Most - if not all - conflicts in international relations have - to an extent - something to do with sovereignty. On the theoretical side, we learn at University that either considered as a strong concept or one that has lost relevance, it is still discussed. On the practical side, the prerogatives a State has over its people and territory appear to be the highest. Within these ideal and real backgrounds, there are various sovereignty disputes around the world that struggle between legal and political limbo, status quo and continuous tension with various negative consequences for all the involved parties (e.g. violation of human rights, war, arms trafficking, only to name a few). It is increasingly clear that the available remedies have been less than successful, and a peaceful and definitive solution is needed. This thesis proposes a fair and just way of dealing with certain sovereignty conflicts. Part One presents the core argument to work out the structure upon which this thesis will be developed. There is a traditional idea that sovereignty must be unshared and unlimited. I argue that in actual fact both in theory and in practice sovereignty is always limited. Thereby, I consider how shared sovereignty is possible—how a State can limit itself and stay sovereign. Chapter One, the Introduction, presents the basic constitutive elements of this thesis. Chapter Two examines if sovereignty can be (in fact, may actually be) limited, and therefore can be shared. To show this I use both criticism of the best known theories of sovereignty and investigation of the historical facts. Part Two explores the minimum elements that must be acknowledged conceptually, legally and realistically in order to give flesh to shared sovereignty and the way it needs to work if we want a peaceful understanding amongst the parties concerned. Chapter Three appraises ‘shared sovereignty’ and similar expressions used in political and legal literature. In order to do that, I show which notions of shared sovereignty are not relevant. Chapter Four examines how a relevant notion can be developed, using the analogy of self-ownership. Chapter Five discusses the main remedies applied at international level in sovereignty issues and why proposed alternatives to shared sovereignty will not solve the problem. Part Three considers how distributive justice theories can be in tune with the concept of sovereignty and explores the possibility of a solution for sovereignty conflicts. I argue that shared sovereignty can be that solution based on Rawlsian principles. Chapter Six introduces and explores a new conception of shared sovereignty. Chapter Seven evaluates what sorts of institutions and arrangements could, and would best, realise shared sovereignty so defined by showing in outline how it might be applied to territory, population, government and law. Chapter Eight brings together the main points of this thesis, and shows possible further implications.

Thesis advisor: Jonathan Laurence / This thesis analyzes the impact of Europeanization on national sovereignty, through a case study examining the French experience between the Maastricht Treaty of the early 1990s and the Treaty of Lisbon in present day. It approaches the study of Europeanization and French national sovereignty from two directions, addressing both political and social sovereignty. While Europeanization and European integration are most identified with the economic realm, examining political and social sovereignty allows for the development of an understanding of how Europeanization operates as a top-down process. Europeanization began on the supranational level, bringing the states together economically. It then developed on the interstate level, bringing together leaders politically. Currently, it is expanding to the subnational level, uniting the people of all member states socially. Because of this progression, Europeanization has had the most impact on economic sovereignty, less on political sovereignty and the least on social sovereignty. Though Europeanization and national sovereignty are traditionally seen as locked in an either/or battle, this study of France’s experience with political and social sovereignty throughout the past twenty years suggests that Europeanization is not destroying national sovereignty, but rather, allowing for a reinterpretation of national sovereignty and the relationship between nation-states and international actors. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

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LL.D.

