Showing papers on "Sovereignty published in 1969"

The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes

Abstract: This book presents the most plausible reading of Thomas Hobbes's moral and political theory based on his book, Leviathan. Hobbes constructs a political theory that bases unlimited political authority on unlimited individualism. The conclusion requires the premiss; anything less than unlimited individualism would justify only limited political authority. But the premiss is too strong for the conclusions; as this book shows, from unlimited individualism only anarchy follows. The theory is a failure. But it has two outstanding merits. First of all, Hobbes introduces a number of important moral and political concepts that deserve our attention. Obligation is his basic moral concept, while authorisation is his basic political concept. Hobbes relies neither on the goodwill of men - their willingness to consider each other's interests for their own sake, and not as means to self-satisfaction - nor on the efficacy of institutions, as the means of both concentrating and limiting political power. Aside from political and moral theory, the book explores Hobbes's views on the nature of man, sovereignty, and God.

Editorial: Why No Borders?

Abstract: This editorial article argues for No Borders as a practical political project. We first critically examine borders as ideological, generating and reinforcing inequality. We consider some responses to injustices produced by borders: the call for “human rights”; attempts to make immigration controls more “humanitarian”; and trade unions’ organizing and campaigning with undocumented workers. Recognizing the important contributions of some of these responses, we argue that nevertheless they have often been limited because they do not question sovereignty, the territorializing of people’s subjectivities, and nationalism. No Borders politics rejects notions of citizenship and statehood, and clarifies the centrality of borders to capitalism. We argue that No Borders is a necessary part of a global system of common rights and contemporary struggle for the commons. The article concludes by highlighting the main themes of the papers that make up the Special Issue, a number of which explore practical instances of the instantiation of No Borders politics.

Nation-States and State-Nations

Abstract: Nationalism takes a variety of forms and carries with it a variety of political consequences. A major variable distinguishing one pattern of nationalism from another has been the interplay between "nation" and "state." At bottom, this is a relationship between national identity and political autonomy, between national integration and political sovereignty. In many of the developed countries of the post-World War II world the sense of national identity evolved prior to the crystallization of the structures of political authority. By contrast, in most of the currently underdeveloped, newly independent countries this sequence is reversed: authority and sovereignty have run ahead of self-conscious national identity and cultural integration. To this extent it can be said that Europe produced nation-states, whereas Asia and Africa have produced state-nations. These two broad patterns of relationships have never been as clear-cut as has been traditionally supposed. Their implications are particularly pertinent for understanding the role of nationalism in political stabilization and economic modernization, as well as its possible role in reshaping the patterns of political control and consolidation. What is called for is an appreciation of the mobilization character of nationalism-specifically, nationalism as the embodiment of at least two types of mobilization that may outstrip one another.

Aboriginal Rights and Canadian Sovereignty: An Essay on R. v. Sparrow

Abstract: The authors articulate the basic elements of two competing theories of aboriginal right. The first, a contingent rights approach, requires state action for the existence of aboriginal rights. This approach dominated early judicial pronouncements on the nature of aboriginal rights. The second, an inherent rights approach, views aboriginal rights as inherent in the nature of aboriginality. This approach came to be embraced by the judiciary in cases addressing the nature of aboriginal legal interests prior to the passage of the Constitution Act, 1982. The authors then assess the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Sparrow in light of these two competing theories. In Sparrow, the Court addressed the meaning of s. 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 and, despite other laudable aspects of the judgment, relied on a contingent theory of aboriginal right and an unquestioned acceptance of Canadian sovereignty. The authors offer two alternative approaches to s. 35(1) based on the overarching value of equality of peoples. As a result, the Court severely curtailed the possibility that s. 35(1) includes an aboriginal right to sovereignty and rendered fragile s. 35(1)'s embrace of a constitutional right to self-government.

The crowd in the Persian revolution

Abstract: The Constitutional Revolution of 1905-09 was a major watershed in Persian history. It ended the traditional system of government in which the Shah, as the Shadow of God on Earth, ruled his people without any legal and institutional limitations. And it introduced the constitutional system of government in which "the people" were sovereign, and their elected representatives made and unmade ministers, laws, budgets, concessions and foreign treaties. In this revolution the political crowd played a prominent role.2 An organized procession in April 1905 raised the issue whether the Shah could freely choose his administrators. A larger assembly, nmne months later, initiated the demand to limit the monarch's arbitrary powers by creating a "House of Justice." Spontaneous riots in June 1906, and the killing of demonstrators, poured a stream of blood into the wide gap between the government (dawlat) and the nation (millat). A general strike in July, and the exodus of 15,000 from Tehran into the British Legation, forced the court to grant the country a written constitution with an elected House of Parliament. And mass meetings throughout the next three years, accompanied by demonstrations of force in the streets, helped preserve the constitution from conservatives determined to re-establish royal despotism. As a French contemporary, in discussing the advantages of the anarchist theory of revolution, argued: "Events in Persia prove that the general strike and mass action in the streets can produce a successful revolution."3

