Library
The IBI Library is designed as a comprehensive and continuously expanding resource for the study of sovereignty across the world. It brings together major scholarly articles, analytical reports, policy papers, conceptual studies, and other essential materials addressing the sovereignty of individual states, regions, and political systems. By organizing this body of knowledge in a clear and accessible format, the Library enables researchers, analysts, students, policymakers, and other interested readers to identify relevant sources quickly and to navigate the field by country, author, subject, and analytical perspective. The Library is conceived not simply as a repository of publications, but as an intellectual infrastructure for sovereignty studies. Its purpose is to make dispersed and often difficult-to-locate research available within a single structured environment, allowing users to trace debates, compare national experiences, identify important authors and schools of thought, and follow the evolution of key concepts. Particular attention is given to materials that illuminate the political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive, and military dimensions of sovereignty, as well as to research that helps explain their interaction. In its scope, structure, and specialization, the IBI Library is intended to become a unique international resource: a dedicated collection of knowledge on sovereignty with no direct equivalent elsewhere. The collection is continually updated as new research, data, and analytical materials become available. It is open to everyone interested in the changing nature of sovereignty and is designed to support both specialized academic inquiry and rapid access to reliable, relevant information from countries throughout the world.
The politics of CPEC: the impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor on Pakistan’s federal systemThe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is often portrayed as the flagship project of the new economic and political architecture envisaged by China as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With official figures suggesting a $62 billion CPEC-related investment, the economic corridor has dominated Pakistan’s domestic and international politics since its launch in 2015. While a great deal of attention has been devoted to the regional geopolitical repercussions of CPEC, the contours of CPEC’s impact on Pakistan’s federal system and interprovincial relations have not yet been explored. This is surprising since the conceptualisation of CPEC, and the manner in which its multiple projects are being implemented (or not) within Pakistan, has re-awakened grievances surrounding federalism and the location of power within Pakistan. This is because concerns have been raised about whether Pakistan’s poorest provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the ‘semi’ province of Gilgit-Baltistan) will reap the benefits from China’s investment or whether these benefits will be enjoyed mainly by the Punjab. In this context, this paper seeks to answer one key question: has CPEC strengthened or weakened the provinces vis-a-vis the federal government? Organised around interviews conducted in 2015, 2018 and 2019, the analysis demonstrates how the construction of the economic corridor is acting as a centripetal force in Pakistan’s federal structure, despite the potential for such a large level of external investment to redress the disparities between provinces. Against such backdrop, the paper assesses the implementation of the early-harvest projects in three key CPEC-related areas: transport, energy and the development of the port of Gwadar.
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Contested Sovereignties: Indigenous disputes over plurinational resource governanceIndigenous organizations in the Andean countries of Ecuador and Bolivia originated novel proposals to pluralize sovereign arrangements through plurinational statehood. Reflecting diverse Indigenous groups’ relations with postcolonial states, these proposals created a unique basis for re-negotiating (sovereign) resource governance. Despite the constitutional endorsement of the plurinational state model however, the latest empirical evidence confirms growing state control over subsoil resources that excises Indigenous peoples from decision-making over resources. In this paper, we trace the emergence of novel agendas for sovereignty-multiplicity, showing how Indigenous agendas had anticipated the need to go beyond their rights over subsoil resources and autonomous territories. These agendas implied re-negotiating national sovereignty in light of the countries’ internal ethno-political and epistemic heterogeneity. Under nominally plurinational states however, resource governance outcomes perpetuate and normalise longstanding epistemic and power differentials between rights-bearing political subjects and Indigenous subjects. We highlight the colonial-modern bases of current sovereignty arrangements, identifying the presumptions and legal parameters that shape the dynamics between states, people and Indigenous people. Situating resource governance in relation to the concept of modernity/coloniality, we propose to (re)think sovereignty arrangements in the colonial present in light of internal heterogeneity.
Mobilizing for Techno-Economic War, Part 5: Transforming STEM Research PolicyThe United States has been the world’s dominant techno-economic power for over 125 years. That has induced complacency. As the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has written, China is hungry and determined not only to displace American techno-economic leadership, but to also make America dependent on it.
How 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.
