To What Extent Is Peru a Sovereign State

Leysin American School

Dr. Campanaro

Micah Baksh

October 3, 2023
 Peru, more formally known as the Republic of Peru, is a large coastal country located on

the western face of South America. Peru’s significant economic interactions have helped shape

its role throughout the global stage, and understanding Peru's history, geography, and political

ideals is essential when assessing the extent of its sovereignty in the modern global scope.

According to Andrew Heywood “sovereignty is the principle of having ultimate and undeniable

authority, shown by a state's claim to be in control of everything in their borders.” (Heywood 4.)

This definition implies that to be fully sovereign a state must not only possess the ability to

maintain complete internal peace and stability within their borders, but be able to act

independently sovereign in an international stage While Peru has made significant strides in

asserting its sovereignty across the economic and judicial lens of the state, its full sovereignty

remains highly disputed and subjected to challenges, both historically and politically affecting its

global functionality and the overall lifestyle of the Peruvian people.

Foremost when analyzing Peru’s sovereignty, it is important to observe the various

infrastructural aspects of the nation. One critical aspect to consider is the state's legal

sovereignty. Peru's global recognition establishes an argument towards the power of its external

sovereignty and weight. Furthermore, an examination of Peru's involvement in international

treaties and agreements illustrates how Peru is an active participant in various intergovernmental

organizations(IGO), including the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the

World Trade Organization(“Latin American and Caribbean Regional Organisations”).

Additionally, Peru’s close relations and connections with states like China emphasize its ability
to maintain diplomatic relations with countries on a global scale. Following former Chinese

President Jiang Zemin’s landmark thirteen-day tour of Latin America, Peru had established close

diplomatic relations with China. Now as one of the key states allied to China, Peru supports

numerous trade deals and has become a voting member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment

Bank which has assisted in the construction of numerous ports and highways across the

country(Roy). This explicitly illustrates the sovereign power of Peru as it is not only able to

maintain strategic connections with states on both a global and regional scale but it illustrates the

strengths of Peru, its governmental strength and diplomatic allies. Subsequently this reinforces

Peru’s status as a sovereign state as it highlights the governing ability to negotiate trade as well

as underscores the promotion of the state laws, establishes territorial integrity, and fosters

international engagement. The statements towards Peru’s sovereignty coincides with its

numerous diplomatic connections as well as its member status of IGOs such as the UN and the

WTO implying its importance as a global actor and showcasing its external sovereignty.

To better understand Peru’s sovereignty and global status a brief historical context can

help highlight its strengths. Peru’s colonial history began in the early 16th century after

Francisco Pizarro led the Spanish conquistadors to the country. Under Spanish colonial rule,

Peru became an important center of Spanish influence and economic hotspot of South America;

its vast gold mines and profitable agricultural land promoted its development into one of Spain’s

key territories (Davies and John Preston Moore). Following the Spaniard and French revolutions

across the early 17th centuries a coalition of South American countries helped support Peru into

its battle against the Spanish, becoming the last South American State to gain its independence

on December 9, 1824 (Centre). Now in the 20th century following a series of political
displacements altered the course of the Peruvian political landscape and external sovereignty,

enduring 4 different coups across the span of 20 years. This resulted in a heavy emphasis on the

natural oil industry and agricultural industry permanently changing the state’s economic status.

The final coup occurred in 1980 where the military style government was overthrown and voted

into a citizen government(BBC). As a result of the tumultuous political environment throughout

the late 1900s, the 21st century became an era littered with severe issues towards corruption and

justice. In May of this year the former president(2001-2006) Alejandro Toledo had been

extradited back to Peru to face corruption charges after being accused of taking around $35

million in bribes from the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht to win public contracts to build

a highway connecting Peru and Brazil. Additionally the firm has also claimed that it has

payedover $800 million to other officials in the region to further gain more contracts(Collyns).

This extent of political corruption severely questions the integrity of Peru's internal sovereignty

bringing to question its ability to maintain a stable government and resist outside forces. The

political environment of Peru is a key actor in the state's inability to maintain complete

sovereignty as it is unable to preserve its own rights.

