Sovereignty at the Millennium

With an eye on the turn of the millennium this book canvasses some of the most important arguments in the sovereignty debate among international relations scholars. The essays look into selected aspects of that institution seeking to assess its contemporary significance and the extent to which its framework and modus operandi may be changing. Where and when did sovereignty originate? Where has it been and where is it heading? What are its future prospects? Is it in stable health with a long life yet to come? Is it undergoing significant change, and if so what kind of change? Is it in terminal decline? Is world politics getting beyond sovereignty in its basic organisation? Or should we speak, instead, of the evolution of sovereignty? Are we presently witnessing a reformation of sovereignty? These are some of the questions raised by the contributors. Turning now to the essays in this volume. They understandably reveal different although overlapping views and concepts of sovereignty. But it is clear that they consider the institution to be a fundamentally important subject of political science even as they differ in their assessment of its present condition and future prospects. The first three essays (by Robert Jackson, Alan James and James Mayall) see the institution not only as very significant but also as probably having a lot of life still left. The next four essays (by William Wallace, Christopher Clapham, Paul Taylor and Daniel Philpott) notice important ways in which the institution is changing into something different from what it has been. Maybe the age of sovereignty is nearing its end. The final essay (by Georg Sorensen) finds some merit in each view and maintains that although core elements of the institution of sovereignty remain firmly in place other elements have been transformed. What the future may bring is not the end of sovereignty but, rather, a new arrangement of sovereignty.

Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: Sovereignty at the Millennium: Robert Jackson (The University of British Columbia). 2. Sovereignty in World Politics: A Glance at the Conceptual and Historical Landscape: Robert Jackson (The University of British Columbia). 3. The Practice of Sovereign Statehood in Contemporary International Society: Alan James (Keele University). 4. Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Self–Determination: James Mayall (Cambridge University). 5. The Sharing of Sovereignty: The European Paradox: William Wallace (The London School of Economics and Political Science). 6. Sovereignty and the Third World State: Christopher Clapham (Lancaster University). 7. The United Nations in the 1990s: Proactive Cosmopolitanism and the Issue of Sovereignty: Paul Taylor (The London School of Economics and Political Science). 8. Westphalia, Authority, and International Society: Daniel Philpott (University of California, Santa Barbara). 9. Sovereignty: Change and Continuity in a Fundamental Institution: Georg Sorensen (Aarhus University, Denmark).

Robert Jackson is the author/editor of eight books, including: The Global Covenant: On the Moral Foundations of International Society, Introduction to International Relations (Co–author Georg Sorensen, 1999), Quasi–States: Sovereignty, International Relations and the Third World (1990).