State Sovereignty Measure

A State Sovereignty Measure is a political science measure that assesses the degree to which a sovereign state has full right and power over itself, free from interference by outside sources or bodies.

• Context:
  • output: State Sovereignty Score, which can range from Absolute State Sovereignty to Compromised State Sovereignty.
  • It can (typically) involve assessing the degree of control a state has over its:
    • Domestic Affairs, such as maintaining law and order, taxation, and provision of public services.
    • Foreign Relations, including the ability to enter into treaties, wage war, and maintain diplomatic relations.
    • Borders, including control over immigration, trade, and movement of people.
  • It can (often) take into account factors such as:
    • The extent of recognition by other states in the international community.
    • The degree of membership and participation in international organizations.
    • The level of internal stability and the presence or absence of civil unrest, insurgencies, or competing power centers.
    • The degree of economic independence and resilience to external economic shocks or sanctions.
  • It can (potentially) assess state sovereignty along dimensions such as:
    • Domestic Sovereignty: The extent of control over internal affairs and domestic policies.
    • Interdependence Sovereignty: The degree of control over cross-border movements of people, goods, capital, and ideas.
    • International Legal Sovereignty: The extent to which the state is recognized as a legitimate actor in the international system.
    • Westphalian Sovereignty: The degree of freedom from external interference in internal affairs.
    • Technological Sovereignty: The ability to control and regulate technology, data, and digital infrastructure within a state's jurisdiction.
  • It can (frequently) consider the stability of a state's sovereignty, distinguishing between:
    • Stable Sovereignty: When a state's sovereignty remains relatively constant and unchallenged over time.
    • Sovereignty in Transition: When a state's sovereignty is undergoing significant changes due to internal reforms, external pressures, or shifts in the international system.
  • It can (sometimes) draw upon existing indices and measures, such as:
    • The Fragile States Index (FSI), which measures state vulnerability based on social, economic, political, and military indicators.
    • The Government Effectiveness Index, which assesses the quality of public services, policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of government commitments.
    • The Index of Economic Freedom, which evaluates rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
  • It can (importantly) be noted that existing indices have limitations, such as:
    • Oversimplification of complex realities and assuming that more state-building is always the solution (a criticism of the FSI).
    • Methodological questions and data availability issues (limitations of the Government Effectiveness Index).
    • Potential ideological bias, such as a conservative bias (a criticism of the Index of Economic Freedom).
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Comprehensive State Sovereignty Measure: A hypothetical measure that assesses state sovereignty across domestic, interdependence, international legal, Westphalian, and technological dimensions, drawing upon a range of objective indicators and expert judgments, and considering the stability of a state's sovereignty over time.
  • Domestic Sovereignty Focused Measure: A measure that primarily assesses the degree of control a state has over its internal affairs, such as the provision of public services, law and order, and policy implementation, and distinguishes between stable and transitional domestic sovereignty.
  • International Legal Sovereignty Measure: A measure focusing on the extent to which a state is recognized as a legitimate actor in the international system, based on factors such as diplomatic recognition, treaty participation, and membership in international organizations, and considering changes in a state's international legal sovereignty over time.
  • Technological Sovereignty Assessment: An evaluation of a state's ability to control and regulate technology, data, and digital infrastructure within its jurisdiction, considering factors such as data localization laws, control over internet infrastructure, and domestic technology capabilities.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Human Rights Measure: Focuses on the protection of individual rights, not state power.
  • Global Collaboration Measure: Assesses international cooperation, not state autonomy.
  • Individual Autonomy Measure: Evaluates the degree of personal freedom and self-determination of individuals within a state, rather than the sovereignty of the state itself.
  • ...
• See: Autonomy and Sovereignty, Decentralization of Power, Global Governance Impact on Sovereignty, Non-State Governance, Sovereign Debt and Autonomy, Sovereignty and International Law, Sovereignty and Technology, Sovereignty Metrics, State Capacity

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References

2024

• Perplexity
  • ... The degree of state sovereignty can vary, ranging from absolute sovereignty in fully independent states to compromised sovereignty in cases of international interventions or agreements[2].
  • Sovereignty has multiple aspects, including:
    1. Domestic sovereignty - actual control over a state exercised by an authority organized within the state
    2. Interdependence sovereignty - actual control of movement across the state's borders
    3. International legal sovereignty - formal recognition by other sovereign states
    4. Westphalian sovereignty - there is no other authority in the state aside from the domestic sovereign[1]
  • These aspects are not necessarily affected by one another, and a state can be sovereign in one aspect while non-sovereign in another[1]. Sovereignty is also a claim that must be recognized by others to have meaning[1].
  • In summary, state sovereignty is a complex concept with multiple dimensions. It is not a simple measure of how much sovereignty a state possesses, but rather a framework for understanding the authority and independence of states in relation to their own affairs and the international system.

Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty
[2] https://ballotpedia.org/State_sovereignty
[3] https://ifs02.du.edu/Client/Other/Sovereignty/Lit%20Review%20and%20Feasibility%20Study/Diplometrics%20Sovereignty%20LiteratureReview_FeasabilityStudy%2020180518.docx
[4] https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/33825923
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty Retrieved:2024-5-11.

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