CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR

GAYA-824236

SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE

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LAW & JUSTICE IN GLOBALIZING WORLD

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TEACHING ASSIGNMENT
DILUTION OF STATE SOVEREGNITY IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION

SubmittedBy:- Under the Supervision of:-

Saurabh Priyadarshi Miss kumari Nitu.

LL.M AssistantProfessor
1st Semester (2020-2021) School of Law & Governance

Enrolment-CUSB2013131032

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 SOVEREIGNITY

Sovereignty is One Of The Chief Attributes Of Statehood. This term was first introduced by
French political thinker Jean Bodin. The word sovereignty is derived from French word
‘soverain’, which in its own turn was derived from latin word ‘suprifus’, which meant a
supreme authority having no authority above it.1

The concept of sovereignty was unknown to the ancient world. It is essentially an outcome of
medieval period when there was renaissance and reformation in Europe. It was Machiavelli
who developed the concept of state absolutism, i.e., the state is absolute and end in itself and
there can’t be any restraints on its powers.2

Although the doctrine of sovereignty has had an important impact on developments within
states, its greatest influence has been in the relations between states. Over the years
sovereignty has grown to be accepted as an essential element of international relations. The
doctrine of sovereignty is the fundamental organizing principle of contemporary interstate
relations. It is based on premise of mutual co-existence, exercise of formal equality in the
mutual relations and the corresponding principle of non interference in the domestic affairs of
other states. It is sovereignty that confers in a state recognition by other state and gives a state
right to relate with other countries on equal footing irrespective of size. Sovereignty confers
on a state the right to enter into diplomatic and trade relations with other states. There is
increasing debate surrounding the disparity n the assertion of sovereignty by developing and
developed powerful state.

Article 2 (1) of the UN charter proclaims, as one of its basic principle that the organisation is
based on the sovereign equality of all its members. The provision defines the position of
member state with regard to and within the organization, and thereby also determines the
character of the UN as an international organization, as distinct from a supranational
organization.3

1
N.V Paranjape, Studies in Jurisprudence and Legal Theory 193 (Central Law Agency, Allahabad, 8th edn., 2016)
2
Ibid
3
S. K. Verma, An Introduction to Public International Law 115 ( Satyam Law International, 2nd edn., 2017)

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Article 78 on the other hand, extends the scope of the principle of sovereign equality to the
relation among the members of United Nations in general, and constitutes the basis of the
entire legal system of United Nations.4

GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is worldwide interconnectedness and interdependence of people, places, ideas,

information, objects, activities and exchanges; breadth of interconnectedness stretched
globally and its intensity increased manifold. Globalisation refers to a multidimensional set of
social processes that create, multiply, stretch, and intensify worldwide social interdependence
and exchanges while at the same time fostering in people a growing awareness of deepening
connection between the local and the distant. Globalization is intensification of worldwide
social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happemimgs are shaped
by events occurring many miles away and vice-versa.

Globalization is a trans-planetary process or set of processes involving increasing liquidity

and the growing multi-directional flows of people, objects, places, and information as well as
the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to, or expedite to those flows.5

Globalisation as a concept refers both to compression of the world and the intensification of
consciousness of the world as a whole. Globalisation may be thought of as process which
embodies a transformation in the spatial organisation of social relations and transactions
assessed in terms of their extensity, intensity, velocity and impact generating trans-
continental or interregional flows and network of activity and direction and the exercise of
power.

Globalization has benefits that cover many different areas. It reciprocally developed
economies all over the world and increased cultural exchanges. It also allowed financial
exchanges between companies, changing the paradigm of work. Many people are nowadays
citizens of the world. The origin of goods became secondary and geographic distance is no
longer a barrier for many services to happen.

Globalization in short, points to the whole effort towards making the world global community
as a one village. Goods that were only found in western countries can now be found across

4
Supra note. 3
5
Deepshikha Shrivastava, Law in Globalizing World 12 ( Whitesmans, New Delhi, 1st edn., 2020)

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the globe. Now under developed areas can enjoy the benefits of scientific advances and
industrial progress available in developed countries for the improvement and growth of their
areas. Globalization can also be defined as an ongoing process by which regional economies,
societies and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of
communication and trade. The process of globalization includes a number of factors which
are rapid technology developments that make global communications possible, political
developments such as the fall of communism, and transportation developments that make
traveling faster and more frequent. These produce greater development opportunities for
companies with the opening up of additional markets, allow greater customer harmonization
as a result of the increase in shared cultural values, and provide a superior competitive
position with lower operating costs in other countries and access to new raw materials,
resources, and investment opportunities.

DILUTION OF SOVEREIGNTY IN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION

As discussed earlier, sovereignty means the absence of higher authority in either domestic or
external affairs for a population of fixed territory. We have lived in era of unchallenged
sovereignty since long but the notion of state sovereignty came under great stress and intense
debate in the age of globalization. In the era of globalization, now the world is considered as
a Global Village because all parts of the world are being brought together by the internet and
other electronic communication interconnections. Regarding dilution of state sovereignty in
the era of globalization there are three views viz.