Venezuela: Popular Sovereignty Versus Liberal DemocracyIn order to evaluate accurately the state of democratic governance during the first years of the Chávez presidency, one must sharpen the distinction between democracy narrowly defined as popular sovereignty versus the more conventional notion of liberal democracy. Venezuela was no longer a liberal democracy in every respect. Instead, it became an extreme case of delegative democracy. The president enjoyed widespread popular support for almost everything he and his followers did, and this fact qualified his government as “democratic” in the narrow sense of popular sovereignty. But the systematic elimination of constraints on presidential action after 1998 increased the risk that Venezuela would cease to be a democracy by any definition in the future. Governability also suffered because the new formulas regulating relations between government and opposition, among branches of government, and between state and civil society were both unstable and far from mutually acceptable. Chávez and his supporters saw themselves as agents of a deliberate and self-conscious revolutionary process and believed that expediency and unilateral impositions of new rules were justified by the need for a radical break with the past. Needless to say, this attitude also condoned a cavalier disregard for the rule of law, extending even to the constitution.
Sovereign Democratic Transformation in Ecuador (2007-2016)Between 1981 and 2007, Ecuador experienced neoliberal reforms coupled with an elite form of democracy. These led to slow growth, upwards redistribution, and political and economic instability. Since then, Ecuador adopted a Citizens’ Revolution to counteract these economic and political forms of domination. This paper advances a few elements of the theoretical understanding of democratic justice inspired by the constitutional vision of Buen Vivir, and their policy applications in reconfiguring the political institutions that shape the state and its international relations. The application in the Citizens’ Revolution movement and historical phase has helped advance the democratization of the Constitution, the Executive, the Legislative, the Judicial system, political rights, the right to life, freedom of expression, national natural resources and investments, external public debt, as well as social rights and the welfare state.
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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.
Digital 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.
Malawi’s Peace Policy: The bedrock of a coherent national peace architecture?In November 2017, the government of Malawi launched the country’s first National Peace Policy (NPP) to systematically promote sustainable peace and unity. Malawi already had infrastructures for peace (I4P) that had been developed separately by the state, non-state actors and other stakeholders for various purposes. However, there was no integrated and coherent national peacebuilding framework which was focused on proactive conflict prevention and the promotion of sustainable peace and unity. The outbreak of deadly violence between police and civilians in July 2011 was a major manifestation of shortcomings and failures of the uncoordinated and mainly reactive top-down and bottom-up peace infrastructures established by the state and non-state actors, respectively. In response to the violence, the United Nations’ (UN) preventive diplomacy and facilitation of national dialogue in Malawi helped de-escalate tensions and mitigate conflict risk. This culminated in the development and approval of the NPP. The NPP is a bedrock strategy of a coherent and credible National Peace Architecture (NPA) to serve as the national pillar for peacebuilding. The NPP is being implemented by complementary state and non-state actors working closely with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in compliance with regional, continental and international instruments relating to the NPA. The case of Malawi presents an opportunity for building integrated local, national, regional, continental and international peace architectures.
Contested Sources of Authority: Re-claiming State Sovereignty by Formalizing Traditional Authority in MozambiqueIn Mozambique, the current legal framework institutionalizes a rural–urban differentiation of local governance, allowing for elected representation in thirty-three urban settings and the recognition of ‘community authorities’ in rural areas. This article deals with the latter by exploring the implementation of Decree 15/2000, which is the first legislation in post-colonial Mozambique to formalize ‘traditional authority’. Views of traditional authority as either a ‘genuine’ African form of authority legitimized by traditional beliefs and practices, or as a form of power ‘corrupted’ by colonial rule, are inadequate for understanding the current situation. In formerly war-torn Sussundenga District, kin-based authorities drew on elements from ‘traditional’ and ‘state- administrative’ domains of authority in order to be recognized. Varied definitions of tradition came to justify leadership, but the content on which legitimization was based defies any generalized Weberian dichotomy between traditional and modern/state types of office. Different sources of legitimacy sometimes foregrounded administrative needs and at other times maintained what became defined as traditional.
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.
