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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.