This dissertation examines the formation of Ottoman sovereignty in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries at the disciplinary intersection of international law and history. As an attempt to break away from a strictly territorial understanding of sovereignty as a fixed legal construct, it explores shifting definitions of sovereignty within and across the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire as well as its semi-autonomous provinces. It argues that Ottoman sovereignty was constantly re-defined by inter-imperial rivalries, jurisdictional politics and the formation of modern subjecthood and citizenship in the emerging arena of international law during the period in question. Exploring what it meant to be an Ottoman and a foreigner in the Ottoman Empire during this period, I argue that subjecthood; nationality and citizenship often appear as instrumental categories incidentally utilized by ordinary individuals when deemed necessary. A careful examination of the Ottoman passport regime, on the other hand, proves that there already existed a prolonged process of experimentation on individual documentation and movement controls during the second half of the nineteenth history. Studying a collection of identity cards and passports, I argue that individual documentation mattered more for some subjects than others, who needed to maintain and negotiate their identities under overlapping structures of multiple sovereignties. A careful analysis of various case studies, from former Ottoman Bulgaria to never-Ottoman Dutch Indonesia, demonstrate that disputed claims to nationality and foreign protection in one locality were often connected to the enhancement or loss of Ottoman sovereignty elsewhere and can only be understood beyond the geographical and disciplinary constraints of area studies.

Alex Standen

The thesis tracks the emergence of western forms of nationalism in republics of Post- Soviet Central Asia, and assesses the likelihood of ethnic conflict in the region, and its probably consequences. It also considers the means by which the heterogenous populations in Central Asia may be more effectively accommodated within the individual republics. The thesis is conceived in three sections. The first section examines the causes and consequences of ethnic conflict, and discusses the implications of ethnic conflict in Central Asia from the perspective of state sovereignty and international security. The second section assesses the evolution of ethnicity and identity in Central Asia, the impact of Soviet nationalities policies and the impact of newly enforceable territorial sovereignty on the interconnected populations of the region. The third, and concluding, section considers the impact of state actors and regional and international institutions on the Central Asian republics, and considers strategies that may mitigate the potential for ethnic conflict in the region. The thesis concludes that emerging ethnonationalism in Post-Soviet Central Asia poses a real threat to regional and international security. The individual republics are pursuing policies which discriminate against large proportions of their populations. The Central Asian republics are also struggling with their newly found sovereignty, especially in respect to their asymmetrical relationships with states such as Russia, China and the U.S.A. The republics should consider alternative forms of governance, such as national cultural autonomy or consociation, which may contribute to a lessening of the tensions between ethnic or identity groups. The international community, in the form of the United Nations or other appropriate organisations, should recognise the potential for ethnic conflict in the region, and should actively encourage the states to adopt innovative forms of government that accommodate the diverse needs of their heterogenous populations.

Inaug.-diss.--Halle-Wittenberg. / Lebenslauf. Bibliography: p. xi-xx.

The former-Soviet states that make up Central Asia are among the most challenging group of countries to understand in the twenty-first century geopolitical and geoeconomic context. As one of the last of the world’s frontiers, much of this regions’ energy potential in oil and natural gas has yet to be tapped or, even, be found; and the region’s strategic position make Central Asia a significant region for energy markets and global affairs. The last few decades in Central Asia have been shaped by the determination to develop their energy sectors with a balance between attracting foreign energy firms and preserving its authority over its energy assets. States have also struggled to protect their sovereignty over their political and economic affairs from militant, nationalist or sectarian groups as well as from great powers like Russia and China. In spite of its many challenges, Central Asia has many opportunities to develop those institutions, regional relationships and positive economic and political practices that will promote a productive energy sector and a thriving economy. Central-Asian states must achieve its goals of establishing an energy policy that secures prosperity for all, promoting productive energy relations with all Central-Asian states, reducing undue foreign influence but promoting foreign cooperation that benefits Central-Asia’s global relationships, and establishing peace and stability that protect energy infrastructure, production and exports. The future of Central-Asian energy relations can take many different paths and is dependent on the fate of its neighbors Russia, Afghanistan, South Asia and Iran. Russia’s needs for Central Asia’s neighbors to become unstable or inhospitable to energy development, but peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan can open new markets for Central Asia; and changes in Iran can unlock new opportunities to ship oil and gas to Western markets around Russia. For all that the region has endured since independence, the world should apply greater value on this region as its energy prowess and strategic importance make Central Asia an influential player in twenty-first century global relations. / text