MARKET 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Sovereign State, International Relations, Global Governance
Document Summary
Concepts are contested because: the definition is rarely consensual, the meaning is not fixed in time, ethnocentrism (so it only focuses on the western side of history). We need theories because real life is too complex, there are too many variables and there are too many moving points. Helps us describe, explain, anticipate and, eventually, prescribe. Is an explanation: an answer to why did this happen?". The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: And a capacity to enter into relations with the other states. Declarative vs. constitutive theory of statehood (you actually have to be recognised as a state, it is not enough if you just meet the criteria) How is the state" created in practice? (if it is the result of a conflict, should we then even recognise it?) Internal sovereignty: it is recognised because other people can not conflict within the state or because there was an election.