State Sovereignty as Social Construct
Thomas J Biersteker editor Cynthia Weber editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:2nd May '96
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Hardback£103.00(9780521562522)
The contributors analyse how the components of state sovereignty are socially constructed and combined in specific historical contexts.
State sovereignty is an inherently social construct. The modern state system is not based on some timeless principle of sovereignty, but on a conception that uniquely links authority, territory, population (society, nation), and recognition, in a particular place (the state). This book describes the practices that have produced various sovereign ideals and resistances to them.State sovereignty is an inherently social construct. The modern state system is not based on some timeless principle of sovereignty, but on the production of a normative conception which links authority, territory, population (society, nation), and recognition in a unique way, and in a particular place (the state). Attempting to realize this ideal entails a great deal of hard work on the part of statespersons, diplomats, and intellectuals. The ideal of state sovereignty is a product of the actions of powerful agents and the resistances to those actions by those located at the margins of power. The unique contribution of this book is to describe, theorize, and illustrate the practices which have socially constructed, reproduced, reconstructed, and deconstructed various sovereign ideals and resistances to them. The contributors analyse how all the components of state sovereignty - not only recognition, but also territory, population, and authority - are socially constructed and combined in specific historical contexts.
"This useful collection poses an important intellectual challenge to the dominant epistemology...and the central substantive concern...of international politics. The contributors perceptively employ a social constructivist approach to unpack the concept of state sovereignity and reinterpret its several constituent dimensions: recognition, territory, population, authority." S. Mozaffar, Choice
ISBN: 9780521565998
Dimensions: 230mm x 152mm x 20mm
Weight: 460g
316 pages