SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE III

COURSE: BA LLB SEMESTER III

TEACHER: MS. DEEPIKA GAHATRAJ
MODULE: MODULE II, ACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Topic:
Role of Sovereign States in International Relations

ROLE OF SOVEREIGN STATES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The world community is organized into over 185 sovereign states. The organization of
humankind into sovereign states is now called the state system. Palmer and Perkins
define .what is variously described as Western State System, the nation-state system or
(sovereign) state system as: "It is the pattern of political life in which people are separately
organized into sovereign states that must manage to get along together." Sovereignty and a
definite territory are two of the essential attributes of a state. Of course, there should always
be, as Garner said, a community of persons, having an organized government. Each state
acquires coercive power to ensure compliance. The state system has evolved during the last
three and a half centuries. It is the dominant pattern today. International Relations, infact,
are relations and interactions among the states who constitute the state-system.
The state is central to the study of international relations and likely to remain so into the
foreseeable future. State policy is the most common object of analysis. States decide to go
to war. They erect trade barriers. They choose whether and at what level to establish
environmental standards. States enter international agreements, or not, and choose whether
to abide by their provisions. Even scholars who give prominence to non-state actors are
typically concerned with understanding or changing state practice (for example, Keck and
Sikkink 1998). International relations as a discipline is chiefly concerned with what states
do and, in turn, how their actions affect other states.
Similarly, states are a common unit of analysis in theories of international relations. Many
analysts focus on states and their interactions to explain observed patterns of world politics.
The state is fundamental to neorealism (Waltz 1979) and neoliberal institutionalism
(Keohane 1984). It is also key in many constructivist and English school theories (Bull
1977, Reus-Smit 1999, Wendt 1999). Even critical, post- modern, or feminist theories,
which have arisen in opposition to existing forms of social power, often focus on
problematizing states and state practice.
Both as objects and units of analysis, international relations is largely about states and their
interactions.
Features of the State System

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Certain features of the state system are essential conditions, without which the state system
cannot exist. These features have been described by Palmer and Perkins as corollaries. They
are the concepts of nationalism, sovereignty and power. Nationalism is that psychological or
spiritual quality which unites the people of a state and " gives them the will to champion
what they regard as their national interest." Sovereignty is the concept of unlimited powers.
A group of people who are territorially organized are called sovereign when they possess
both internal and external freedom to do what they wish to do. National power is the might
of a state which enables the state to get things done as it would like them to be done. Power
is a complex of many tangible and intangible elements.
In every modern state, such as India, Britain, Russia, the United States, Pakistan or Egypt,
there live a community of numerous persons who possess a government which is generally
obeyed by the people and which does not obey any external authority. Such a state is
situated within a definite territory.
Sovereignty, in simple terms, means the supreme power of the state both internally and
externally. It is the attribute of sovereignty which distinguishes the state from other
associations or organisations.
One of the earliest definitions of sovereignty was given by the French philosopher Jean
Bodin (1530-1596),who defined it as "supreme power over citizens and subjects,
unrestrained by law." However, Bodin's main object was to strengthen the position of the
French Monarch who was then facing civil war and chaos.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), elaborated on the concept of sovereignty, shifting the
emphasis from the person of the king to the abstraction called government or state. Hobbes
equated the sovereign with the state and government.
A useful distinction is made between internal and external sovereignty. Internal sovereignty
concerns the supreme and lawful authority of the state over its citizens. External
sovereignty, on the other hand, refers to the recognition by all states, of the independence,
territorial integrity and inviolability of each state, as represented by its government. Hugo
Grotius, (1583 -1645),the Dutch jurist defined sovereignty as "that power whose acts are not
subject to the control of another." For him, sovereignty was manifested when a state, in
dealing with its internal affairs, remained free from the control of other states. Thus defined,
sovereignty has become the cornerstone of the modern international system. It is this
external sovereignty that we are concerned with here.
This concept of sovereignty was for the first time recognised and institutionalized in the
Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. It provided that : (i) only sovereign states could engage in
international relations; (ii) for the purpose of recognizing a state as an actor in international
relations, it must have a geographical territory with a definite population, land and effective
military power to fulfil international obligations; and (iii) all sovereign states are equal in

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international law and international relations.

Decline of modern State System

In the opinion of CAW Manning, the western state system determined at the Treaty of
Westphalia still continues to be the same. Even today the modern states are associated with
3 characteristics. But his view is not completely correct because modern state system has
completely changed. The concept of sovereignty has changed a lot. Sovereignty does not
exist in its ancient form of royal absolutism. Scientific and technological advancement has
completely changed the impermeability and territoriality of the states. Modern sophisticated
weapons has completely changed the warfare. Ideology began to play an important role in
International Politics. After the Second World War many states made alliances with
powerful states. Super-national Institutions like NATO, SEATO, CENTO etc. are the result
of this. As a result International Politics is not an inter action between two or more groups of
sovereign states. Hence we can say that there is a decline of the nation state system. That is
why the term ‘International System’ is used in place of national system.

REFERNCES:
- Lake David A., The State and International Relations
- Huntington Samuel P. ( 1973), Transnational Organizations in World Politics, World
Politics, Vol. 25, No. 3, p. 333-368
- https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/19401
- https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/219772/7/07_chapter%201.pdf
- https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/148918/9/09_chapter%202.pdf