State Sovereignty as Social Construct


Book Description

State sovereignty is an inherently social construct. The modern state system is not based on some timeless principle of sovereignty, but on the production of a normative conception that links authority, territory, population, and recognition in a unique way, and in a particular place (the state). The unique contribution of this book is to describe and illustrate the practices that have produced various sovereign ideals and resistances to them. The contributors analyze how the components of state sovereignty are socially constructed and combined in specific historical contexts.




Globalization and Sovereignty


Book Description

Sovereignty and the sovereign state are often seen as anachronisms; Globalization and Sovereignty challenges this view. Jean L. Cohen analyzes the new sovereignty regime emergent since the 1990s evidenced by the discourses and practice of human rights, humanitarian intervention, transformative occupation, and the UN targeted sanctions regime that blacklists alleged terrorists. Presenting a systematic theory of sovereignty and its transformation in international law and politics, Cohen argues for the continued importance of sovereign equality. She offers a theory of a dualistic world order comprised of an international society of states, and a global political community in which human rights and global governance institutions affect the law, policies, and political culture of sovereign states. She advocates the constitutionalization of these institutions, within the framework of constitutional pluralism. This book will appeal to students of international political theory and law, political scientists, sociologists, legal historians, and theorists of constitutionalism.




Sovereignty in Post-Sovereign Society


Book Description

Sovereignty marks the boundary between politics and law. Highlighting the legal context of politics and the political context of law, it thus contributes to the internal dynamics of both political and legal systems. This book comprehends the persistence of sovereignty as a political and juridical concept in the post-sovereign social condition. The tension and paradoxical relationship between the semantics and structures of sovereignty and post-sovereignty are addressed by using the conceptual framework of the autopoietic social systems theory. Using a number of contemporary European examples, developments and paradoxes, the author examines topics of immense interest and importance relating to the concept of sovereignty in a globalising world. The study argues that the modern question of sovereignty permanently oscillating between de iure authority and de facto power cannot be discarded by theories of supranational and transnational globalized law and politics. Criticising quasi-theological conceptualizations of political sovereignty and its juridical form, the study reformulates the concept of sovereignty and its persistence as part of the self-referential communication of the systems of positive law and politics. The book will be of considerable interest to academics and researchers in political, legal and social theory and philosophy.




The Sovereignty Wars


Book Description

Now in paperback—with a new preface by the author Americans have long been protective of the country's sovereignty—all the way back to George Washington who, when retiring as president, admonished his successors to avoid “permanent” alliances with foreign powers. Ever since, the nation has faced periodic, often heated, debates about how to maintain that sovereignty, and whether and when it is appropriate to cede some of it in the form of treaties and the alliances about which Washington warned. As the 2016 election made clear, sovereignty is also one of the most frequently invoked, polemical, and misunderstood concepts in politics—particularly American politics. The concept wields symbolic power, implying something sacred and inalienable: the right of the people to control their fate without subordination to outside authorities. Given its emotional pull, however, the concept is easily high-jacked by political opportunists. By playing the sovereignty card, they can curtail more reasoned debates over the merits of proposed international commitments by portraying supporters of global treaties or organizations as enemies of motherhood and apple pie. Such polemics distract Americans from what is really at stake in the sovereignty debate: the ability of the United States to shape its destiny in a global age. The United States cannot successfully manage globalization, much less insulate itself from cross-border threats, on its own. As global integration deepens and cross-border challenges grow, the nation's fate is increasingly tied to that of other countries, whose cooperation will be needed to exploit the shared opportunities and mitigate the common risks of interdependence. The Sovereignty Wars is intended to help today's policymakers think more clearly about what is actually at stake in the sovereignty debate and to provide some criteria for determining when it is appropriate to make bargains over sovereignty—and how to make them.




Global Science and National Sovereignty


Book Description

Global Science and National Sovereignty: Studies in Historical Sociology of Science provides detailed case studies on how sovereignty has been constructed, reaffirmed, and transformed in the twentieth century by the construction of scientific disciplines, knowledge practices, and research objects. Interrogating the relationship of the sovereign power of the nation state to the scientist's expert knowledge as a legitimating – and sometimes challenging – force in contemporary society, this book provides a staggering range of case studies in its exploration of how different types of science have transformed our understanding of national sovereignty in the last century. From biochemical sciences in Russia, to nuclear science in the US and Europe, from economics in South Asia, to climatology in South America, each chapter demonstrates the role that scientists play in the creation of nation-states and international organizations. With an array of experts and scholars, the essays in Global Science and National Sovereignty: Studies in Historical Sociology of Science offer a complete redefinition of the modern concept of sovereignty and an illuminating reassessment of the role of science in political life.




Losing Control?


Book Description

This work looks at the way in which the new global economy works, examining its effect on the power and legitimacy of individual states. It argues that national sovereignty has not eroded, but states have begun to reconfigure, to decide where their resonsi




Co-governed Sovereignty Network


Book Description

This open access book introduces MIN, a novel networking architecture to implement the sovereign equality of all countries in the cyberspace. Combining legal theory and network technology, it first discusses the historical development of sovereignty and expounds the legal basis of cyberspace sovereignty. Then, based on the high-performance blockchain, it describes a new network architecture designed to implement co-governance at the technical level. Explaining network sovereignty and including rich illustrations and tables, the book helps readers new to the field grasp the evolution and necessity of cyberspace sovereignty, gain insights into network trends and develop a preliminary understanding of complex network technologies such as blockchain, security mechanisms and routing strategies. The MIN network implements the our principles of cyberspace adopted by most nations and people: respecting cyber sovereignty; maintaining peace and protection; promoting openness and cooperation; and building good order to provide network system security. There maybe three scales of application scenario for MIN, the big one is for UN of Cyberspace, the middle one is for Smart city, the small one is for enterprise group or organizations as private network, MIN-VPN. We have developed the product of MIN-VPN, you could find its message on the preface if care about the security of your network.




Sovereignty Or Submission


Book Description

The International Criminal Court claims authority over Americans for actions that the United States does not define as “crimes.” In short, the Twenty-First Century is witnessing an epic struggle between the forces of global governance and American constitutional democracy. Transnational progressives and transnational pragmatists in the UN, EU, post-modern states of Europe, NGOs, corporations, prominent foundations, and most importantly, in America’s leading elites, seek to establish “global governance.” Further, they understand that in order to achieve global governance, American sovereignty must be subordinated to the “global rule of law.” The U.S. Constitution must incorporate “evolving norms of international law.”Sovereignty or Submissionexamines this process with crystalline clarity and alerts the American public to the danger ahead. Global governance seeks legitimacy not in democracy, but in a partisan interpretation of human rights. It would shift power from democracies (U.S., Israel, India) to post-democratic authorities, such as the judges of the International Criminal Court. Global governance is a new political form (a rival to liberal democracy), that is already a significant actor on the world stage. America faces serious challenges from radical Islam and a rising China. Simultaneously, it faces a third challenge (global governance) that is internal to the democratic world; is non-violent; but nonetheless threatens constitutional self-government. Although it seems unlikely that the utopian goals of the globalists could be fully achieved, if they continue to obtain a wide spread influence over mainstream elite opinion, they could disable and disarm democratic self-government at home and abroad. The result would be the slow suicide of American liberal democracy. Whichever side prevails, the existential conflict'global governance versus American sovereignty (and democratic self-government in general) will be at the heart of world politics as far as the eye can see.







International Law and New Wars


Book Description

Examines the difficulties in applying international law to recent armed conflicts known as 'new wars'.