What is sovereignty?

The big idea: Sovereignty is a state's supreme authority over its own land and people — the top power, with no higher authority above it. It is what makes a state a state.

Inside a country, the government is the highest authority — no one above it can overrule it. Between countries, no state is legally the boss of another. That is sovereignty.

• Internal sovereignty — the state is the top authority inside its borders: it makes and enforces the laws.
• External sovereignty — the state is independent of outside control: no other state can legally command it.

The Westphalian idea: This modern idea of sovereignty is often called Westphalian sovereignty, after peace treaties signed in 1648. Its core rule: states do not interfere in each other's internal affairs — non-intervention.

How does sovereignty work in practice? A clear sign is the way states use it to keep others out of their internal affairs.

Case study — 'internal affairs': When one country criticises how another treats its own people, the criticised state often replies that this is an 'internal affair' — its own business, protected by sovereignty. States regularly reject outside interference by appealing to their sovereign right to run their own country.

This shows sovereignty in action: internal (the state alone rules inside its borders) and external (it answers to no outside power). The non-intervention norm is meant to protect exactly this.

The key point: Sovereignty is the foundation of the whole international system: it makes states equal and independent in law, each supreme at home. That is why states guard it so fiercely — and why challenges to it are so controversial.

So is sovereignty absolute — total and untouchable? This is a big debate (you will meet the challenges in detail soon).

Link it up: Always split sovereignty into internal (rule at home) and external (independence). In an answer, note that in theory it is supreme, but in practice it is challenged by globalization, law and human rights.

How sovereignty comes up in Paper 1: A Paper 1 source might turn on whether a state controls its own affairs. That is sovereignty — a state's supreme authority over its own land and people.

Easy marks to lose: 1. Giving only one side. Cover both internal and external sovereignty.



2. Saying it's totally absolute. In practice it is challenged.



3. No real example. Use the 'internal affairs' argument or non-intervention.



4. Confusing sovereignty with power. A weak state still has sovereignty.