RESEARCH
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Barbados vs. Nauru: Sovereignty as a Сommodity
29.06.2026 19:37
researchHow Western Sovereignty Occludes Indigenous Governance: the Guarani and Kaiowa Peoples in BrazilRecent international relations (IR) scholarship has developed a growing awareness of this discipline’s colonial roots, prompting a search for decolonising approaches. This article is about indigenous sovereignties and how they have been occluded in the currently globalised European system of states. The method employed is a case study of two of the most impoverished and brutalised Indigenous Peoples in Brazil: the Guarani and the Kaiowa. In an attempt to transit between the world of Westphalia and non-European worlds, it starts by engaging in a conversation with Guarani and Kaiowa knowledge. Then, through a long-term historical analysis, it examines the main colonial processes that caused the occlusion of Guarani and Kaiowa sovereignty. Finally, it provides a broader perspective on how the diffusion of the European model of sovereignty, confronted with Indigenous resistance, has led to the social exclusion of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
Land sovereignty in depressed and contested agro-territories: The cases of Portugal and BrazilThis article offers an exploratory operationalisation of the concept of land sovereignty applied to land politics in 2 agro-territories from different countries and continents sharing a common language and deeply linked histories: Portugal and Brazil. These display a similar model of agricultural development, representing a contradiction between the promise of profit based on aggressive exploitation of the territory and the marginalised condition of its population. How this agricultural model took hold in each country and manifested the agrarian question differs according to key socio-historical factors, such as the role of each in the colonial history that links them. Today, however, these agro-territories face similar challenges: human rights abuses, environmental destruction, lack of sound territorial management and fair policies, coupled with the dilapidation of socio-economic infrastructures. This makes them especially vulnerable to climate change, unemployment and poverty, while also caught in a clash between development models: a hegemonic hyper-intensive production model and the peasant-based model that has been resisting the advances of the former. This double jeopardy has prompted us to speak of ‘depressed and contested agro-territories’. Our study shows how, in the case of Brazil, despite physical violence and threats to life, social movements are propelling land reform, linking it to the concept of the social function of land. In Portugal, in contrast, the country’s alignment with neoliberal development has civil society divided about how to contest land use. Our analysis indicates that in both cases: (i) today’s land politics are heavily biased towards a neoliberal, export-based, hyper-intensive agriculture controlled by large corporations, with weak legislation in place to defend both social and environmental rights; (ii) land reform based on land sovereignty and the social function of land is deemed crucial to assist agro-territories in regaining socio-ecological balance and to attain democratisation of land politics by regaining control over land, natural resources and local markets.
Sovereignty Under Siege: International Law, the Use of Force, and the Caracas Operation of 2026On January 3, 2026, United States special operations forces conducted Operation Absolute Resolve, seizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from Fort Tiuna in Caracas and transporting him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges. This paper examines the profound implications of this operation for international law, state sovereignty, and the normative foundations of the post-1945 international order. Drawing upon the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force (Article 2(4)), the doctrine of head-of-state immunity, and the precedent established by the 1989 capture of Manuel Noriega, this analysis interrogates the legal justifications offered by the Trump administration and assesses their viability under established international legal frameworks. The paper argues that while existing mechanisms for accountability—including the International Criminal Court—have proven inadequate for addressing crimes by sitting heads of state, unilateral military action to enforce domestic criminal charges represents a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundational principles of sovereign equality. The accountability-sovereignty dilemma exposed by the Caracas operation demands innovative multilateral solutions rather than the reassertion of great power prerogatives. This analysis concludes with policy recommendations for strengthening international accountability mechanisms while preserving the legal architecture that has maintained relative stability since World War II.
