The concept of sovereignty or sovereign
nations has been in existence since the first political boundary was drawn, establishing the
legal borders between nations. Sovereignty has two international components. The first is under
international law; nations retain the right to control what happens inside the legal territorial
and politically defined area that comprises the nation. Establishing the exact territorial
boundaries of a nation is not an exact science, and historically border wars are a constant
threat in some parts of the world. In simple terms, nations retain the right of home rule
without international interference in how the nation governs.
The second
component in the concept of sovereignty on the international stage is much murkier than
establishing the right of home rule. As civilization has evolved and international borders
become more fixed, many nations subscribe to a concept best described as the one-world or
one-globe theory. The modern world's transnational or political borders are extensions of global
power in terms of economics, political influence, and alignment with other countries. For
example, the European Union consists of twenty-eight sovereign countries that have agreed to act
as one sizeable organized body in matters of economics and security. China, through economic
subsidies and political influence, maintains a considerable amount of say in the affairs of
North Korea. The United States exercises a significant amount of influence over the nations
aligned under the NATO Treaty. OPEC and primarily Saudi Arabia continues to influence the price
of crude oil and wields enormous power in the decisions of oil-producing countries in the Middle
East.
The concept of a one-world government is represented best by the United
Nations, the World Trade Organization, or the International Court of Justice (to name the
significant organizations). Under this idea, national sovereignty is limited to home rule, as
long as the internal affairs of a sovereign nation are not in conflict with the global rules as
established by internationally recognized organizations (such as the ones previously mentioned).
When conflicts between sovereign nations arise, under the one-world concept, an international
body representative of all countries that may have an interest in the outcome weigh
in.
Depending on the perspective, sovereign nations either act independent of
outside influence or rely on international arbitrators to resolve transnational disputes. In
general, when international opinion is on the side of the sovereign nation, the nation accepts
the arbitration as valid. When international tribunals rule against the position of a nation,
then the nation usually declares they are "sovereign nations" not under the rule of
arbitrary whims of a politically motivated and biased international
tribunal.
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