Topic:
4. SOVEREIGNTY
Degree Part-I (Political Science (Hons.) Paper-I
Gangesh Kumar Jha Assistant Professor Department of Political Science Marwari College, Darbhanga
Concept of Sovereignty Sovereignty is the core concept in modern political theory as it is the most distinctive characteristic or attribute of the modern State. The term sovereignty is derived from a Latin word ‘superanus’meaning ‘supreme’. Sovereignty means ‘Supreme Power’. In Political Science. Sovereignty denotes the supreme authority of the state. It symbolizes supreme and final legal authority, above and beyond which no legal power exists. It distinguishes state from all other associations and institutions. As we know that state consists of four elements, namely, population, territory, government and Sovereignty. The first three characteristics can also be found, in varying degrees, in other associations and institutions. But the State alone commands the possession of Sovereignty,i.e. supreme power or authority. Modern state claim supremacy in internal matters and freedom from the control of external government on the basis of the attribute of sovereignty. It is a hallmark of the modern state.There are two kinds of sovereignty:
(i)
Internal Sovereignty :means that the state has complete control over all the individuals, institutions, institutions and associations have to obey the laws of the state and, if any individual or association violates these laws. The state has the power to punish him.
(ii)
External Sovereignty means that the state is free from the control of any other state. There is no individual or authority outside the state which is in a position to issue orders and get obedience from that state. For example, before 1947, India was not a state. Although it had its population, fixed territory and government, but it lacked external sovereignty. As she was under the British government. The administration in India was run according to the laws passed by the British Parliament.
Thus, we can say that these four elements are sine qua non for the formation of state. State cannot exist in the absence of any one of them. Besides the above-mentioned four essential elements, recognition from other states has become an important factor these days. In international law it has been neatly observed and discussed with having an implication in case of non observance and interestingly, political science, too, has taken notice to this fact. But to term it as sine qua non for constituting a new state is dangerous as we have examples all around the