Sovereignty is a principle that bestows a governing body with the power over itself and all of its territorial boundaries. According to the international law, a sovereign state possesses several characteristics including a permanent population, definite territory, a government, and the ability to form relations with other sovereign entities. It remains critical to understand that a sovereign state is not subject or dependent on another state or power. The emergence of sovereignty traces back to the 15 th century with the Peace of Westphalia signed in 1648 (Marks, 2015).Some of the primary characteristics of the Westphalia Sovereignty emphasized territoriality and the non-interference by external agents in internal structures.
Sovereignty sought to change the monarchical concept that had significantly taken root in Europe. The emergence of sovereignty aimed at preventing monarchs who were accumulating excessive power at the expense of the citizens. For instance, the 16 th -century Spanish monarchy failed to observe the principles of sovereignty when it continuously focused on acquiring empires that were under the monarchy of Spain (Marks, 2015). The 18 th century Britain is an example of a country that was in a transition between monarchical state and a sovereign government. The three forces that governed Britain included the House of Lords, House of Commons, and the monarchy. However, the monarchy had less power and the rest of the government arms advocated for sovereignty through the government.
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The 19 th century America rooted for a doctrine known as the popular sovereignty where citizens had the principal powers to delegate part of their sovereignty to government and state officials. It was effectively used as a way of finding solutions to the emotive discussion on slavery and its expansion. Proponents of the popular sovereignty debate opined that democracy asserted that members of a sovereign state should be given the power to decide the fate of the slaves and not the federal government or the Congress.
Reference
Marks, R. B. (2015). The origins of the modern world: A global and ecological narrative from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