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Why Greenland Could Spur Europe’s Digital Awakening
23.03.2026 06:47
researchThe Practice of Archipelagic States: A Study of Studies
19.03.2026 16:02
researchMolinaco, the Comorian Diaspora, and Decolonisation in East Africa’s Indian OceanThe marginal case of the decolonisation of Comoros has gained little attention from historians of Africa. By tracing the evolution of the Mouvement de libération nationale des Comores (MOLINACO) around East Africa’s Indian Ocean basin, this article explores the possibilities and constraints of anticolonial organisation among a diaspora population whose own existence was threatened by the more exclusive political order that emerged from the process of decolonisation. In Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Kenya, and Madagascar, MOLINACO’s activities were shaped and limited by contested issues of racial identity, island genealogy, partisan alignment, and international priorities among both the Comorian diaspora and their ‘host’ governments. Through a transterritorial approach, this article examines the difficulties for minority communities in navigating the transition from empire to nation-state, while also illustrating the challenges MOLINACO faced in its ultimately unsuccessful attempt to impose that same normative model onto the archipelago.
Reflections on Zimbabwe-Zambia Relations in the 21st CenturyThe article explores the changing relationship between Zimbabwe and Zambia in the 21st century, focusing on the intrinsic synergy of political and socio-economic factors. Historically, the diplomatic relationship was hinged in shared colonial experiences and liberation struggles, the bilateral ties between these neighboring countries have been significantly influenced by contemporary governance challenges, economic fluctuations, and regional integration efforts. Dual Theoretical Framework of Realism and Constructivism was adopted as a tool for analysing the interplay between power, interests, norms, and ideas in shaping bilateral relations between the two nations. By analysing key events from the early 2000s, a document review methodology was used to illustrate how Zimbabwe and Zambia navigated their shared interests and challenges in a rapidly changing global landscape. The findings revealed that while historical legacies and domestic issues continue to impact relations, there exists a significant potential for enhanced cooperation through strategic partnerships and regional initiatives. The role of organizations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) is critical in shaping these dynamics. Ultimately, this article contributes to a deeper understanding of Zimbabwe-Zambia relations, offering insights that are essential for policymakers and stakeholders aiming to foster stability and collaboration in Southern Africa Region.
Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean. Why the UK should not cede the Chagos Islands to MauritiusWhen looking at strategic options for military action in the Indian Ocean – and unimpeded access by sea and air to the bordering countries of the Indian Ocean, from South Africa past Somalia, Yemen, Iran, the Arabian Gulf, Indian sub-continent, Indonesia and Australasia – Diego Garcia is a strategic jewel, possession of which is crucial for security in the region and hence our national security. It allows coverage of the choke points south of the Cape of Good Hope, the Bab-el-Mandeb, Straits of Hormuz and Malacca Straits through which a huge quantity of global trade passes. It is no exaggeration to say that Diego Garcia – the largest of the Chagos Islands – hosts the most strategically important US air and logistics base in the Indian Ocean and is vital to the defence of the UK and our allies. Having visited Diego Garcia twice and utilised it in op-plans and routine deployments of carriers and SSNs, I was delighted to read this paper by Policy Exchange which calls on the Government to cease negotiations with Mauritius about cession of the Chagos Islands.
A different appetite for sovereignty? Independence movements in subnational island jurisdictionsHistory was in the making when the Republic of South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011, was welcomed as the 193rd member of the United Nations (UN) on 14 July, and joined the Africa Union on 28 July. This new country has strong claims to its current status; long struggles to maintain independence from encroaching European powers in the nineteenth century; run for some time as a separate region within the colony of Egypt; fighting two civil wars since the independence of Sudan in 1956; bearing considerable neglect from the central Sudanese government; and approving, by a whopping 98 per cent majority, the decision to secede as a separate state in a January 2011 referendum (voter turnout: 97 per cent). Substantial oil deposits provide considerable economic potential to this nascent sovereign state.
