SOVEREIGNTY

A State is a community of person more or less numerous, permanently occupying definite portion of a territory, independent of external control and possessing an organized government to which the greater body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. From these words of James Garner, it becomes palpable and evident that four elements of a state are essential and these are the people, territory, government, and sovereignty. Among the four essential elements, Sovereignty is the more indistinguishable and difficult to identify. For us to easily determine a sovereign state, let us know its attributes and define it using the traditional definition up to the present.

Sovereignty has six main indispensable attributes. First is the Inalienability. This refers to the fundamental rights of the state which cannot be transferred to another nor surrendered since sovereignty is a matter of authority. Second is the Absoluteness which means that the state is unrestricted under the principle of absolute power in the sovereign. An example of this is when our country has become a member of an international organization; we adopt the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of our land. Third is the imprescriptibility. This refers to the sovereign right of the state that cannot rightfully take away or revoked and not capable of being lost, whether used or not. Fourth is the Comprehensiveness which refers to the paramount ability of the state to extend its powers to all persons and things within its territorial boundaries except only for those that are granted immunity from international courtesy. Fifth is exclusiveness which gives the state one supreme authority and no other political authority exists elsewhere. Last is the perpetuity which means that sovereignty is continuous as long as the state exists.

Now, let is define what sovereignty is. If we are to use the traditional definition of Sovereignty, it means power to impose your will upon your constituents. This is internal sovereignty. This refers to the pre-eminent power of the state to compel obedience over all persons and to regulate all things within its territorial limit via the varied government agencies. This power may be in the form of influence and ideology or though coercion and repression. At the same time, it means autonomy. It simply means that as a sovereign state, it has the foundational right not to be meddled or to be interfered by the political, economic and military affairs of any other external state. This is an external sovereignty. A state is not dependent or not controlled by any state because of its independence, or freedom from external control or interference from other states.

However, as time went by, the definition of the word sovereignty has changed. It now comes with three notions. These are Sovereignty as responsibility, Sovereignty with the Game of Avoidance and Sovereignty as an Enhancement of Material Interest and Creation of Abstract State Identity. These three notions are not chronologically arranged. As a matter of fact, these three could be coexisting depending on the interest of the government of that particular state.

What does Sovereignty as a Responsibility means? A state has the duties of protecting the rights of its citizens. It has the obligation of preserving the territorial integrity of the State. One example of this is the giving of paramount considerations to the common good of the people when making foreign policies because the citizens because they are most likely to be directly affected by these policies and also their rights as citizens. Another is the giving of supreme concern on the territorial integrity of the state also in foreign policies. We first consider our geographic location before putting into law any foreign policies.

Next is the Sovereignty with the Game of Avoidance. Before, States are autonomous and isolationist. Nevertheless, in this modern age and world, no state will continue to exist if it keeps it autonomy. Once in a while, a state must be open for trades and agreements that would be of benefit to their state. But it has the right to refuse and say no to any of these. That is what we call ‘Game of Avoidance’. One good example of these is the refusal of the United States of America in the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol considering that it is the world’s top producer of greenhouse gases. Their justification for doing such thing is that they are currently the head of a world organization with the same purpose and objective. But if we will take a closer look and carefully examine the situation, it could be for a reason that it could directly affect the country’s economy. It is because some factories will be closed and unemployment will increase. It will also decline the lifestyle of the people.

Third is the Sovereignty as an instrument for the Enhancement of Material Interest and Creation of Abstract State Identity. Let us take the war between United States and Iraq as an example. United States made a humanitarian intervention in the place to eliminate the authoritative leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein and to destroy the said hidden weapons of Mass Destruction in the place. However, until now, even one weapon of mass destruction was not found in the place. Could it be that USA made a humanitarian Intervention for the Enhancement of their Material Interest? Yes, there is a big possibility. As we all know, Iraq is one of the world’s top producer and exporting country of Oil products. It could be that USA made war with Iraq for them to be able to conquer the place and make use of the oil deposits in Iraq. Eventually, without doubt, it would in favor to their country because it will surely play a big part in increasing the country’s economic standing.

Those are the definitions of Sovereignty if we are to ask the political scientist and those individuals who work in the related field of discipline. Now let us see how a Director of Pastoral Ministries for American Association of Christian Counselors gives meaning to the word sovereignty. Dr. Ed Hindson is the Assistant Chancellor, Professor of Religion, and Dean of the Institute of Biblical Studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg. He said that sovereignty is present in every crisis in our lives, God’s sovereignty. If His sovereignty will prevail over those problems, then there are three things which we can be certain.

First, God’s sovereignty limits our crisis. God has power over of our lives and He limits the extent and period of the crisis. Reading the statements in Job (1:12, 2:26) and Luke (22:31-32), the bible makes it clear that nothing can touch us that are beyond the limits of God’s sovereign control.

Next, God’s sovereignty brings meaning to our problems. The problems of life are not the catastrophic episodes in the absurd story of human experience. There is reason and significance to our struggles, problems and sorrows. Romans 8:18 promises “that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Last, God’s sovereignty assures us of His grace. There is no problem in life that is beyond the grace of God. He will help us in our time of need. The bible also tells us, “Cast all your anxiety in Him because He cares for you” Peter (5:7). God’s grace is sufficient for every problem we face.

As we can see, each field of discipline has their own ways of defining the word sovereignty. The manner of giving meaning to sovereignty by political scientists and those who work in the related field is different compared to those who work in the religious sectors. For political scientist, it is the state which has sovereignty. However, for priests and pastors, it is God who has sovereignty over the people. It also shows the description and implication of sovereignty evolves as time goes by. It changes and will continue to change in the years to pass.

References: POLITICAL SCIENCE: Made Simple (Prof. Abriel Nebres, 2007)

God Is There In The Tough Times (Ed Hindson, 1999)

Bible