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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · Foreign Policy & the State

Sovereignty

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/ˈsɒvrənti/nounCore term

In international relations & diplomacy, sovereignty means: The full right and power of a state to govern its own territory and people without outside interference; a basic principle of the modern international system.

In Turkish: egemenlik

How it is used

Very frequent in diplomatic statements, treaties and IR theory. States 'respect', 'defend', 'claim' or 'violate' sovereignty; scholars speak of 'Westphalian sovereignty', after the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The adjective is 'sovereign': a sovereign state.

Example sentences

  1. Both sides agreed to respect each other's sovereignty and borders.

  2. Joining a union means sharing some sovereignty with the other members.

  3. Critics say the agreement limits national sovereignty over fisheries.

Common collocations

  • respect sovereignty
  • violation of sovereignty
  • national sovereignty
  • state sovereignty
  • sovereign state
  • territorial integrityThe principle that a state's borders and territory must not be violated or changed by force or pressure from other states.
  • non-interventionThe principle that states must not interfere in the internal affairs of other states, for example by using force or pressure to influence their political system.
  • recognitionThe formal acceptance by one state that another entity is a state, or that a government is the legitimate government of a state.
  • self-determinationThe right of a people to choose its own political future and form of government, and to shape its own economic, social and cultural development.
  • anarchyIn IR theory, the absence of a world government above states, so that each state must rely on itself for its security; it does not necessarily mean chaos.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Foreign Policy & the State

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