Sovereignty vs. Intervention: Re-examining International Law after the 2026 United States Intervention in VenezuelaThis study critically examines the tension between state sovereignty and external intervention through the lens of the 2026 United States intervention in Venezuela, situating the event within the broader framework of contemporary international law. Traditionally, sovereignty has functioned as a foundational principle safeguarding territorial integrity and political independence, reinforced by the prohibition on the use of force under the United Nations Charter. However, evolving global challenges—including humanitarian crises, transnational threats, and contested governance—have increasingly tested the rigidity of this norm. The 2026 intervention presents a complex case in which legal justifications, including counter-narcotics operations, democratic restoration, and humanitarian considerations, intersect with geopolitical interests. This paper evaluates the legality of the intervention by analyzing its alignment with established exceptions such as self-defense and Security Council authorization, while also interrogating emerging doctrines like the Responsibility to Protect. It further explores the implications of unilateral action for the credibility and consistency of international law, highlighting concerns over selective enforcement and precedent-setting behavior by powerful states. Ultimately, the study argues that the incident underscores an urgent need to recalibrate international legal frameworks to better reconcile sovereignty with evolving norms of intervention, ensuring both the protection of state integrity and the promotion of global stability and human rights.
The Limits of Sovereignty and Post-War Okinawan Migrants in BoliviaThis paper examines the legal implications for Okinawan migrants of Article 3 of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (hereafter SFPT), signed between Japan and most of the Allied Powers in 1951. Particularly, it analyses the case of post-war Okinawan migrants in Bolivia, showing how the legal conditions in the Ryukyu Islands were extended to the Andean country. The Japanese defeat in the Asia-Pacific War (August 1945) was followed by the occupation of the country by the United States. The peace treaty, signed six years later, originated during the early years of the Cold War and was fraught with geopolitical implications. The SFPT allowed the U.S. military to retain control of Okinawa prefecture without formally severing it from Japan. In other words, the treaty-makers allocated de jure sovereignty over Okinawa to Japan while the U.S. enjoyed de facto sovereignty. This distinction gave rise to a legal conundrum concerning the future of the islands and the legal situation of the Okinawan people onshore and abroad. Building on Japanese and English primary sources I examine the reaction of American and Japanese jurists to Article 3 and the approach of both governments toward offshore Okinawan migrants.
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Venezuela: Popular Sovereignty Versus Liberal Democracy
20.05.2026 07:19
researchCritical Perspectives on Guyana’s Sovereign Wealth Fund
07.05.2026 07:30
researchSecession, Territorial Integrity and (Non)-Sovereignty: Why do Some Separatist Movements in the Caribbean Succeed and Others Fail?Secessionist movements are ubiquitous in the Caribbean, with virtually every multiisland state and territory experiencing centrifugal tendencies. The region thus offers a unique opportunity to examine why some succeed and others fail. By and large, the propensity for secession has not attracted the attention of scholars beyond the region, with small states and territories largely excluded from supposedly ‘global’ analysis on the subject. The article fills this gap by analysing secessionist movements in both sovereign and non-sovereign territories. We find that secession was most likely to occur in the run-up to independence. In the post-colonial period, successes have only occurred among non-sovereign territories—as demonstrated by the fragmentation of the Netherlands Antilles and the administrative separation of St Martin and St Barthélémy from Guadeloupe—which have split from each other while collectively remaining part of a metropolitan state. Non-sovereignty reduces the costs of heterogeneity via the shelter provided by the larger metropolitan power. By analysing hitherto understudied cases, this article thus adds to studies that show how secession is contingent on continued state protections which allow downsizing to occur in an orderly manner, which is in turn consistent with the desire of the international community for geopolitical stability.
Constructing state, territory, and sovereignty in the Syrian conflictThe article argues that sovereignty claims and counterclaims are still very much at work in international and civil conflicts involving state actors. Focusing on the case of the Syrian conflict, the article engages in methodological triangulation using Critical Discourse Analysis and international relations theories. It finds that the sovereignty-first narrative adopted by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and its external allies such as Russia, has built an ‘effective’ discourse that has been adopted in a coherent, consistent, and resonant manner, as well as a ‘credible’ discourse which combined words with actions (i.e. performatives and constatives of sovereignty). The effectiveness and credibility of the sovereignty-first narrative is also judged by the absence of effective and credible contending narratives demonstrated by the tepid application of concepts like the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) by the United States and its European allies. In making these comparisons, the Syrian conflict can be contextualised by relating it to the Arab Spring and geopolitical shifts in international affairs. It is within this contextualisation that the article demonstrates broader claims about the endurance of the ‘territorial state’ in the Middle East.
