Month: January 2023

There have emerged certain issues which are, by their very nature, of global concerns. These concerns, on the one hand, require global effort and to that extent compromise on external sovereignty and, on the other, challenge the concept of territorial or geographical impermeability of the state boundary. To list some of them, they include issues… Continue reading Global Concerns and Sovereignty

The nation-state has never acted in vacuum and the very fact of interaction amongst them could lead to some form of integration or consolidation or association, transcending the logic of national boundary. Broadly, three forms of association or supra-national integration could be observed: politico-military associations in the form of military blocs, economic associations in the… Continue reading Supra-national and Para-statal Organizations and Sovereignty

Imperialism and colonialism implied relationship of dominance on and subjugation of the acquired state/territory. And as such, the sovereignty of the State conquered did not exist independent of the colonial rule. It has been argued that imperialism and colonialism, now, has been substituted by a new phenomenon called ‘neo-colonialism’. Kwame Nkrumah in his book, Neo-colonialism: The… Continue reading Neo-colonialism

The preceding approaches and criticism of the traditional concept of legal supremacy of the State present theoretical perspectives against the centralized and organized authority of the State understood as sovereignty. In the following discussions, our aim is to present those factors and challenges that are the result of interactive processes and not theoretical but processual.… Continue reading Contemporary Challenges to Sovereignty

Central to the Marxist understanding of society is the differentiation between infrastructure and superstructure. The Marxian theory gives primacy to the economic structure of society, which consists of forces and relation of production. Forces of production imply the capacity of society to produce and may include organization of human labour, scientific and technical knowledge, technological equipments and forces, etc.… Continue reading Marxist Critique of State Sovereignty

Views and arguments put forward by some of the writers like Norman Angell and Graham Wallas have been grouped as emerging from ‘distrust of the power of the overdeveloped state’. Emergence of various groups and voluntary associations for economic and ethical purposes to which many of individual’s need could be met like trade unions, clubs,… Continue reading Modern Individualism

Now we may turn to a theory that stands for a categorical rejection of the State as an ‘unnecessary evil’ and advocates liberation of the individual from any form of authority. Anarchism, as a political philosophy, not only rejects state sovereignty but denounces any form of authority—yoke of private property, authority of religion and yoke… Continue reading Anarchism

As mentioned above, from pluralism to Guild Socialism, the degree of opposition to the State and its sovereignty increases. Syndicalism presents even a higher degree of rejection of the concept of State and its sovereignty. Syndicalism is based on the idea that Trade Union organizations as representatives of the interests of the workers should take… Continue reading Syndicalism

During medieval Europe, Guild system has emerged as a part of the diffused power structure. Guild refers to ‘association of merchants and craftspeople in medieval Europe, formed to give help and advice to its members and to make regulations and set standards for a particular trade.’108 Each member of an autonomous Guild owned the instruments with… Continue reading Guild Socialism

After a rather lengthy discussion on the pluralists’ criticism of sovereignty, we may now turn to some other trends or approaches, which besides being critical to the state and sovereignty also, at times, reject the necessity of state and sovereignty. These criticisms may involve: (i) pluralistic arguments based on groups like professional and economic associations… Continue reading Other Critiques of Sovereignty