Synopses & Reviews
This book provides a complete documentary history of the idea of sovereignty from Classical theory to the global age. Its "diachronic" perspective illuminates the characteristic feature of modern sovereignty: the anthropomorphism of nations. The "synchronic" perspective describes conflicting elements within the history of sovereignty by identifying its encounter with nationalism and constitutionalism.
Synopsis
This book provides a complete documentary history of the idea of sovereignty from classical theory to the global age. By examining documents on sovereignty by major as well as little-known thinkers, which show the interrelationship between political reality and the principle of sovereignty in history, the author challenges conventional understandings of sovereignty. He adopts two methodological standpoints. The 'diachronic' perspective illuminates the characteristic feature of modern sovereignty: the anthropomorphism of nations. The 'synchronic' perspective identifies nationalism and constitutionalism. The author goes on to claim that the Peace of Westphalia does not explain modern national sovereignty. Furthermore, the rise and fall of the constitutional theory of sovereignty reflected domestic as well as international political environments. He concludes that the recent transformation of the principle of sovereignty in the post-Cold War world can be understood in the context of 'new international constitutionalism'.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-219) and index.
About the Author
Hideaki Shinoda is Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University.
Table of Contents
State Sovereignty and Modernity * The Diachronic Perspective * The Synchronic Perspective * Discourses on Sovereignty in England in the Classical Age * Discourses of Constitutional Sovereignty in America * The Emergence of National Sovereignty on the Continent * The Spread of National Sovereignty in Britain * The Spread of National Sovereignty in America * Sovereignty in the League Debate in Britain * Sovereignty in the League Debate in America * Wilson and Lansing * Continental Theories of Sovereignty in the Interwar Period * Discourses on Sovereignty in Interwar Britain * Discourses on Sovereignty in Interwar America * Postwar Constitutional Sovereignty * The Counterattack of Political Realism * From Limited to Formal Sovereignty * The Principle of Sovereign Equality * Discourses on Sovereignty in Socialist States * Discourses on Sovereignty of the Third World * Sovereignty in International Society * Sovereignty in Structures and Regimes * The Demarcation of the Sovereign Sphere