Sovereignty, Power Politics and International Law: An Analysis of the United States' Arrest of Venezuela’s President and Its Implications for Nigeria and AfricaBackground of Study: The principles of state sovereignty, non-intervention, and head-of-state immunity are foundational to the international legal framework. These principles, enshrined in the United Nations Charter and customary international law, are increasingly challenged by the unilateral actions of powerful states. The 2026 arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States serves as a significant case that tests these principles.
Narratives on Indigenous victimhood. Challenges of Indigenous Data Sovereignty in Colombia’s transitional settingThe Indigenous communities of Colombia have borne the brunt of the country’s violent history. Since colonial times, the Indigenous communities of Colombia have endured different forms of violence that have caused systematic dispossession of their lands, displacement and the loss of their cultural identity.
Barbados vs Vatican City: The Paradoxes of Sovereignty of a “Country Without a Territory”Barbados and the Vatican City are two States whose sovereignty is fundamentally atypical. Barbados is a small Caribbean Island nation that formally severed its last institutional ties with the British Empire in 2021, but is structurally dependent on tourism, global financial markets, and climate decisions made by major powers.
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Pakistan vs. France: When Sovereignty Is Given On Credit
28.04.2026 14:23
researchDigital Sovereignty In Algeria: An Analytical Study On Knowledge, Innovation And AI IndexesThis study aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of ensuring Algeria's transition from successful traditional sovereignty to guaranteeing digital sovereignty, using scientific indexes and the experience of China as a global model in the era of digital transformation. To achieve this, we adopted an analytical methodology focused on several global indicators related to digital transformation over the past eight years (2017-2024). These include the Global Knowledge Index, the Global Innovation Index, and the Artificial Intelligence Index. In addition to these digital inputs, our study also incorporated economic and legislative inputs, such as gross domestic product (GDP), the percentage of GDP spending on research and development, and legislative policies. Given Algeria's ambition to position itself as an emerging knowledge-based economy, we have drawn on evidence from China as a successful global model. The results of the study found that Algeria has the necessary capabilities that enable it to enhance its digital, economic and legislative inputs, and that the criterion for its success in ensuring digital sovereignty is reflected by improving its global ranking in global indicators related to digital transformation, especially infrastructure, research and development, advertising and communication technologies, digital environment, and legislative policy.
Interrogating the Rivalry between State Sovereignty and Forces of Globalisation in International Relations and Politics among NationsThis paper focuses on the rivalry between sovereignty and globalization in the contemporary world order. It is a comparative study, descriptive in nature and employs secondary data. The study adopts theory of power by Hans Morgenthau to explain how differentiated capacities define nations and why globalization seems to supplant sovereignty in response to changes brought about by technological innovations and advancements. As a result, globalization has been in constant rivalry with sovereignty and sometimes violates the rights that nations have over their internal affairs. The study recommends that both sovereignty and globalization, though important in the modern world, should have the mode of their applications and limitations clearly defined in international law and dutifully respected by nation-states.
Globalization and internationalization of the international order: is state sovereignty at bay?The idea of the state lies at the core of international relations and international law, and the concept of sovereignty lies at the core of the concept of the state. An essential link between globalization and the nation state is the concept of sovereignty. Through globalization, technological, economic, and political advances have severely abridged the barriers to economic, political, and cultural exchange, resulting in increasing transnational flows and increasingly thick networks of interdependence, as well as an expansion of the scale on which power is organized and exercised. As a result, States have assented to considerable interference with respect to their internal sovereignty. All of this has additionally broadened the fissure between political reality and the ideal of classical sovereignty. This article seeks to critically analyse the effect of globalisation on state sovereignty and contradict the hypothesis that economic globalization weakens the nation state because sovereignty is transforming in response to the requirements and processes of globalisation and its complexities.
