do you understand by state's monopoly over violence?
States' supreme control over coercion - military, police, judiciary, prisons etc.
Supreme authority to enforce laws, maintain order, protect property, defend borders etc.
Responsibility to protect requires the state to use power in acoordance with which standards?
Human Rights
International Humanitarian law
Norms on proprtionality, discrimination/distinction, military necessity (jus in bello and jus ad bellum)
Why is the Syrian Civil War a perfect case study for exploring modern notions of sovereignty?
Sovereignity is no longer absolute, states may not have exlusive control over their territory when external actors interevene. Syria's sovereignty was undermined by multiple external actors that intervened to support the oppositing sides - the US, Russia, Turkey, Iran...
Non-state actors - ISIS, Kurdish forces et al exercise power in Syria, challenging the stae's supreme right to use force
Why is the traditional notion of sovereignty below outdated?
"The state chooses how it wants to interact with other states".
We are part of a global community and many of our most concerning issues (GPCs), such as climate change, impact all of us. Its not possible that some states don't contribute to solutions. For instance Brazil's Amazon fires
What's the principle that closely challenges the traditional notion of state below?
"The state has the final say on who can or cannot cross itsborders".
The principle of non-refoulement (1951 Refugee Convention - Article 33).
states must not return a person to a country where they would face persecution, torture, inhuman treatment, serious threats to life or freedom etc.
How does Turkey justify the annexation of a buffer zone between it and Syria? How does this challenge the traditional notions of sovereignty?
Turkey justifies its claim as a measure to protect its citizens from terrorist groups in Syria. To contain Kurdish armed groups (YPG/PKK). Syrai's territorial control os contested - fragmented sovereignty.