Hamid Reza Nosrati; Hamid Reza Mohammadi
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Abstract:
States have always sought to consolidate their sovereignty in a specific area in order to provide their well-defined national security within their political boundaries framework. Actually, the size and realm of their sovereignty were specified and delineable. However, ...
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Extended Abstract
Abstract:
States have always sought to consolidate their sovereignty in a specific area in order to provide their well-defined national security within their political boundaries framework. Actually, the size and realm of their sovereignty were specified and delineable. However, this kind of sovereignty got decentralized and appeared in the world globally and locally by the emergence of postmodernism period associated with the predominance of local identities, NGOs, global and multinational corporations, as well as transnational and international organizations. In this situation, the survival and preservation of the sovereignty would be ensured if the state be compatible and coordinate with these two categories. Therefore, this article examines and explains the concept of the continuation or destruction of national state sovereignty in the global geopolitical system. The main question raised here is whether the conceptual scope of the national sovereignty will be continued, transformed or eroded?, or is the ground now prepared for transforming of the sovereign state as a new world actor? Accordingly, in order to answer the question, 3 different attitudes have been studied as follows:
1- Believing in sovereignty continuation and survival of the national state.
2- Believing in establishing new functions for national state.
3- Supporting collapse and destruction of national state.
Thus, according to these three attitudes, the hypothesis in this paper is organized based on the claim that although the national states sovereignty has not been demolished despite all the pressures and limitations that were enforced, its conceptual and dominative scope has been transformed.
1- INTRODUCTION
The relationships were established in the world’s geopolitical system and in relation to the role of states in surviving the societies have been considered through two historical periods which is related to the emergence of the "state-nations" by concluding of the Westphalia treaty in 1648 and then have been included coming nongovernmental actors in the International field since the second half of the twentieth century.
Ending the Cold War and the collapse of the bipolar system, which paved the way of globalization for the economy and culture, can be considered as the highest point of these transformations. So, the power of states was affected by several factors, such as the communications, information, technological developments, multinational corporations, organizations and increasing non-governmental actors. Sates functions were significantly transformed. Totally, the historical evidence of four recent centuries has shown that the national state not only consisted itself very efficiently with global transformations and could continue its own life in this way but also it gradually influenced the direction of global change by its growing up, as well other social institutions and organizations have to adapt themselves to this social organization or "Social Structures" as Vendent says. The national state in this current world has shown itself as a main supplier of human public benefit and welfare, so the public expectations have significantly increased. Nobody can image the modern life without state. Because of this superior role of states in people modern life, Andrew Vincent writes it is hardly possible to suppose life without states practically. The state not only indicates a set of entities, but also suggests the attitudes and practical and behavioral styles which are briefly called civility that undoubtedly is considered as a part of civilization.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The concept of the Nation refers to the certain public intercommunication among people through a common sense which is created as a result of sharing common historical experience, tradition, language, religion, culture, and common political ends. Dick Shield continued: "Although the land is one of the nation characteristics and the nation is a superior concept in policy, it is not included in a territory of an independent country. Sovereignty is the supreme power with undisputed authority over the country and its citizens. In political contexts and in foreign relations, sovereignties should be recognized by other countries and international legal competent authorities. The national state can be defined as a complex array of modern institutions which are involved in sovereignty system in the form of a limited and specific spatial realm. This system claims the dominance on that realm and preserves it by monopolizing the violence tools. Generally, two different processes were effective in creating a national state: The first theory considered the state as concentrator of the authority in its own territory and aimed to create the political and social infrastructure in order to run the decision by influencing civil society. And the second thesis tries to oblige the nation structure; the noble class to create a national identity and culture as well as a citizenship concept consequently using authority is gained through creating state procedure. The global government is as an executive mechanism that links all actors in the format of world rules. The global government tries to regulate and shape a new form of political, economic and strategic mechanisms. Indeed, this government is discrete and possibly unstable; it can make the masses of more or less coherent governmental entities, which have somewhat global influence and legality. Also it can act as a state in the context of regulating the economy, society and politics in global scope.
3- METHODOLOGY
The present study has descriptive-analytical approach and the data are mostly gathered based on the library. Foreign reference books and articles from university libraries archives as well as Internet are other references.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The article examines the three major attitudes of realists, transformatives, and globalists in order to explain the concept of the continuation or erosion of the national state's sovereignty. According to the above theories, it should be noted that, despite the changes have made in the global geopolitical system, neither realists nor transformationalists and globalists provide a complete framework for analyzing global politics. It can be said that national states have lost their former role, the national states nature is transforming, and it is a myth that states do not influence globalization processes, according to Smith, but in spite of this permeability, national state is still present as the main actor in the global geopolitical system, and nations defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity enthusiastically, it is true, especially the Third World nations, whose autonomous struggles are still alive in memories. War and constant readiness for war, political disunion, cultural diversity and a huge gap between the most advanced and poorest states are still the most fundamental features of the contemporary world system.
Totally, the study shows that the conceptual forms of sovereignty are being transformed at least as a result of excessive expanding of globalization and it is generally collapsing in pessimistic point of view.