Internal Causes and Purposes of War in Europe, 1870-1956: A Research Assignment

Abstract: When studying the motives and causes for war it is fashionable to focus on the aggressive drives of modern man, those same drives which are said to feed nonviolent forms of conflict, such as competition, opposition, and rivalry. One of the attractions of this approach is the implied prospect of banishing war in one of two ways: by restructuring society so as to reduce, if not eliminate, individual aggression, or by rechanneling man's bedrock of aggressiveness into socially sanctioned but harmless "aggression-absorbing" activities.' Incidentally, to date no one seems to have established any solid correlations-positive or negativebetween the degree of aggressiveness of specific political actors, classes, or peoples and their disposition first to advocate war and then to shoulder its burdens. In another analytic scheme, which is almost equally fashionable, the focus is on the harsh realities of international life in a world of multiple sovereign states, each state being bent on jealously guarding and enhancing its own independence and welfare under conditions of international anarchy. By implication this second focus makes the achievement of perpetual peace contingent on the contraction or disappearance of sovereignty as such.2 Admittedly both of these approaches have their merits. But they also have one flaw in common: both neglect or misjudge the vital political core of the decision to go to war. That decision is made by political actors and classes who in critical moments look at the dual field of domestic and international politics. When having recourse to war, these actors and classes conceive of it as an instrument of policy which, whether used successfully or unsuccessfully, produces important inter-

The Common Market and its Colonial Heritage

Abstract: 'The nation is the first reality of the twentieth century... while the second... is the interdependence of races, continents and nations.'l The contemporary phenomenon of nationalism and, paradoxically, the concurrent move towards regional integration are unprecedented. The nationalist impulse, linked with militant anti-colonialism, has resulted in a proliferation of new states for whom untrammelled sovereign equality is the most insistent goal and independence the supreme good. At the same time the nationstate in its oldest established form is being reshaped by the movement for regional integration in Europe, as exemplified in the European Economic Community. Few statesmen today would assert that independence and interdependence are mutually exclusive or that one trend has primacy over the other: throughout the greater part of the world they co-exist. The relations established between the Six of the European Common Market and the eighteen African Associated States provide an interesting field of enquiry where these two trends coalesce, especially in view of the neo-colonialist image that the EEC has acquired in initiating and continuing this special arrangement. An assessment of the validity of the numerous allegations ofneo-colonialism levelled against the Common Market is central to this argument. That the EEC was endowed with a colonial heritage is not in dispute, but how far was this a common Community responsibility rather than the projection of particular national engagements on to the collective level ? To what extent were the interests of the member states as metropoles affected by the initiation of the Common Market project ? Does the Association of African and Malagasy States merely ensure the continua-

International business and political geography

Abstract: Attempts to define some of the problems arising from the development of international business within the constraints of political geography, does this by using evidence from published research and informed opinion. Looks at the growth of international business, its effect on national economies, plus possible erosion of national sovereignty. Discusses how policies of international business and national governments, in a number of fields, conflict. States, although political boundaries and the existence of nation‐states are to some extent outdated by modern technology and from obstacles to trade and development, there may be serious disadvantages in reducing political constraints to enable the multinationals to operate more freely. Finalises that international regulation in some form of the multinational is essential to enable operations to be reconciled and co‐ordinated nationally.

