INTRODUCTION

The concept of international relations is broad and complex and at such we

cannot just give one theory to explain it. In international relations, sovereign
states are the key actor's. International relations embrace all interactions
among states, e.g. movement of people, goals, exchange of ideas across
national frontiers. It also includes, focus on trade unions, international trade,
international migration and the development of international values and
ethics. As a field of study, however, international relations still retained the
Nation-state as the most important actor's in global community. And it is for
this reason that one of the most important principle in the conduct of
relations between nation-states is the national interests: that guide their
relations with other nations. They ensure that their stature of a "sovereign
state" is always being maintained or preserved.

DEFINITION OF SOVEREIGNTY
The term sovereignty is said to have derived from the Latin word
"Superanus" which means supreme. As defined by Appadorai(1975:48),
sovereignty is the power of the state to make laws and enforce the laws with
all the coercive power it cares to employ.
Sovereignty to my understanding can be defined as the absolute power of the
state to exercise supreme legal authority over its own affairs within its
territory without any form of external control. A sovereign state therefore
has absolute power to make and enforce laws within its territory without any
external influence. And a person or a body of person's exercising the powers
of state sovereignty is also referred to as sovereign. Sovereignty can also be
referred to the state of making laws and controlling resources without the
coercion of other nations.
The level of sovereignty has grown beyond just the national borders, and
therefore it is now a key factor in the relations between nations in the
international community. In this way, sovereignty empowers a state to
conduct its international relations on equality and the conditions of
agreements by all parties. The principle of sovereignty, assures that between
a specified territory is no external power has the right to exercise illegal
jurisdiction or political authority on another. It has no right to interfere in the
domestic affairs of another state. And also, all States are legally equal
regardless of their size, age, type of government, natural resources they
possess. Sovereignty is regarded as a states Core value in the foreign policy
making process of a nation. And for this core values any nation is very
prepared to protect and defend through any possible means (even to fight).
Because it includes the protection and preservation of a state as cooperate
entity- this is to make sure that the sovereignty of the nation is maintained.

The history of international relations based on sovereign states is often

traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, a stepping stone in the
development of the modern state system. Prior to this the European medieval
organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical
religious order. More than the Peace of Westphalia, the Treaty of Utrecht of
1713 is thought to reflect an emerging norm that sovereigns had no internal
equals within a defined territory and no external superiors as the ultimate
authority within the territory's sovereign borders. The centuries of roughly
1500 to 1789 saw the rise of the independent, sovereign states, the
institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. The French Revolution added
to this the new idea that not princes or an oligarchy, but the citizenry of a
state, defined as the nation, should be defined as sovereign. Such a state in
which the nation is sovereign would thence be termed a nation-state (as
opposed to a monarchy or a religious state). The particular European system
supposing the sovereign equality of states was exported to the Americas,
Africa, and Asia via colonialism and the "standards of civilization". The
contemporary international system was finally established through
decolonization during the Cold War. However, this is somewhat over-
simplified. While the nation-state system is considered "modern", many
states have not incorporated the system, and are termed "pre-modern".
Furthermore, a handful of states have moved beyond insistence on full
sovereignty, and can be considered "post-modern". The
ability of contemporary international relations discourse to explain the
relations of these different types of states is disputed. "Levels of analysis" is
a way of looking at the international system, which includes the individual
level, the domestic state as a unit, the international level of transnational and
intergovernmental affairs, and the global level.

Preceding the concepts of interdependence and dependence, international

relations relies on the idea of sovereignty. Described in Jean Bodin's "Six
Books of the Commonwealth in 1576, the three pivotal points derived from
the book describe sovereignty as being a state, that the sovereign powers
have absolute power over their territories, and that such a power is only
limited by the sovereign's "own obligations towards other sovereigns and
individuals". Such a foundation of sovereignty permits, is indicated by a
sovereign's obligation to other sovereigns, interdependence and dependence
to take place.
Sovereignty in contemporary time
Sovereignty was used to mean final authority. This is no longer so. When
philosophers Jean Bodin and Thomas Hobbes elaborated the notion of
sovereignty in the 16th and 17th centuries, they were concerned with
establishing the legitimacy of a single hierarchy of domestic authority.
Although they both accepted the existence of divine and natural law26, they
believed the word of the sovereign was law. However, in the contemporary
world, sovereignty primarily is linked with the idea that states are
autonomous and independent from each other. Within their own boundaries,
the members of a polity are free to choose their own form of government.
Another point is that no state has the right to intervene in the internal affairs
of another state. Sovereignty is also associated with the idea of control over
trans-border movements. Finally, sovereignty also means that political
authorities can enter into international agreements. States are free to endorse
any contract they find attractive. Any treaty among states is legitimate
provided that it has not been coerced. This is the new strength of
sovereignty.

In conclusion, even though it can be shown that globalization has

reduced certain state powers, it is still within the sovereign power
of a state to decide not to be part of the integrated global life. It is
a choice a nation makes in exercise of its sovereign powers. The
central challenge however is to ensure that globalization becomes a
positive force for the entire worlds people.
Reference
Ramesh B. Karky, Globalization and Less Developed
Countries, in C.C. Nweze (ed) Contemporary Issues on Public
International and Comparative Law: Essays in Honor of Professor
Christian Nwachukwu Okeke , USA, Vandeplas Publishing 2009
p.75