CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF A STATE
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CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF A STATE
WHAT IS A STATE?
A number of political intellectuals have attempted to define the state and explain what it means or stands for. Some of these definitions include the following:
Aristotle defined a state in the following way: “a union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self-sufficing life which we mean a happy and honourable life” .
Holland defines a state as “a large assemblage of human beings generally occupying a territory among whom the will of the majority or class is made to prevail over any of their number who oppose it.”
In international law, a sovereign state is a nonphysical legal body represented by a single centralised government with jurisdiction over a certain geographical territory. According to international law, sovereign states have a permanent population,
defined territory, a single administration, and the ability to engage in contacts with other sovereign states. It is also commonly accepted that a sovereign state is neither dependent on or subservient to any other power or state.
The continued existence of a state
The existence or extinction of a state is a matter of fact. While according to the declarative theory of statehood, a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised nations will frequently find it difficult to exercise full treaty-making capabilities and engage in diplomatic contacts with other sovereign states.
Emergence of the States
States were formed when people “gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign (king, duke, prince) to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state” .
States are just one of various political orders that arose from feudal Europe, alongside city states, leagues, and empires with universalist claims to sovereignty.
Westphalian Sovereignty
Westphalian sovereignty is a type of nation-state sovereignty based on territoriality and the lack of a role for external forces in internal structures. It is an international system of nations, multinational enterprises, and organisations that dates back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Sovereignty is a frequently overused term. Until the nineteenth century, the radical concept of a “standard of civilization” was widely used to decide which peoples in the world were “uncivilised” and lacked organised civilizations.
That situation was represented and created in the belief that their “sovereignty” was either wholly nonexistent or of a lesser kind as compared to that of “civilised” people.
According to Lassa Oppenheim, “There is possibly no term whose meaning is more contentious than that of sovereignty. It is an undeniable reality that this notion, from its introduction into political science to the present day,
has never had a universally accepted interpretation.” According to H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, “sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all.”
Sovereignty has taken on new meaning with the creation of the principle of self-determination and the prohibition on the threat or use of force as jus cogens rules of modern international law.
The United Nations Charter, the Draft Declaration on the Rights and Duties of States, and the charters of regional international organisations all express the belief that all states are legally equal and have the same rights
and duties simply because they exist as persons under international law. Nations have the right to define their own political status and exercise permanent sovereignty within their territorial borders, which is widely recognised.
In political science, sovereignty is typically characterised as the most important quality of a state in the form of complete self-sufficiency within the confines of a certain area, i.e. its dominance in internal policy and independence in foreign affairs.
The Westphalian System of state sovereignty is named after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which, according to Bryan Turner, “made a more or less clear separation between religion and state, and recognised the right of princes ‘to confessionalize’ the state, that is, to determine the religious affiliation of their kingdoms on the pragmatic principle of cuius regio eius religio.”
The Westphalian paradigm of state sovereignty has come under increasing criticism from the “non-west” as a system imposed mainly by Western Colonialism. This paradigm subordinated religion to politics,
[17] which has produced some problems in the Islamic world. This system is not appropriate for the Islamic world since ideas like “separation of church and state” and “individual conscience” are not recognised as social systems in Islam.
In casual language, the terms “country”, “nation”, and “state” are sometimes used as if they were synonymous; nevertheless, in stricter usage, they can be distinguished:[Citation needed]
A country is a region of land characterised by geographical features or political boundaries.
A nation is a group of people who are thought to share similar customs, religion, language, origins, genealogy, or history. However, the words national and international are widely used to refer to things involving strictly sovereign governments, such as national capital and international law.
The term “state” refers to a group of organisations that administer and support a certain territory and population. Sovereign states are legal entities.
RECOGNITION
State recognition is the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as if it were also a sovereign state. Recognition can be spoken or implied, and it usually has a retroactive effect. It does not necessarily indicate a willingness to establish or maintain diplomatic ties.
There is no universally applicable definition of statehood criterion. In practice, the requirements are primarily political, not legal. L.C. Green cited the recognition of the unborn Polish and Czechoslovak states during World War I,
explaining that “since recognition of statehood is a matter of discretion, it is open to any existing State to accept as a state any entity it wishes, regardless of the existence of territory or of an established government.”
Theories on When a State Should Be Recognised as Sovereign
Constitutional theory
According to the constitutive view of statehood, a state is a person of international law if and only if other states accept its sovereignty. The theory of recognition was created in the nineteenth century. Under it, a state was considered sovereign if another sovereign state accepted it as such.
