Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim (UTP Insights)

To be effective, sovereignty must be secured through force or consent by those living in a territory, and accepted externally by other sovereign states. To be legitimate, the sovereignty claim must have the consent of its people and accord with international human rights. In __Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim__, Peter H. Russell traces the origins of the sovereignty claim to Christian Europe and the attribution of sovereignty to God in the early Middle Ages. Transcending a narrow legal framework, he discusses sovereignty as a political activity including efforts to enshrine sovereignty within international law. Russell does not call for the end of sovereignty but makes readers aware of its limitations. While sovereignty can do good work for small and vulnerable peoples, it cannot be the basis of a global order capable of responding to the major existential threats that threaten our species and our planet. A brisk, often humorous, and personal exploration, __Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim__ will interest specialists and general readers alike, offering fresh insights on the limitations of sovereignty and the potential of federalism to alleviate these limitations now and in the future.

To be effective, sovereignty must be secured through force or consent by those living in a territory, and accepted externally by other sovereign states. To be legitimate, the sovereignty claim must have the consent of its people and accord with international human rights.

In Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim, Peter H. Russell traces the origins of the sovereignty claim to Christian Europe and the attribution of sovereignty to God in the early Middle Ages. Transcending a narrow legal framework, he discusses sovereignty as a political activity including efforts to enshrine sovereignty within international law. Russell does not call for the end of sovereignty but makes readers aware of its limitations. While sovereignty can do good work for small and vulnerable peoples, it cannot be the basis of a global order capable of responding to the major existential threats that threaten our species and our planet.

A brisk, often humorous, and personal exploration, Sovereignty: The Biography of a Claim will interest specialists and general readers alike, offering fresh insights on the limitations of sovereignty and the potential of federalism to alleviate these limitations now and in the future.

"To be effective, sovereignty must be secured through force or consent by those living in a territory, and accepted externally by other sovereign states. To be legitimate, the sovereignty claim must have the consent of its people and accord with international human rights. In Sovereignty : the biography of a claim, Peter H. Russell traces the origins of the sovereignty claim to Christian Europe and the attribution of sovereignty to God in the early Middle Ages. Transcending a narrow legal framework, he discusses sovereignty as a political activity including efforts to enshrine sovereignty within international law. Russell does not call for the end of sovereignty but makes readers aware of its limitations. While sovereignty can do good work for small and vulnerable peoples, it cannot be the basis of a global order capable of responding to the major existential threats that threaten our species and our planet. A brisk, often humorous, and personal exploration, Sovereignty : the biography of a claim will interest specialists and general readers alike, offering fresh insights on the limitations of sovereignty and the potential of federalism to alleviate these limitations now and in the future."-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Page Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments 1 Confronting the Sovereignty Claim Sovereignty Is a Claim The Sovereignty Claim’s Bio, Briefly Outlined 2 Emperor and Pope Fight for It 3 Westphalia: The State Gets It Bodin and Hobbes The Sovereign State and Its Competitors 4 We the People Become Sovereign Europe’s Democratic Age Locke and Rousseau The Perils of Sovereign Peoples 5 Sovereignty as an Instrument of European Imperialism Europeans’ Justice Concerns Europeans Fashion International Law to Justify Their Imperialism Liberal Imperialism 6 Settler Sovereignty 7 Federalism Takes the Sting Out of Sovereignty Self-Rule and Shared Rule Treaty Federalism 8 Sovereignty Challenged Beyond and Within the State Establishing the United Nations Denying the Sanctity of Borders Non-governmental Forces Challenge Sovereign States 9 Sovereign States and the UN’s Fatal Incapacities Conclusion Epilogue: Sovereignty and the Coronavirus Pandemic Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index UTP insights Peter H. Russell presents an accessible, historically-informed biography of the sovereignty claim, explores its limitations as well as ways of transcending them through the division of powers found within federal states.