Sovereignty

That relationship of authority which exists between the supreme (sovereign) legitimate power in a state and its inhabitants. The existence of such a relationship as a fact can be explained by invoking the political tradition of a country, into which all inhabitants, wittingly, or unwittingly, are to some extent introduced, and through which their attitudes to political authority are formed.

In modern political science the term 'political culture' is often used to refer, in a less historically self-conscious way, to the fruits of its political tradition. The existence of a strong sovereign is less likely where the political tradition is weak through erosion, discontinuity, or where the political culture does not contain within it the necessary ideals of obedience. Hence the weakness of sovereignties exercised in states of recent emergence, or of heterogeneous, or undeveloped political cultures. Various theories of sovereignty have been put forward to justify the exercise of such power. Amongst them those deriving from the Social Contract and the utilitarian positions are most important in modern discussions of the issue.

In the 19th century when it was felt that the only limitations properly imposed on political power were those which were self-imposed, the assertion of a nation's sovereignty implied freedom from internal influence by other powers. Since the Second World War increasing international interdependence and the growth of the influence of multinational corporations on domestic economies has led to a drastic reduction in the sphere of autonomous sovereignty.

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