Is the Age of Sovereignty Over

In order to fully examine the extent of any demise in state sovereignty, we need first to set definitions of key terms. Andrew Heywood, in his book “Key Concepts in Politics” offers the following as an outline of sovereignty: “The principle of absolute and unlimited power” (Heywood: 37). The context of this remark is that the state and its institutions hold legitimate authority over all organisations and individuals within the state territory. A core implication is …

…territories. It is now that we see a less violent strain of international dominance, where states merge into one another, where national identities fade and are coalesced. There are many reasons for this, extended world peace, increases in trade, all detailed above. Sovereignty seems to be in decline, and whilst this move towards a faceless super state in our “global village” may not appeal to us, it appears to be the way of the future.