Another key aspect of sovereignty is based around the reliability and sustainability of the

economy. By analyzing Peru’s economy we can see the various levels of economic stability

depicted throughout distinct policies and patterns. Peru’s vast landscape and rich mines have

supported the Peruvian economy and assisted it in diversifying into other aspects of the economy

such as oil and textiles(OECD). This diversification and excess of valuable resources like gold

and copper have provided a strong backbone to the economy allowing it to become one of the

most economically stable countries in South America (OECD). In attempts to measure the
stability of the Peruvian economy, the Fund for Peace created a Crisis Sensitivity Simulator that

measures a country’s response to a given crisis by estimating the stability and condition of a

country after a given event. Adjusted to the highest level economic crisis, Peru is predicted to

shift .497 increments away from the base reaction index(“The Fund for Peace”), meaning that the

Peruvian economy is very self-sufficient and strong. This correlates to the economic stability of

Peru as it highlights how the country’s economy is diverse and strong enough to support itself

even in times of high crisis. Peru exercises a significant degree of autonomy in shaping its

economic policies and ideals, demonstrating its level of sovereignty on a global stage. Moreover,

Peru possesses a score of approximately 5.53 for all economic related indicators on the fragile

state index; meaning Peru is able to consistently maintain an aversion towards economic decline,

uneven economic development and brain drain. This supports the assumption that the Peruvian

economy is not only sustainable enough to remain reliant on other countries but underscores its

consistent development through the aversion of human flight as more people stay in the country

advancing the economy. The prevalence of the Peruvian economy showcases its external

sovereign power by illustrating a higher degree of global economic interactions and the relative

international dependence on Peru for various exports.

While the concept of Peru's sovereignty can be analyzed from various perspectives. It is

best to break down sovereignty into distinct sub-sections to obtain a more constructive answer.

In terms of legal sovereignty, Peru's Constitution defines the nation's political framework and is

the highest legal authority in the country, setting legitimate procedures for domestic politics and

exercising internal sovereignty. It explicitly recognizes the principle of popular sovereignty,

emphasizing that ultimate authority resides with the people and that the government operates
within the confines of the Constitution. The legal implications of the constitution and the effect

that it has ont only on the domestic government but its recognition internationally accentuates the

concept of sovereignty within Peru. Furthermore, Peru’s active participation in

intergovernmental organizations, treaties and contributions to globalization demonstrate its

ability and capacity to exert external sovereignty. However, Peru’s claims to complete

sovereignty cannot go undisputed, as an increase of political uncertainty and social cohesion

following former President Castillo's removal from office have severely undermined the years of

sovereign efforts made by Peru. Following a 30 day state of emergency, violent protests, and

nationwide food shortages the sociopolitical climate of Peru seems to have deteriorated the

promising state into a showcase of destabilization and fragility, severely questioning its claim to

sovereignty(Woodburn). Nevertheless, Peru still manages to maintain a promising economy and

foster international trade agreements showcasing its commitment to shaping its economic future

whilst acknowledging the growing interdependence on the global stage.

In conclusion, Peru displays a substantial degree of sovereignty, being illustrated through

the legitimate power of the constitution. Holding the ability to influence and control domestic

politics while upholding the leverage to be acknowledged by independent states. Peru’s

economic sovereignty is even more so evident across economic policies and engagement in

international trade agreements. Nonetheless political instability and external trade factors raise

complex issues, highlighting the ongoing fluidity and transmuting state of Peru's sovereignty

across the global political landscape.

 Works Cited

BBC. “Peru Profile.” BBC News, 16 Oct. 2012, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-

19928907.amp.

Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Battlefield of Ayacucho.” UNESCO World Heritage

Centre, 5 Aug. 2019, whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6413/.

Collyns, Dan. “Peru: Former President Alejandro Toledo Arrives to Face Corruption

Charges.” The Guardian, 23 Apr. 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/23/peru-

former-president-alejandro-toledo-arrives-to-face-corruption-charges. Accessed 20 June

2023.

Davies, Thomas M., and John Preston Moore. “Peru | History, Geography, Facts, &

Points of Interest.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Oct. 2018,

www.britannica.com/place/Peru.

Heywood, Andrew. Global Politics. 2nd ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 4.

“Latin American and Caribbean Regional Organisations.” Australian Government

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2021, www.dfat.gov.au/international-

relations/regional-architecture/latin-american-regional-organisations.
OECD. “Peru Economic Snapshot.” OECD.org, 2023, www.oecd.org/economy/peru-

economic-snapshot/.

Roy, Diana. “China’s Growing Influence in Latin America.” Council on Foreign

Relations, 12 Apr. 2022, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-influence-latin-america-

argentina-brazil-venezuela-security-energy-bri.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “United Provinces of Central America |

Historical Federation, Central America.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019,

www.britannica.com/place/United-Provinces-of-Central-America.

“The Fund for Peace.” Fundforpeace.org, fundforpeace.org/SRI/simulator.html. Accessed

4 Oct. 2023.

Woodburn, Daniel. Fragile States Index Annual Report 2023. 2023,

drive.google.com/file/d/1lnZ7GxRP6D5pgniXa24tJK35ocVl2vlt/view.