The problem with the Comoros solution: affect, citizenship, statelessness and the Kuwaiti BidoonThe Kuwaiti bidoon are a subset of the nomadic population of Kuwait who have been made stateless, classified as illegal residents and increasingly deprived of social rights through changing classifications by the Kuwaiti government. In 2014, the Kuwaiti government attempted to obtain citizenship in the African island nation of the Comoros for the bidoon, which would have provided them with a route to legal residency. But would this have provided a just resolution to the bidoon‘s situation? We argue that justice for the bidoon must not simply serve to resolve their de jure statelessness; it must, instead, attend to the injuries produced by this status, most importantly the harm caused by continuous rejection of their affective attachment to Kuwait. In dialogue with theories of access to citizenship and political identification with a state, we argue that under certain circumstances, providing citizenship can increase the harm experienced by stateless people, and that only providing recognition of their affective tie to a political community can resolve it.
Censorship should be obsolete by now. Why isn't it?Techies, activists, and academics were in Paris this week to confront the doom scenario of internet shutdowns, developing creative technology and policy solutions to break out of heavily censored environments. The event– SplinterCon– has previously been held globally, from Brussels to Taiwan. I am on the programme committee and delivered a keynote at the inaugural SplinterCon in Montreal on how internet standards must be better designed for censorship circumvention.
Migration Governance in Unsettled Times. How Policymakers Can Plan for Population ChangeA string of populist gains has radically changed both the politics and governance of migration, pushing governments of all stripes toward greater restrictions and reducing the appetite for experimentation. The backlash comes at a particularly fraught time. Advanced economies with aging populations are increasingly reliant on immigrants to sustain their workforces, and more people worldwide are seeking out opportunities to move, whether for work, family, or protection. There is a clear humanitarian imperative to ensure vulnerable populations can access protection through safe and legal channels instead of resorting to dangerous, illicit journeys (from which smugglers are reaping enormous profits). But as public concerns about how population growth could affect the soaring cost of living and as housing pressures have grown, support for even legal immigration has waned. Meanwhile, chaotic scenes at borders and a perception of a loss of control over admissions have prompted quick fixes, at the expense of longer-term, sustainable solutions.
A new direction for students in an AI world: prosper, prepare, protectIn November 2022, OpenAI released its frontier Large Language Model (LL M), ChatGPT. Within five days, ChatGPT had five million users. Within two months, that number swelled to 100 million monthly active users. By August 2025, 700 million users across the globe were using ChatGPT (Mehta 2025). Many of those users are students harnessing LLMs for brainstorming, tutoring, creating, and learning; to work better and faster; and, crucially, to outsource their thinking.
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Sovereignty, Legitimacy and Fundamental Rights as Limitations to Criminalisation Power of the StateSovereignty is a doctrine of power that constitutes and vests supreme political power in the state, including criminal lawmaking power. However, this supreme power of exercising coercive state power through the criminal law is not unlimited. Because the justifications for sovereignty are also justifications for criminal lawmaking power of the state, they are discussed together. After presenting the justification and legitimacy of sovereignty and the criminal lawmaking power of the sovereign, this article discusses criminalization power of the state in three parts: the limitation inherent in the notion of sovereignty, in constitutionalism and the bill of rights. Finally, it reviews the practice of criminalisation in Ethiopia.
Globalization, sovereignty and Ethiopia in the age of IP creative jurisprudenceIntellectual property (IP), trade, national language (lingua franca), sports and other socio-cultural interventions could be an agency for economic and national unity. This short communication analyses the intersection of contemporary IP international regimes and socio-economic development of a developing economy, using Ethiopia as a case study. The research further analyses the intersection of IP systems of laws and other socio-economic concepts like globalization, human rights, and legal education. Human rights and intellectual property have become a current subject of legal scholarship as evidenced in the recent Marrakesh Treaty signed by more than eighty countries. Recently, Ethiopia entered a multilateral agreement to participate in an e-commerce platform. The implication for Ethiopians could range from exposures to digital creative jurisprudence to full participation in the creative culture of the networked digital era. However, Ethiopia currently does not belong to any major Internet Treaty or intellectual property (IP) Treaty, and this paper seeks to explore the implications for its economic and developmental innovation and creativity policies. Multilateral economic and investment Treaties in this millennium represent manifestations of the impacts of globalization. Sovereign and political rights proponents have raised concerns about the derogation of political and economic capacities of nation-states because of globalization. The protagonists of national sovereignty and constitutional order demand the renegotiation of most of the international socio-economic Treaties. This paper will suggest ways of allaying the suspicions of sovereign dilution, which may be part of raison d'etre for the skepticism towards international economic and developmental Treaty regimes. As a starting point Ethiopia should use the template of its human rights Treaty recognition to sign or accede to international IP Treaties.
