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Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University: Sovereignty
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University: Sovereignty
POLITICAL SCIENCE
FINAL DRAFT
SOVEREIGNTY
Submitted to:
Submitted by:
Shivani Chauhan
Roll no.-127
B.A. LL.B(1st semester)
CHAPTERISATION
(1) Introduction..3
(2) Characteristics of Sovereignty..4
(3) Nature and basis of Sovereignty...6
INTRODUCTION
In the lexicon of political theory, the concept of sovereignty is very much conspicuous by
its nature. Sovereignty is the basic quality of the state. It is the most essential attribute of
the state which differentiates it from all other associations. In the society which is a
cobweb of associations, sovereignty makes the position of the state distinct by entrusting
to it the final law-making power. It is essentially juristic concept implying supreme and
final power. It means that in every independent state there is an ultimate authority from
which there can be no appeal. This authority is supreme both in internal and in external
matters. in case of conflicts between individuals' interest and association's interest, the
state, by virtue of its sovereignty, acts as the referee and the final arbiter. It moderates and
harmonizes the conflicting claims of different individuals, groups and institutions. In the
external sphere the state is subject to no other authority
and is independent of any eternal compulsion or interference. Subjection to the provisions
of any treaty or rules of international law and membership of any international
organization like the League of Nations or the United Nations are considered as autolimitations and are obeyed at the will of the state.
CHARATERISTICS OF SOVEREIGNTY
From the traditional definitions of sovereignty the following characteristics emerge:
1. Absoluteness - The sovereign power is absolute and unlimited. There is no higher
authority which can bind it. Internally it has absolute power over all individuals and
groups within the state. Internal limitations like constitutional law and conventions are
only self imposed. Externally also the state is independent of any compulsion or
interference by other states. Limitations stemming from treaties, international law and
decisions of international organizations are also self-imposed by the state and these
cannot destroy sovereignty as there is no compelling force behind them.
2. Universality or all-comprehensiveness - The sovereign power is supreme over all
individuals, associations and institutions within the state. No one is exempt from its allembracing authority. Of course, the immunity enjoyed by foreign diplomatic personnel is
granted by the state as a matter of international courtesy and can be withdrawn at will.
3. Inalienability - It means that sovereignty cannot be transferred or given up. Alienation
of this essential attribute of the state amounts to the death of a state. Sovereignty is the
very essence of the state's personality. Rousseau who upheld this point of view opined
that power of the state could be transferred, but not its general will or sovereignty.
4. Permanence - Sovereignty is as permanent as the state itself. It is an inseparable
element of the state. A change in the government of the state does not entail a break in the
continuity of the state or in the exercise of its sovereign power. Sovereign power shifts to
the new persons who control the governmental apparatus.
5. Indivisibility - The indivisibility of sovereignty is a logical inference from its
absoluteness. If sovereignty is divided the state as a single political unit is destroyed. The
supreme power of the state can be shared among different organs but sovereignty remains
the attribute of the state as a whole. Gettell writes: "If sovereignty is not absolute, no state
exists; if sovereignty is divided, more than one state exists". Calhoun forcibly argues:
"Sovereignty is an entire thing: to divide it is to destroy it. It is the supreme power in a
state, and we might just as well speak of half a square or half a triangle as of half a
sovereignty".
6. Exclusiveness - It means that the state alone possesses supreme power and its legal
competence to command obedience is unchallengeable. To believe the existence of more
than one sovereign is to deny the very unity and integrity of the state.
7. Imprescriptibility - Sovereign power of the state is not lost by disuse. It is the basic
quality of the state which remains with it so long as the state continues to exist. It does
not cease to exist by non-exercise of the power.'
(which is a class power) along with the state will have no use. To achieve this ultimate
objective the Working class must capture state power (sovereignty) through revolution
and establish its own dictatorship which will pave the way for the withering away of the
state.
Modern elite theorists maintain that in a democratic society power is shared by
competing groups of elites. Power is taken to be diffused rather than centralised in such
societies. Plural elites keep power divided and their competition for the sharing of power
is the best safeguard against monopoly of power by any single group.
Pluralist writers advocate the division of supreme power amongst different groups and
associations. They challenge the monistic concept of state sovereignty as both unreal and
dangerous.
As opposed to the power approach to sovereignty, influential social thinkers like
Rousseau, Green, Laski and MacIver hold that sovereignty is not power. To Rousseau the
basis of sovereignty is general will which represents the real wills of the community. He
writes: "Might does not make right and that duty of obedience is owed only to legitimate
powers". English idealistic philosopher Green declared: "Will, not force, is the basis of
the state". The object of sovereignty is to serve the general interest and to create
conditions conducive to good life. The essence of sovereignty is not naked power but the
will of the people. According to Laski, an exponent of the modern welfare (service) state,
the state "becomes an organisation for enabling the mass of men to realise social good on
the largest possible scale". Being a pluralist MacIver refuses to accept that sovereignty is
the monopoly of the state and maintains that "Power should be relative to function". The
state is an association." It commands only because it serves, it owns only because it
owes". He maintains that the basis of sovereignty is justice, order, and security; not power
or force.
The truth lies somewhere between the two schools of thought. Sovereignty is a blending
of both naked power and people's consent (will) although this consent may be a contrived
one. 'Every state exercises its sovereign power with the help of some material and
ideological apparatuses. While material apparatuses or instruments use physical force to
obtain obedience, ideological instruments make sovereignty effective by creating a sense
of obedience (law-abidingness) in the people and impart legitimacy to the existing socio-
economic and political order. If any individual or group disobeys the commands of the
sovereign and threatens the existing order, the material apparatuses of sovereignty,
namely, the police, military, bureaucracy, courts, prisons and other instruments of
coercion are used. These are used against any external danger to state sovereignty.
However, these are used by the state sparingly and only as a last resort. After all, physical
force is an expensive and transitory instrument to secure people's compliance to the
sovereign's commands.