Three political trends SOVEREIGNTY GLOBALIZATION REGIONALIZATION

The Changing Nature of Sovereignty

What is it? It is the set of rules that govern our lives because we are all citizens of some place. It is the endpoint of law. No body above the sovereign state has any rights over you. It defines the players in relations across the globe: international Diplomacy, Treaties, etc.

Symbols of Sovereignty

Where did it come from? Originally the term sovereignty referred to the sovereign, or ruler who was the head of the “state” so it referred to a person. X Indeed, through most of history the ruler was the law, and the US was one of the first states to set that aside firmly

Some Key Events in Creating “modern” Sovereignty The rise of the “nation state” challenging the old Empires. The US was never a nation state; France is, and that led to a lot of historical conflicts within their revolution, leading eventually to its failure. The revolutions of 1848 generally failed, but were the “shape of things to come” Created the need for institutions “above the state” to counter (a) national rivalries, (b) national versus global interests. So, we got the United Nations and the European Union. The main challenge for our age is globalization Finished off the old multi-national empires like Austria-Hungary. Great outburst of “nation states” on the principles of Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points. Introduced the role of the state “above” the individual—fascism did the same thing. The Treaty of Westphalia, 1648 The American Revolution: 1776 The French Revolution, 1789 The Revolutions of 1848 World War 1, 1914-1918 The Russian Revolution of 1917 World War 2, 1939-1945 The formation of the EU 1957 The Origin of the Modern Secular State The origins of the Liberal Democratic State (“We The People”) Failed experiment in new type of state, but too many conflicting philosophies—a thinker’s revolution, not a practical man’s revolution.

Sovereignty is not an Absolute The version of sovereignty we have today was not always there. Before that states came and went with marriages, wars etc Then in 1648, as the nation state was beginning to emerge, a treaty: The Treaty of Westphalia, was signed establishing the “rules” for the new, secular states. What were these rules?