State Sovereighty - Essay Example

However, the more powerful territorial states repeatedly violated the national jurisdiction of the weaker ones and were legally free to “make war, violate human rights, neglect the welfare of citizens, and damage the ecology”. (Weiss, 2007, p. xiv) This classical definition of sovereignty eventually came to an end as effected by the two Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. The result of the conference was the foundation of three conventions and three declarations which stipulated the laws that would govern international attitude towards land warfare, sea warfare, and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Sovereignty in the classical sense was challenged by economic globalization and the development of alliances, regional coalitions, and shared currency. It was imposed upon by victors and the emerging community of nations clamoring for a secure and peaceful co-existence. Furthermore, it was realized that respect for human rights were equally important as territorial integrity and that states have a dual responsibility; internal respect for the well being of its people and external respect for the sovereignty of other states.

Bodin first introduced the modern meaning of sovereignty during the sixteenth century. Through him, we are able to identify the modern definition of a sovereign state as a group of people living in a community, organized under a sovereign government which exercises the power of making and enforcing laws within the community, and is not itself subject to any superior government. The modern meaning of sovereignty is anchored on a people’s ability to adopt its own basic law, and to propose and adopt amendments to the basic law by directly deciding on all issues, instead of delegating decisions to national legislatures, and a duty to protect human rights.

According to Daniel Philpott (2001), sovereignty has come closer to enjoying universal explicit assent than any other principle of political organization. (p. 3) The United Nations