The Concept of Sovereignty: Evolution and Significance

Running head: SOVEREIGNTY
SOVEREIGNTY
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1SOVEREIGNTY
The concept of sovereignty has become one of the most debatable topics in the 21st
century as globalization continues to rise along with other changes in the human society (Baylis,
Smith & Owens, 2017). The reason it has become popular is for nations today are submitting
themselves to international agreements and international treaties that are not always in their best
interest. The paper aims to discuss the concept of sovereignty and its evolution over time, the
way it shifted from being a purely European concept to a universal concept. The paper will also
discuss the tools that have been used in making the change and the reason it is relied upon today.
The term sovereignty is used in order to refer to the independence as well as the
autonomy of modern nation states. It is a representation of independent state unlike the early eras
when Kings ruled the countries in historic times and by colonial powers during the 18th and 19th
century (Chinkin & Kaldor, 2017). By sovereign, a country represents absolute independence,
freedom and autonomy that nation states have in regard to making decisions taken by the country
for aspects that are in concern of their citizenry. The concept of sovereignty involves the absolute
right of nation states over their internal affairs.
In 16th century, the new concept of sovereignty was used by France Jean Bodin in order
to bolster the power of the king over the rebellious feudal lords. It was used by him to facilitate
the transition from feudalism to nationalism (Lewis, 2017). The most contributing philosopher in
the concept of sovereignty was the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. According to him, in
every true state there must be some persons or body of person who would be responsible for
declaring law. In order to divide this authority, he believed that it was essential to destroy the
unity of the state. Today sovereignty is accepted across the globe for it is a significant part of a
country state’s government (Sim & Walker, 2017). The reason sovereignty has shifted from
being a European concept to a universal concept is due to its impact and use for securing the