Sovereignty in the International Politics

Jean Bodin defined sovereignty as unlimited power over citizens and subjects, unrestrained by law. This power, he instead, is by its nature absolute, unqualified, perpetual, and indivisible and reside not in the whole state but in the body of the citizenry in a democracy, in the estate of the nobility in an aristocracy, and  in the person of the king in a monarchy. Rulers rule by divine right but are subject to the laws of God, of nature, and of nations and also to constitutionalism. These limitations upon supreme power, however, are ethical rather than legal or political (quoted by Schuman 1969).

Johannes Althusius, defined sovereignty as the highest and most general power of administering the affairs which generally concern the safety and welfare of the soul and body of the members of the state. Grotius defined sovereignty as the power whose acts are not subject to the control of another, so that they may be made void by the act any other human will (quoted by Schuman 1969).


K.J. Holsti (2004) argued, sovereignty can divide the sovereignty concept into two components: those rules and norms that constitute states (defining the players of the game), and those that regulate how states relate to each other (rules of the game). Sovereignty is a foundational institution of international relations because it is the critical component of the birth, maintenance, and  death of states. The external aspect of sovereignty is that the state has constitutional independence. It is not legally subject to any external authority. in waltz's terms, the state decides for itself how it will cope with its internal and external problems, including whether or not to seek assistance from others... State develop their own strategies, chart their own courses, make their own decisions about how to meet whatever needs they experience and whatever desire they develop. If a state declares this as a right, it implies that it must recognize as legally equal those who claim similar rights. I cannot claim a right to exist as a sovereign person unless I am willing to concede the some right to my neighbors and associates. Sovereignty defines the essential characteristics of the relations between the actors, namely that no actor has a right to command others, and that none has the obligation to obey. In a technical sense, we call this anarchy ( no government). It means that all agreements and rules between states have to be based on consent.