Preview

sovereignty of india

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
985 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
sovereignty of india
Sovereignty of India
Sovereignty is a sensitive issue in India even sixty years after independence. Take the recent fracas over the Indo-US nuclear deal, ignited quite ironically by both the Left and the Right at the same time. It has seen the debate Centre not so much on the actual agreement, as on the notion of an independent foreign policy.
This article isn't about the nuclear deal. It is about understanding the meaning of sovereignty in the 21st century. A proper understanding of the concept, without rushing to hoist the flags of nationalist hysteria, will show that much of the outrage about the 'loss of sovereignty' is quite unnecessary, and without basis. Sovereignty, defined at its simplest and most relevant to recent events, refers to the independent and absolute authority of the state. This definition implicitly accepts that it is the prerogative of each state to conduct its policies in a matter it alone deems fit. Any discerning reader would deduce from this basic definition a recipe for international chaos. The fact is we live in an interdependent, globalized world, where the actions of one state often have a bearing on the existence and well-being of others.

That is perhaps why, after the destruction caused by the two world wars, the leading nations of the world got together to form the United Nations, which could, at least in theory, set out the international rules and restraints, for the game of war. That is the reason why the countries of Western Europe, which had destroyed each other in the first half of the twentieth century, spent the next half of the century establishing an ever closer economic and political union in Europe, ceding and then pooling a lot of sovereign space. That is also the reason why George W. Bush's United States is much criticised for exercising its sovereign, unilateral right to go to war in Iraq.
That is precisely why there is a strong argument to rehabilitate the UN. The case for all countries, and this includes the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    circular failure of the UN: lack of support from member countries, especially the U.S and the…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people believe that in the 1940’s most of India’s problems involving independence was to do with divisions within India rather than British imperialism. In this essay I will be looking at both points of view and finally giving my opinion. I will be using three sources also to help me show both sides of the story. I will also be using my further knowledge to add a wider range of knowledge.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Imperialism in India

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Imperialism, as defined by the Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." Imperialism has positive and negative effects, especially with Great Britain’s imperialism with India. The positive effects are in Documents 1 and 4, stating that the manufacturing aided in the majority of India’s achievements. The negative effects stated in Documents 2 and 7 shows how bitter sweet the effect of imperialism truly is.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    ap euro

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Germany and Japan were defeated, new positions of leadership were available. The Soviet Union quickly moved in to capture Germany and Eastern Europe. China, France, and Great Britain were too weak to continue in the war, leaving the United States and the Soviet Union to butt heads. These allies were determined not to repeat the mistakes of World War I, in which the countries failed to set up an organization to enforce world peace. The United Nations was born. It was a “declaration on liberated Europe” which was ultimately a pledge in which liberated nations could create “democratic institutions of their own choice”. The EU still stands strong today and maintains international peace. Although at this time, new tensions began to surface between the United States and the Soviet Union. The struggle for the end of that totalitarian regime started what we call the Cold War. Several small wars broke out and it was questionable if this power struggle would ever end.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism in India

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    British imperialism on India had many positive and negative affects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases there were actually both.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    International Mkt

    • 3534 Words
    • 15 Pages

    | Learning Objective: 06-01 - What the sovereignty of nations means and how it can affect the stability of government policies…

    • 3534 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    world order essay

