The Rise of the Nation-State and the Problem of Sovereignty

Sovereignty and International Relations

Abstract

When the new-born modern State, in an attempt to overcome the resistance of the medieval social forces that stood in its way, adopted the concept of Sovereignty as a symbol of its territorial supremacy, it was immediately caught in a heated controversy which revolved round the issue: wherein should this supreme power ultimately reside, that is, in the ruling Monarch or in the People?
Out of this polemic emerged two schools of thought which exerted an immense influence on the development of international relations theory. One was the Grotiusian school or model which, leaving untouched the Monarch vs. People polemic, declared instead the State to be sovereign, thus preparing the ground for the concept of State Sovereignty that won wide acceptance in later years. The other school can be linked to Rousseau who, having derived sovereignty fron the General will of the People, went further to identify Nation and People, so that the long dormant role of Nationality was finally transformed into a radically active one in politics. The origin of modern nationalism can rightly be traced to Rousseau. To this must be added the role played by the doctrine of the Reason of State, which was initially developed by Machiavelli and Hobbes, and was later completed by Hegel with his deified concept of “State as an absolute goal in itself”. Such was the historical setting in which the myth of the Nation-State as a sacrosanct entity of unquestionable supremacy was born and nurtured.
The crisis of 20th century international relations, however, has evoked an acute awareness of the need for a new paradigm in the conceptual relations of Nation, State, and Man. The World Community model, which takes the global community of mankind as a point of reference, as contrasted with the Grotiusian model of sovereign States, deserves special attention in this regard, although its viability amidst the harsk realities of State-oriented international relations can never be taken for granted. The future of the Nation-State and of State Sovereignty may be said to depend on the extent to which mankind will successfully maintain a dialogue between the old and new models in such a way that the focus of man's national sentiment as a member of the State can eventually be made compatible with his identity as a member of the community of a higher order, known as the Global Human Community.