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The 2026 National Defense Strategy by the Numbers. Radical Changes, Moderate Changes, and Some ContinuitiesThe Trump administration presents its new National Defense Strategy (NDS) as a break from previous strategies, including that of the first Trump administration. Out are Russia, Europe, and climate change. In are hemispheric security, “warrior ethos,” and burden shifting. Many changes are indeed substantial, even radical, and reportedly received pushback from military leaders during the drafting process. Others, however, may not be as significant as they first appear, and there is some continuity with previous strategy documents. The document also constitutes a different reading experience, departing from the analytic tone of previous strategy documents and often adopting the tone of a political rally.
Bargaining for Equity at MSVU: From Performativity to TransformationIn this paper, we reflect on our experiences in the Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association and our efforts to prioritize decolonizing, indigenizing, and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) in the collective bargaining process. We examine the performative nature of EDIA efforts in negotiations by university administrators and the Board of Governors, outlining our employer’s active resistance to proposals pertaining to EDIA, their lack of explicit Indigenous and EDIA expertise on their bargaining team, their sidelining and exclusion of university Indigenous and EDIA experts, as well as the absence of transparency and accountability in decision-making. We suggest that three actions — strengthening internal and external solidarity, democratizing governance, and pursuing legislative reform — offer a pathway to rethinking equity-based bargaining, challenging the instrumentalization of EDIA, and achieving genuine structural change.
The Remains of Power: Meaning and Function of Regalia in MadagascarIt has become commonplace to define sovereignty as an almost divine and transcendent power, a concept which has its roots in the ancient Roman world. Following Foucault’s lead, for example, Giorgio Agamben has argued that the political capture of life represents the original paradigm of the entire history of Western civilization. This ontological and Western-centric reading of sovereignty has had an enormous influence on the social and human sciences. Taking its cue from Ernst Kantorowicz’s insights into the ‘duality’ of power, this article problematizes Agamben’s reading by exploring an alternative paradigm, which conceives sovereignty as a ‘chronotopic apparatus’ and ordering ritual. Through an analysis of the meaning and function of royal remains (regalia), effigies and ritual practices in western Madagascar, the essay shows a different understanding of sovereignty and of its symbolism, which can be used to articulate an alternative genealogy of political power.
Security, structural factors and sovereignty: Analysing reactions to Kenya’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp complexKenya’s decision to close the Dadaab refugee camp complex highlights structural flaws in the international refugee regime. While much attention has been paid to Kenya’s reasoning, less has been given to the reactions of organisations and states. Given the state’s primacy in the international system and uncertainty about refugees, Kenya’s decision is perhaps unsurprising. It is contended that the stakeholders were unprepared because of path dependence and disbelief that Kenya would repatriate the refugees. While stakeholder reactions arguably demonstrate concern for refugees, the international refugee regime remains unquestioned, sustaining revenue streams that may fuel corruption, encourage lengthy encampment and prolong conflict.
The Practice of Archipelagic States: A Study of StudiesIn 2014, as part of its Limits in the Seas series, the U.S. Department of State published studies assessing the maritime claims of the following 16 states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Comoros, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Indonesia, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.1 As each study notes at the outset, its “purpose” is to “examine a coastal State’s maritime claims and . . . assess their consistency with international law,” according to the views of the U.S. government. These studies complement the Department of State’s previously published Limits in the Seas studies, including those assessing the maritime claims of Fiji, Jamaica, Maldives, and S˜ao Tom´e and Pr´ıncipe. Collectively, these 20 studies cover all claimed archipelagic states that have promulgated archipelagic baselines enclosing some or all of their islands. This article describes the findings of these studies and assesses the degree to which those states claiming archipelagic status under the law of the sea have conformed to the requirements of international law in promulgating their maritime claims.