Declarative Theory
In contrast, the declarative theory of statehood identifies a state as a person under international law if it fits the following criteria: 1) A defined region; 2) A permanent population; 3) A government; and 4)
The ability to establish contacts with other states. Declarative theory holds that an entity’s statehood is independent of whether it is recognised by other nations.
State Practice
State practice in terms of state recognition is often midway between the declaratory and constitutive approaches.[27] Under international law, a state is not required to recognise other states.
De Facto and De Jure States
Most sovereign governments exist both legally and in actuality. However, a state can only be accepted as a de jure state, which means that it is recognised as the legal authority of a territory over which it has no practical power.
WHAT IS A STATE?
A number of political intellectuals have attempted to define the state and explain what it signifies or represents. Some of these definitions include the following:
Holland defines a state as “a large assemblage of human beings generally occupying a territory among whom the will of the majority or class is made to prevail over any of their number who oppose it.”
Jean Bodin defined the state as “an association of families and their common possessions, governed by supreme authority and reason.”
In international law, a sovereign state is a nonphysical legal body represented by a single centralised government with jurisdiction over a certain geographical territory. According to international law, sovereign states have a permanent population,
defined territory, a single administration, and the ability to engage in contacts with other sovereign states. It is also commonly accepted that a sovereign state is neither dependent on or subservient to any other power or state.
The continued existence of a state
The existence or extinction of a state is a matter of fact. While according to the declarative theory of statehood, a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised nations will frequently find it difficult to exercise full treaty-making capabilities and engage in diplomatic contacts with other sovereign states.
Emergence of the States
States were formed when people “gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign (king, duke, prince) to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state” . States are just one of various political orders that arose from mediaeval Europe, alongside city states, leagues, and empires with Universalist claims to sovereignty.
Westphalian Sovereignty
Westphalian sovereignty is a type of nation-state sovereignty based on territoriality and the lack of a role for external forces in internal structures. It is an international system of nations, multinational enterprises, and organisations that dates back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
Sovereignty is a frequently overused term. Until the nineteenth century, the radical concept of a “standard of civilization” was widely used to decide which peoples in the world were “uncivilised” and lacked organised civilizations.
That situation was represented and created in the belief that their “sovereignty” was either wholly nonexistent or of a lesser kind as compared to that of “civilised” people.
According to Lassa Oppenheim, “There is possibly no term whose meaning is more contentious than that of sovereignty. It is an undeniable reality that this notion, from its introduction into political science to the present day,
has never had a universally accepted interpretation.” According to H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, “sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all.”
Sovereignty has taken on new meaning with the creation of the principle of self-determination and the prohibition on the threat or use of force as jus cogens rules of modern international law.
The United Nations Charter, the Draft Declaration on the Rights and Duties of States, and the charters of regional international organisations all express the belief that all states are legally equal and have the same rights and duties simply because they exist as persons under international law.
The Westphalian System of state sovereignty is named after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which, according to Bryan Turner, “made a more or less clear separation between religion and state, and recognised the right of princes ‘to confessionalize’ the state, that is, to determine the religious affiliation of their kingdoms on the pragmatic principle of cuius regio eius religio.”
The Westphalian paradigm of state sovereignty has come under increasing criticism from the “non-west” as a system imposed mainly by Western Colonialism. This paradigm subordinated religion to politics,
[17] which has produced some problems in the Islamic world. This system is not appropriate for the Islamic world since ideas like “separation of church and state” and “individual conscience” are not recognised as social systems in Islam.
In casual language, the terms “country”, “nation”, and “state” are sometimes used as if they were synonymous; nevertheless, in stricter usage, they can be distinguished:[Citation needed]
A country is a region of land characterised by geographical features or political boundaries.
A nation is a group of people who are thought to share similar customs, religion, language, origins, genealogy, or history. However, the words national and international are widely used to refer to things involving strictly sovereign governments, such as national capital and international law.
The term “state” refers to a group of organisations that administer and support a certain territory and population. Sovereign states are legal entities.
RECOGNITION
State recognition is the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as if it were also a sovereign state. Recognition can be spoken or implied, and it usually has a retroactive effect. It does not necessarily indicate a willingness to establish or maintain diplomatic ties.
There is no universally applicable definition of statehood criterion. In practice, the requirements are primarily political, not legal. L.C. Green referenced the acceptance of the unborn Polish and Czechoslovak governments in World War I and noted that “because recognition of statehood is a matter of discretion, any existing State may accept as a state any entity it chooses.
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