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Whilst nation states have a responsibility to protect, state sovereignty ultimately hinders the achievement of world order. State sovereignty relies to the ultimate law-making process of a state over its territory and population, including independence from external interference, as exemplified domestically in Section 51 of the Australian Constitution. Article 2(7) of the Charter of the United Nations (UN) (1945), stipulates that ‘nothing in the present Charter shall authorize the interference of any state’. Due to the non-mandatory nature of multilateral compliance, states can ultimately impede the influence of international law and use state sovereignty as a barrier to their conduct, as shown in the conflicts of Sudan, Kosovo, Libya and East Timor. However, the nationally acclaimed benchmark ‘Responsibility to Protect (R2P) (2005)’, originating from the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty’s Report, places the onus on nation states to ensure the protection of their citizens from instances of mass atrocity. The UN, enshrining of their doctrine under paragraph 138 and 139 of the Charter of the UN, bridges the limitations of state sovereignty with international law. Unfortunately, nation states may still abstain from participation with international law…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In recent history, an international community has proved to be anything but international, nor a community. Internationalism is the prime cause of conflict, as it has caused localized issues to be expanded into worldwide wars, therefore it should only be pursued to the extent of regional communication. Key examples are both world wars, as well as current day conflicts and human rights infringements in Middle Eastern countries. World War 1 was not initially a worldwide war, but a conflict between two neighbouring countries with numerous allies. By extension, World War 2 was started due to failures of internationalism at the end of the first world war, which then resulted in one of, if not the, largest genocide in recent history. Furthermore,…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why the Un Is Irrelevant

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One more reason why the UN is irrelevant is because of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and how it doesn’t make sense. The ICC doesn’t have the power to force UN member countries to comply with its rules. There aren’t clear definitions to what would be a crime that is worthy of an ICC trial. Because an ICC trial is international, rights in our Constitution might not even exist when there is an ICC trial.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    The United Nations, (UN) was originally established in 1945 for the purpose to “maintain international peace and security…to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems…and to be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in attaining these ends.” In assessing whether or not the UN is an effective organisation, it is essential to acknowledge several important features of the establishment. The UN and its organs, to what extent it has failed or succeeded, how heavily the organisation relies upon funding and cooperation of member states, the importance of the Security Council, and constraints that all these factors put on the establishment.…

    • 2462 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Imperialism in India

    • 6601 Words
    • 27 Pages

    The effects of imperialism are both positive and negative. The positive effects are banning inhumane traditional practices such as sati and the dowry system, promoting widow remarriage and prohibiting child marriage. The negative effects are that Britain caused the traditional industries to crash. Also, poverty increased. British officials were paid out of the India treasury.…

    • 6601 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rwanda Genocide

    • 2020 Words
    • 9 Pages

    If the UN would get “permission” from the United States, the UN could have gone in Rwanda with peacekeeping troops. The United States is since the Versailles agreement the world father and middle hand between the UN and…

    • 2020 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism In India

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The British Empire was at its zenith when, in 1911, it was decided to move the capital of British India from Calcutta to Delhi. While the move away from Calcutta was the result of political and administrative considerations, the choice of Delhi was dictated strongly by symbolic associations – the desire to tap into the aura of an ancient capital city. Soon work began on grand capital city, worthy of the jewel in the crown of the British Empire.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    United States of Europe

    • 3987 Words
    • 16 Pages

    After the Second World War, Europe was completely devastated and relegated to second place in the international arena due to the rising power of the United States and the Soviet Union. In view of the growing rivalry between the two superpowers, several western European leaders came to the conclusion that lasting peace could be guaranteed only if their nations were to come together in both political and economic terms. Cooperation between states was seen as the best means to prevent armed conflicts.…

    • 3987 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On the international level, sovereignty means independence, i.e., noninterference by external powers in the internal affairs of another state. International norms are based on the principle of the sovereign equality of independent states; international law excludes interference and establishes universally-accepted rules. Thus, sovereignty is eminently rational, if not dialectical, since the sovereignty of a state depends not only on the autonomous will of its sovereign, but also on its standing vis-a-vis other sovereign states. From this perspective, one can say that the sovereignty of any single state is the logical consequence of the existence of several sovereign states. It is thus a serious mistake to assume that sovereignty is possible only within the framework of the classic type of state, i.e., a nation-state, as do representatives of the “realist” school, such as Alan James and F. H. Hinsley, or neo-Marxist theoreticians like Justin Rosenberg. One should not confuse the concepts of nation and state, which do not necessarily belong together, or assume that the concept of sovereignty was formulated clearly only in terms of the theory of the state.…

    • 6154 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Better Essays