The Malayan Union and the Historians

Abstract: J. de V. Allen's recently published monograph on the Malayan Union will have served its purpose if it redirects the attention of historians to ‘an event whose importance was only possibly exceeded by the things which seem to crowd it out of the historical books — the Japanese occupation of 1943–1945, the emergency which began in 1948, and the declaration of independence from Britain in 1957’.1 In his often fascinating elaboration of what is essentially the accepted, almost traditional, account of the Malayan Union's demise, Allen argues that the scheme (which provided for the amalgamation of the pre-war Federated and Unfederated Malay States and the crown colonies of Periang and Malacca into a unitary colony which would provide the basis for eventual independence by granting citizenship to the great majority of the existing population) represented a recognition by British planners of the advantages of administrative centralisation, of the permanence of settlement of many Chinese and Indian inhabitants and of the loyal support of the Chinese during the Japanese occupation. The scheme failed because it was deliberately foisted upon the Malay Sultans (who were required to cede their sovereignty) in great haste, because it took inadequate consideration of Malay attitudes and political forms, thus arousing united Malay and ex-Malayan Civil Servant opposition, and because it aroused no interest among the Chinese and Indians. Therefore the Malayan Union was replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which safeguarded the traditional leadership role of the Sultans, which allayed Malay fears of ‘alien’ domination and which yet offered ‘generous’ citizenship rights to the non-Malays. In this manner, so the account goes, a gross error of judgement was rectified and the groundwork laid for progress towards independence.

Singapore's One-Party System: Its Relationship to Democracy and Political Stability

Abstract: ON AUGUST 9, i965, the present Republic of Singapore attained its sovereignty as an independent state by leaving the Federation of Malaysia. It was indeed a city-state, to use Aristotle's terminology, on a small island of about 224.5 square miles with a population of less than two million. As of mid-i969, this city-state, with its bustling economy and its large middle class, has firmly established a single-party system under the People's Action party (PAP) which commands all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly and provides the chief executive officer (prime minister) of the Republic. It is the purpose of this article to inquire into the meaning of parliamentary democracy in Singapore under the one-party system and to examine the political strategy by which the PAP has become the sole party in power. The article also considers the relationship between the one-party system and political stability in the task of nation-building in Singapore. Two major hypotheses are presented: first, the concept of "democracy" as defined by the PAP leaders reflects the developmental style of one form of government as opposed to another; second, given the political environment created by cultural, linguistic, and ideological pluralism in Singapore, the PAP leaders' concept of democracy and the form of government are formulated in order to satisfy a necessary requirement for system-maintenance, that is, political stability of both leadership and followership structures. It was made clear during the i962 parliamentary debate on the fundamental philosophy of the government of Singapore that Lee Kuan Yew, the prime minister, viewed democracy as the consent of the people, usually expressed in terms of their electoral support. Lee defined democracy as: "the principle that the people should at periodic elections elect their representatives who have then the mandate to govern for a fixed number of years in accordance with their programme and policy."1 The crux of the definition was that democracy was equated with periodic elections, thereby placing greater emphasis on majority rule than on minority rights and imply-

Thailand: De-Escalation and Uncertainty

Abstract: Winston Churchill once remarked that sovereign nations possess no permanent friends and no permanent enemies; they possess only permanent interests. During 1968 certain aspects of this fundamental principle of international politics became painfully apparent to some elements of the Thai government. The de-escalation of American military power in the Vietnamese war and the possibility of a retrenchment in American policy in Southeast Asia aroused a growing sense of doubt and uncertainty among officials in the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The developments jolted these officials into a deeper realization that important sectors of their national life are intimately related to the vagaries of international affairs. The concern began when President Johnson announced on March 31 that he was reducing the level of American military involvement in Vietnam and taking steps toward a negotiated peace settlement with the Hanoi government. As the American presidential and congressional campaigns progressed, Thai Foreign Affairs officials became increasingly worried over numerous demands from critics of both major political parties for a disengagement of American power from Southeast Asia, urgent appeals for a unilateral withdrawal" of American troops from Vietnam, and specific claims that the U.S. has only a "limited obligation" in Thailand and other nations in Southeast Asia. In brief, elements in Bangkok became increasingly fearful that the government policy which had been followed for almost twenty years in close cooperation with U.S. efforts to contain Communist expansion in Southeast Asia might be coming to an end. At mid-year the Thai Foreign Minister, Thanat Khoman, declared: "The United States has tried to raise doubts in our minds and it has succeeded. It has succeeded in raising doubts in its own mind."' However, the nation's top leaders, Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn and Deputy Premier Prapart Charusathien, while worried, apparently assume that the U.S. will continue its assistance to Thailand. Thanat's statement and the extreme anxiety of his Foreign Affairs Ministry should be viewed as the most dramatic expressions of a pervasive concern within Thai officialdom. The uncertainty among Thai leaders assumed heightened proportions as external and internal Communist threats continued to confront the kingdom. On the third anniversary of the Communist underground organization, the

Transnational society vs. state sovereignty

Abstract: SUMMARY The elaborate fabric of a transnational society and the organization of political power in sovereign states provide a dual system of order, and a source of disorder in the world. Each of the two elements tends to dissolve the other. History shows various models of harmonizing the conflict, but none has had lasting success. International catastrophes have been followed by fresh growth of the two elements and of their vulnerability. After World War II, the world has explored the organization of society and political power in two international camps, led by two great states, an unprecedented effort on that scale. The decay of the effort in the 1960's releases forces that threaten national and international life with a war of all against all. Alternative models show as yet little promise of stemming this process of disintegration, and of reconciling the ambitions for change and for order. Competition among the models is overlaid with competition among states and movements. There is but a slender hope that communities and liberties will be preserved until some kind of civilized government is found for the transnational society.

