Sovereignty
Readings For This Lesson
Complete the sovereignty reading and the excerpt from Richard Haass' book and the associated questions for both located in the lesson content section below.
From Last Lesson
Guiding Question
How is globalization challenging the concept of sovereignty?
Prescribed Content
The evolving nature of state sovereignty
Activating Your Thinking
Who Has Control?
Consider the following institutions and organizations and, in your groups, identify:
Who has control over the institution/organization?
What do they have control over?
The government of Hong Kong
The United Nations
Your house
The South China Morning Post
CDNIS
Changing Sovereignty Peacefully
The South China Sea: A Dispute Over Sovereignty
Who Is Militarizing The South China Sea.pdfGuiding question for the video and article
By watching this video and reading this article, describe the multiple causes of the dispute.
Resolving the Dispute
Explore some of the maps and graphics here and then proceed to the "policy options" section where seven possible options are offered for resolving the dispute.
After gaining an understanding of the situation and reading through the seven options determine, in your groups, you have three tasks:
which of the four policy options is the best option for resolving the crisis? Explain why it is the best option for resolving the crisis. This does not need to be the most likely option (see task 2 below).
which of the four options do you think is the most likely option that will be taken? Why do you think this will be the case?
In the event of a military conflict, the website suggests three possible alternatives to resolving the conflict. Again, which approach do you think is the best way to resolve a military conflict and which do you think is most likely?
Lesson Content
Sovereignty Reading
Guiding Questions
Define sovereignty
How does internal sovereignty differ from external sovereignty?
What makes the declarative theory of statehood different from the constitutive theory of statehood?
What is the difference between a state, a nation and a nation-state?
If you were to place the three theories of the state on the political spectrum (there are many more than these), where would you place them and why there?
How and in what ways is state sovereignty being challenged today? Do you think it is real threat?
Sovereignty from: The World by Richard Haass
Guiding Questions:
What makes a state sovereign? Haass describes several, be sure to capture each of them in your response.
Describe the various challenges to sovereignty/why a country's sovereignty may no longer be respected.
How might and why might states share sovereignty?
Why is self-determination of statehood not a straight-forward process?
Guiding Questions
How does internal sovereignty differ from external sovereignty?
At what point can one country or international global organization violate the sovereignty of another state?
What determines whether a nation can claim sovereignty and become its own state (think carefully about this one)?
How has globalization made sovereignty more complicated?
Guiding Questions
What is the differences between a country and a nation?
What are two different ways of looking at (defining) nationalism?
In what ways can nationalism be a force for good?
Describe how both extreme nationalism and exclusive nationalism can be negative? Provide one current, non-Chinese example for each.
Why do you think negative nationalism and populism are so often linked?
What is the irony of the recent rise in nationalism in the world today?
Guiding Questions
How do each of the challenges noted in the article actually challenge sovereignty?
What are five ways in which states can counter challenges to sovereignty?
Global Politics in Action
Guiding Questions
In what way is some limited sovereignty given up when countries agree to be a part of the UN or WTO?
What are the four freedoms of the EU single market?
Describe the three benefits for countries that are part of the EU.
What are three drawbacks of being involved in the EU?
Exploration Nations Struggling for Statehood
Extension Activities
Why Nationalism Works.pdfWhat are the pros and cons of nationalism
Why isn't it "going away"?
Guiding Questions:
In what ways is the international system of state sovereignty a disadvantage for nations within states?
Checking For Understanding
Please complete this quiz on the content from our work on sovereignty
For Next Lesson
Read and take notes on:
Lamy et al. last paragraph on page 114 up to, but not including, the "conclusion" on page 115.
Legitimacy from the Global Politics text by Murphy and Gleek