Theories on Sovereignty

Tóth J., Zoltán (2023) Theories on Sovereignty. CENTRAL EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW, 4 (1). pp. 175-195. ISSN 2732-0707 (print); 2732-1460 (online)

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Abstract

The notion of sovereignty has been invented in the 16th century. This concept is traditionally linked to Jean Bodin, who first used the term to describe modern statehood in his work ‘Six Books of the Commonwealth,’ written in 1576. The concept itself was originally conceived to define the characteristics of the absolute monarchy, but was later used to describe the rule of other sovereigns as well; thus, it was created as one of the most prolific concepts in political theory. Although sovereignty was an object of intense interest to political philosophers mainly until the middle of the 20th century, it is still not an out-of-date concept. While it is true that modern international law, recent political practice, and the chiselled concepts of law and state have diminished the importance of this notion until now, it has not disappeared. In fact, even the recent international policy and the modern constitutional practice are not able to do without the paradigm of state sovereignty. Like all concepts, it has been inflated, yet, its core political theoretical content remained almost the same. In the present paper I am going to attempt to introduce the types of sovereignty, mainly on the basis of who the sovereign can be.

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