“Cession in Lease” of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station and Cuba’s “Ultimate Sovereignty”

Abstract: ment, although obtained with the threat of force, and anchored in agreements of 1903 and 1934. Contrary to Dr. Lazar's interpretation, Article I I of the 1934 Treaty in all probability does not refer to Guantanamo as one of the rights to bo maintained, since the United States occupancy of Cuban soil was legitimatized after Cuban independence by acts effected by Cuban officials in the new Constitution and the follow-up treaty of May 22, 1903. At any rate, the political climate and purpose behind the abrogation of the Piatt Amendment in 1934 indicate that the basis for United States occupancy after 1934 was the 1934 treaty and not past military occupation. Furthermore, upon what would these so-called rights of occupancy stand? A \" r i g h t \" must be recognized by other members of the international community. I t is doubtful that Latin American legalists and governments recognize a United States right to occupy land taken by force and released to the independent state of Cuba. In fact, not even the United States appears to recognize any right of occupancy in Latin America except that resting upon international agreement. Dr. Lazar's professed revealing of the \"essential legal relationships at the level of the international legal system\" apparently has neglected to observe the United States' position on colonialism in the last several decades and the essential doctrine of non-intervention strongly proclaimed especially by the American states and to which the 1934 abrogation of the Piatt Amendment was a major tribute.

Nikita Panin, Russian Diplomacy, and the American Revolution

Abstract: The precise nature of Russian-American diplomatic relations during the War for American Independence has always presented a problem for historians. On the one hand, the Declaration of Armed Neutrality by Catherine II in February 1780 seemed to represent an effort to limit British sovereignty on the seas, and news of its promulgation was greeted with enthusiasm in the struggling American colonies. But on the other hand, the reception by the Russian empress of Francis Dana, the American envoy (1781-83) sent to; St. Petersburg in the aftermath of the declaration to obtain Russian aid, was far from hospitable, and was in part responsible for the strained diplomatic relations between the two nations for several years thereafter. This contradiction, more apparent than real, prompted Frank A. Golder, one of America's first historians of Russia, to call for more research in the area of Russian-American relations.' After mnore than fifty years the challenge has been accepted recently not by Americans but by Soviet historians. The results thus far have been encouraging.2 The contradiction mentioned above, however, still remains unresolved, owing perhaps to a tendency to stress formal diplomatic contacts without taking into, account a basic change in the orientation of the Russian government that occurred during the war. Given the desperate nature of the situation of the American colonists during the contest with Great Britain, Russian-American relations were regulated with minute care from St. Petersburg, which needed America's support far less than America needed Russia's support. But Russian policy was not consistent throughout the period of the

Sovereignty and Jurisdiction over Arctic Waters

Abstract: The author reviews the development of the international legal regime with respect to Arctic waters, as it has evolved through five ages or eras of international attitudes towards the region. The author then assesses the current legal regime of Arctic waters, focusing on Canada's claims to sovereignty over these waters and the numerous and diverse legal theories which are being relied on to both support and rebut sovereignty claims. The author concludes with a critical examination of the adequacy of the legal regime in the Arctic.

Towards a Globalization of Aging

Abstract: This article locates an understanding of comparative grounding of aging through the theory of globalization. It reviews the trends of aging in various countries across the continents and points out important policy issues facing nation states with decreasing sovereignty in the face of various challenges brought about by globalization. The need to reconsider theorizing aging by exploring and integrating theories of globalization is highlighted.