(a) Globophiles and Hyperglobalists: They are considered as strong supporters of

globalization. According to them, the globalisation has diluted the state sovereignty.
The globalisation has diluted the borders where the states have integrated and united
into a single unit thereby diluting the sovereignty. They contend that in era of
globalization there is no barrier to transfer of ideas, information, objects, commodities
and finance therefore the idea of sovereignty and borders has become obscure.

(b) Globophobes and Realists: They are the strong supporters of state sovereignty. They
are of the view that state sovereignty is very much intact and in many ways has got
new instruments and dimensions. Due to advanced technology transfer the states have

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 become more powerful and globalization has helped the states to further upgrade their
security measures.

(c) Middle ground: Both Globalists and Realists have extreme views, either they totally
accept the concept of dilution of state sovereignty or totally discard it but none of
them accept the actual effect of globalisation on sovereignty of states. Apart from
these two main views there is another group of thinkers who have an intermediate
view regarding the dilution of state sovereignty. They contend that globalisation has
altered the role and significance of state and its sovereignty. It’s not the fact that the
sovereignty of state is being withered away but only the role of state is changing. The
sovereignty of state is not at all dilluting but only the nature of sovereignty is
changing.

How Globalization Affected Sovereignty?

Following are the ways in which the globalisation has affected the sovereignty:
(a) Globalisation affected notion of territoriality: Globalisation has to some extent
has diluted the concept of territoriality and resulted into increasingly permeable
state boarders; notion of supraterritoriality is emerging.
(b) Lessened role of state in economic relations: The acceptance and march of the
process of liberalisation-privatisation has acted as a source of limitation on the
role of the state in the economic sphere. The failure of the public sector to deliver
the desired goods and services, the decline of faith in the ability of the state to
organize and manage production of goods and services for the people have
together led to a decline is the economic functions of the state.6

(c) Regional Functionalism and Binding Decisions for Member States:

The emergence of free trade, market competition, multinational corporations and

international economic organisations and trading blocs like European Union, NAFTA,

APEC, ASEAN and others, have limited the scope of the operations of state sovereignty in

the sphere of international economic relations. The member states of the European Union, for

example, have to abide by the rules and policies made by this organisation.

6
Dilution of State Sovereignty, available at: https://blogs.Ise.ac.uk (Last visited on Feb 14 2021)

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 (d) Limitations of Decisions of International Instructions:
Increasing international inter-dependence has compelled the state to accept
limitations on its external sovereignty. Each state now finds it essential to accept
the rules of international economic system, the WTO, the World Bank and the
IMF.

(e) Emergence of Global People Movements:

Globalisation has encouraged and expanded people-to-people socio-economic cultural

relations among all the people of the world. IT revolution and development of fast means of

transport and communications have been together making the world a real Global

Community which, now appears to be developing towards a global village.

The people of each state now deal with people of other states as members of the World

Community. The loyalty towards their respective states continues, but now they do not

hesitate to oppose those policies of their states which, they feel, are not in tune with the

demands of globalisation. Even the movement for opposing globalisation has tended to bring

the people of world on one platform and is still among them a feeling of community living at

the global level.

(f) Lessening Importance of Military Power:

The state continues to maintain its military power as an important dimension of its national

power. However, the strength being gained by movement for international peace and peaceful

coexistence as the way of life has tended to reduce the importance of military power of the

state.

(g) Treaty Obligations of Each State:

Several international conventions and treaties have placed some limitations upon
all the states. All the states are today bound by the rules and norms laid down by
several such conventions. The need to fight the menace of terrorism and rogue
nuclear proliferation as well as the shared responsibilities to protect the
environment and guarantee all human rights of all have compelled all the states to

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 accept such rules and regulations as are considered essential for the securing of
these objectives.
Conclusion

Globalisation and several other factors have been together responsible for putting pressure on

the sovereignty of the state. The role of the state in the economic relations has undergone a

big change. It has got reduced. The operation of the new international economic system with

globalisation as its objective has been further reducing the role of the state sovereignty.

Several scholars hold that Globalisation has essentially limited the concept of state

sovereignty. While some of them, the ‘die-hard pluralists’ accept it as useful and ideal, some

others, the ‘die-hard nationalists’ regard it as an undesirable and harmful development.

Neither of these two views is however fully valid.

State sovereignty continues to be intact in its internal and external dimensions. The state

continues to be sovereign state and its sovereignty continues to be comprehensive, permanent

and absolute. While its functions have undergone a change, the world has now 193 sovereign

independent and equal sovereign nation-states.

People continue to live and enjoy their lives as citizens of their respective states. The new
needs for global level economic and trade integration, protection of environment, protection
and security of all human rights of all, the need to collectively fight the menace of
international terrorism and the need to fight a collective war against poverty, hunger, disease
and under- development have changed the role of state in the 21st century. It does not,
however, mean either the end of sovereignty or a serious limitation on the sovereignty of
state.

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