ELEMENTS OF STATE

PEOPLE

- Most obvious essential for a state.

- The nature of a state’s population affects its stability.

- States where the population shares a general political and social consensus, or
agreement about basic beliefs, have the most stable governments.

- Mobility – affects the political organization of a state.

a) In the United States, millions of Americans change residences each year.
b) As a result, political power is slowly changing and being modified.

- The people living in the State are the citizens of the State. They enjoy rights and
freedom as citizens as well as perform several duties towards the State. When
citizens of another State are living in the territory of the State, they are called aliens.
All the persons, citizens as well as aliens, who are living in the territory of the State
are duty bound to obey the state laws and policies. The State exercises supreme
authority over them through its government.

SOVEREIGNTY
- Is the most exclusive element of State. State alone posses sovereignty. Without
sovereignty no state can exit. Some institutions can have the first three elements
(Population, Government, and Territory) but not sovereignty.
- State has the exclusive title and prerogative to exercise supreme power over all its
people and territory. In fact, sovereignty is the basis on which the states regulates all
aspects of the life of the people living in its territory.
- Sovereignty is the ultimate power, authority and/or jurisdiction over a people and a
territory. No other person, group, tribe or state can tell a sovereign entity what to
do with its land and/or people. A sovereign entity can decide and administer its own
laws, can determine the use of its land and can do pretty much as it pleases, free of
external influence (within the limitations of international law).

Dimensions of Sovereignty
1. Internal Sovereignty – the power of the State to order and regulate the activities of
all the people, groups and institutions which are at work within its territory. All these
institutions always act in accordance with the laws of the state. The state can punish them for
every violation of any of its laws.
 2. External Sovereignty – it means complete independence of the state from external
control. It also means the full freedom of the state to participate the activities of the
community of nations. Each states has the sovereign power to formulate and act on the basis of
its independent foreign policy.

Principles of Sovereignty
1. Principle of Auto-Limitation
Sovereignty is the property of the state-force due to which it has the exclusive
capacity of legal self-determination and self-restriction.

2. Imperium
Government authority possessed by the State which is appropriately embraced
in sovereignty.

3. Dominium
 The capacity of the State to own and acquire property.
 It refers to lands held by the government in a proprietary character: can provide
for the exploitation and use of lands and other natural resources.

Manifestations of Sovereignty

 Nominal arid Real Sovereignty

In ancient times many states had monarchies and their rulers were monarchs.
They wielded absolute power and their senates and parliaments were quite powerless.
At that time they exercised real sovereignty. Therefore, they are regarded as real
sovereigns.

 Legal Sovereignty
Legal sovereignty is that authority of the state which has the legal power to issue
final commands. It is the authority of the state to whose directions the law of the State
attributes final legal force. In every independent and ordered state there are some laws
which must be obeyed by the people and there must be a power to issue and enforce
these laws. The power which has the legal authority to issue and enforce these laws’ is
legal sovereignty.
 Political Sovereignty
Political sovereignty rests in that class of people under whose influence the mass
of the people is or the people are. Political sovereignty rests in the electorate, in the
public opinion and in all other influences in the state which mould and shape the public
opinion.
According to Professor R.N. Gilchrist, “Political sovereign manifests itself by
voting, by the press, by speeches, and in many other ways not easy to describe or
define. It is, however, not organised and it can becom6 effective only when organised.
But the organisations of political sovereignty lead to legal sovereignty. The two are
aspects of the one sovereignty of the state”. As a matter of fact, legal and political
sovereignty are the two aspects of the one sovereignty of the state. But at the same
time both the aspects stands poles apart.

 Popular Sovereignty
Popular sovereignty roughly means the power of the masses as contrasted with
the Power of the individual ruler of the class. It implies manhood, suffrage, with each
individual having only one vote and the control of the legislature by the representatives
of the people. In popular sovereignty public is regarded as supreme. In the ancient times
many writers on Political Science used popular sovereignty as a weapon to refute
absolutism of the monarchs.

 Deo Facto and De Jure Sovereignty

A de jure sovereign is the legal sovereign whereas a de factor sovereign is a
sovereign which is actually obeyed.
In the words of Lord Bryce, de facto sovereign “is the person or a body of persons
who can make his or their will prevail whether with the law or against the law; he or
they, is the de facto ruler, the person to whom obedience is actually paid”. Thus, it is
quite clear, that de jure is the legal sovereignty founded on law whereas dc facto is the
actual sovereignty.
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Book Publisher/Author publisher not identified/ Antonio E.B. Nachura
Publication Year 2006

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URL http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/articles/5-different-kinds-of-
sovereignty/256
Website Title Political Science Notes
Article Title 5 Different Kinds of Sovereignty
Date Published August 09, 2014
Date Accessed March 01, 2019

URL http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/essay/sovereignty-meaning-and-
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Website Title Political Science Notes
Article Title Sovereignty: Meaning and Characteristics of Sovereignty
Date Published August 09, 2014
Date Accessed March 01, 2019