The big idea: Internal sovereignty is a state's supreme authority inside its own borders — the power to make and enforce the law, and to be the only body that can legitimately use force. It is sovereignty looking inward.
Sovereignty has two sides. The internal side is about control at home: does the government actually rule its whole territory, make the laws, and keep order?
- Making the law — the state is the highest law-making authority at home.
- Enforcing the law — police and courts uphold it across the territory.
- The monopoly on force — the state alone may legitimately use force (Max Weber's definition of a state).
Authority over the whole territory: Internal sovereignty means the government's writ runs everywhere in the country. A state that cannot control parts of its own land — where armed groups rule instead — has weak internal sovereignty.
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Internal sovereignty is clearest when it breaks down. A fragile state shows what happens when a government cannot rule its own territory.
Case study — a fragile state (Somalia): For years, Somalia's government could not control large parts of the country. Armed groups ran their own areas, and the state could not enforce its laws or its monopoly on force across the territory. Its internal sovereignty was very weak.
On paper Somalia was still a sovereign state (it had a seat at the UN). But in reality its government did not fully rule at home — showing the gap between legal sovereignty and effective internal control.
The key point: Internal sovereignty is about real control at home, not just a legal claim. A state can be recognised abroad yet lack internal sovereignty if armed groups, not the government, rule parts of its territory.
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So what can weaken a state's internal sovereignty? And how much does it matter globally?
Link it up: Internal sovereignty is control at home; external sovereignty is independence abroad. In an answer, use a fragile state to show a government keeping its legal sovereignty while losing effective internal control.
How internal sovereignty comes up in Paper 1: A Paper 1 source might show a government's grip inside its borders. That is internal sovereignty — real control over your own territory and people.
With reference to a source and one example you have studied, explain how a state can lose its internal sovereignty.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Easy marks to lose: 1. Confusing internal with external sovereignty. Internal = rule at home.
2. Forgetting the legal/effective gap. A state can keep legal sovereignty while losing control.
3. No real example. Use a fragile state like Somalia.
4. Missing the 'monopoly on force'. That is central to internal sovereignty.