<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Sovereignty is a key concept in international law and international relations. First defined and discussed by Jean Bodin, sovereignty is considered to be an inherent attribute of any state. However, the changes that international society has undergone since the Treaty of Westphalia, including the emergence of different state and non-state actors vying for power and authority, have called into question the position of the state as the main actor in the modern world. This in turn has given rise to the following questions: how should the very concept of sovereignty be understood today? Given the growing importance of international organizations and regional integrational arrangements can the concept of sovereignty be extended to cover entities other than states; and in case of the European Union, what makes us think in terms of sovereignty rather than autonomy? This analysis is an attempt to apply the concept of sovereignty to contemporary international organizations. The main thesis is as follows: in the case of international organizations, especially a new type of organization, it is also legitimate to consider a narrative in terms of sovereignty, not just autonomy. The example studied here is the European Union as an international organization-cum-regional integrational arrangement.</p></abstract>

Sovereignty is a key concept in international law and international relations. First defined and discussed by Jean Bodin, sovereignty is considered to be an inherent attribute of any state. However, the changes that international society has undergone since the Treaty of Westphalia, including the emergence of different state and non-state actors vying for power and authority, have called into question the position of the state as the main actor in the modern world. This in turn has given rise to the following questions: how should the very concept of sovereignty be understood today? Given the growing importance of international organizations and regional integrational arrangements can the concept of sovereignty be extended to cover entities other than states; and in case of the European Union, what makes us think in terms of sovereignty rather than autonomy? This analysis is an attempt to apply the concept of sovereignty to contemporary international organizations. The main thesis is as follows: in the case of international organizations, especially a new type of organization, it is also legitimate to consider a narrative in terms of sovereignty, not just autonomy. The example studied here is the European Union as an international organization-cum-regional integrational arrangement.

Autonomy or Sovereignty: the Case of the European Union

International and Comparative Law Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Autonomy or Sovereignty: the Case of the European Union"}

Sovereignty is a key concept in international law and international relations. First defined and discussed by Jean Bodin, sovereignty is considered to be an...

Autonomy or Sovereignty: the Case of the European Union

Published Online: Feb 21, 2021

Page range: 73 - 92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/iclr-2020-0018

Keywords
autonomy, sovereignty, international organizations, regional integrational arrangements, European Union

© 2020 Danuta Kabat-Rudnicka, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Autonomy or Sovereignty: the Case of the European Union

Published Online: Feb 21, 2021

Page range: 73 - 92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/iclr-2020-0018

Keywordsautonomy, sovereignty, international organizations, regional integrational arrangements, European Union

© 2020 Danuta Kabat-Rudnicka, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
autonomy, sovereignty, international organizations, regional integrational arrangements, European Union