The ‘New Nationalism’ and International Organizations

Abstract: Membership in international organizations, no novelty for longestablished states and a symbol of independence for those more recently organized, imposes a characteristic tension on governments, which almost always attempt to form and carry out highly independent foreign policies. The ancient myth of sovereignty supports the practice of pretending that national interest, however defined, determines all foreign policy considerations. Moreover, the well-nigh universal governmental inclination toward modernization, a high level of welfare services and national development generally fits without obvious friction into independent foreign policies. However obeisant the constitutions and doctrinal pronouncements of international organizations may be to national independence, these bodies nevertheless seek to regulate interstate relationships. This regulation proceeds, perhaps sporadically and haltingly and so far never in an unbroken line, through practice, the establishment of standards and norms, the adjustment of international disputes, and the promotion of the general welfare. The deliberative organs of international organizations mass-

Smash the New Tsars' Theory of "Limited Sovereignty"

Abstract: Having long collaborated and contended with the U. S. imperialists, the Soviet revisionist renegade clique has carried out aggression and expansion everywhere, interfered in other countries' internal affairs, and even embarked on military adventures, and has thus wildly violated the territory and sovereignty of other countries. Having a guilty conscience, this pack of renegades fabricates all kinds of fascist fallacies to cover up their social-imperialist aggressive nature. The one they trumpet with the most enthusiasm is the so-called theory of "limited sovereignty."

The Collectivist Theme in International Relations

Abstract: Woodrow Wilson served at Versailles as a specialist in the revision and reordering of the international system, a statesman less interested in the details of the settlement than in the broad outlines of the global scheme of international relations that should be set into operation. Hence, it is with some justice though without complete accuracy that we describe as Wilsonian the contribution of Versailles to the general features of the international system as it has developed in the last half -century. Wilson is perhaps best remembered for his espousal of the principle of national self-determination and his preoccupation with the establishment of the League of Nations. In so far as the former principle was applied, it brought about an increase in the number of independent states eligible for participation in international affairs. The realization of the latter project initiated the development of broadly multilateral and multipurpose international organizations agencies potentially inclusive of all states and putatively concerned with the full range of problems that affect international relations. The combined impact of these two elements of the Wilsonian programme was to enhance multilateralism; the world was to be divided into a larger number of sovereign entities, which were to be involved to an unprecedented degree in institutionalized arrangements for collective consideration of and action upon matters affecting themselves and the global system which they constituted. The legacy of Versailles was, in short, a larger and more systematically organized "family of nations." The collectivist or multilateral emphasis was a pervasive feature of Wilson's scheme. States were to constitute an organized

Sino-Soviet Territorial Disputes: Past and Present

Abstract: Three centuries of historical background as well as current developments regarding Sino-Soviet territorial issues illustrate instructively the struggle of each to dominate the other, to secure state sovereignty, and to win international ideological acceptance. Earlier controversies and disturbances between the two rising empires were checked by a long-standing balance of power. Later, Russia used encroachments, intrigues and threats to exact territory from China during periods when she was troubled internally and externally; Russia made further inroads through continued colonial exploitation. At one time both regimes apparently shared a common Communist orientation that implied a changed relationship based on trust and cooperation. However, differences in ideological interpretation and in state policies soon degenerated into a series of bloody and serious incidents. The essence of the present dispute must be studied, and can only be understood, in the light of historical perspective. It is equally as important to relate this past experience to the broad context of contemporary ideological struggle within the international Communist movement. With these premises, one must review the vast domain China possessed in the seventeenth century, the tremendous Russian territorial acquisitions at China's expense in the mid-nineteenth century, Russian colonial practices in the outlying regions of China, especially after the turn of the century, the borderland's tranquility and prosperity during the golden decade of 1949-59, and the recent armed clashes and mutual accusations. Such a historical review prompts a

The Humanitarian Regime of Sovereignty: INGOs and Iraqi Migration to Syria

Abstract: This article considers the activities of international, humanitarian NGOs in Syria focused on Iraqi migrants. The analysis questions how these INGOs were positioned towards modern state sovereignty, and sovereignty’s particular constructions of territory, population, and government. Arguing that most INGOs operated firmly within the social relations stipulated by modern sovereignty, the article uses rich ethnographic data to demonstrate how INGO activities treated Iraqis according to sovereign exclusions and ideas about citizenship, even though Iraqi life in Syria visibly contradicted these ideas. Only smaller, amateur INGOs that stood outside of the professional humanitarian sector were found to work outside of sovereignty’s norms.

Aboriginal Peoples and the Constitution

Abstract: The author discusses recent constitutional developments with respect to recognition of treaty and aboriginal rights. Recent amendments to the proposed Charter of Rights include the use of new terminology and definitions. The author examines the impact of these amendments on aboriginal nationalism, in view of the failure by the federal government to include provisions relating to aboriginal self-government or sovereignty.