The Ethiopian State: Authoritarianism, Violence and Clandestine Genocide“Modern” Ethiopia has been created and maintained through the achievement of external legitimacy. As the European colonial powers such as Great Britain, France, and Italy enabled the Abyssinian (Amhara-Tigray) warlords to create the modern Ethiopian Empire during the last decades of the nineteenth century, successive hegemonic world powers, namely England, the former USSR, and the United States, has maintained the existence of various Ethiopian government until now. At the same time, the successive Amhara-Tigray regimes have failed to achieve internal legitimacy among the more colonized peoples while maintaining some degree of legitimacy among the minority Abyssinian population. While authoritarian rule has been sufficient to maintain semblance of public order among the Abyssinian population, state terrorism and massive human rights violations have been widely used in an attempt to control the colonized peoples, particularly the largest national group, the Oromo, creating political instability, conflict and war, recurrent famines, poverty, and underdevelopment. The achievement of stability, peace, and development in Ethiopia requires a genuine democratic paradigm that includes decolonization, self-determination, and popular sovereignty.
No Independence without Sovereignty! The resistance of Emperor Hayalla Sellase I to the British Occupation of Ethiopia (1941-1944) On 5 May 1941 Emperor Hayalla Sellase I, recently restored to the throne of Ethiopia, delivered a stirring message of hope, triumph and future expectations from the steps of his imperial palace in Addis Ababa. Within his speech, the Emperor of Ethiopia declared, It is my firm wish and purpose to merit the blessing with which God in His mercy has visited us, first, by sharing our gratitude to our Allies, the British ...secondly, to do work beneficial to the people and the country by establishing in our Ethiopia a Government which will protect the Faith and cause it to be respected, and by guaranteeing liberty of the people and Freedom of conscience.
Privatisation in Botswana: the demise of a developmental state?This article argues that efforts by the Government of Botswana to embark on privatisation of some parastatals as well as contracting out the provision of certain services with the main intention of enhancing productivity and strengthening the private sector will not have a negative effect on the strength and nature of the existing strong developmental state. It is argued that the cautious and pragmatic approach adopted by the government, coupled with the fact that privatisation in Botswana is embraced voluntarily (that is not imposed on the country by either the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a condition for financial assistance), hiving off parastatals to the private sector will not result in the weakening and ultimate demise of the state as it has happened in some countries within Sub Saharan Africa. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reforming the Role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Advancing Democratic Principles and Human Rights in African Countries: An Examination Using the Lens of Swaziland/eSwatiniThis article explores the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the role it plays regarding human rights in individual country situations in Africa. It specifically examines the extent to which it has been able to advance a human rights agenda in countries with long-standing human rights problems. The article uses Swaziland/ eSwatini as a lens to examine the matter, because of the longstanding problems that exist in that country. This is done to indicate how the institution works over time on a country’s human rights problems. The article examines a range of institutional structural matters to establish how these issues affect the role of the Commission in its work. The article examines the way in which the Commission uses its various tools, including its communications, the state reporting processes, fact-finding visits, and resolutions, to determine whether those tools are being used effectively. The article examines how the Commission’s processes issues also affect it work. Issues examined negatively affecting the Commission are examined, including problems with the status of its resolutions and communications, limited compliance with its outcomes, and inadequate state cooperation. Reforms necessary to enhance to role and functions of the Commission are surveyed to determine how the institution could become more effective. The African Union’s (AU) Kagame Report on AU reform is briefly reviewed to examine the limited view and focus of AU reform processes and why AU reform ought to focus on enhancing human rights compliance. The article makes various suggestions on necessary institutional reforms but also as far as the African Commission’s procedures and methods of work to allow it to have a far more effective role in the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent. It is noted that political will by the AU and African states is the largest obstacle to giving the Commission the necessary independence, support and assistance that it needs to play the role in Africa that it should.
Indicators of Sovereign Risk of South Africa’s International Monetary Fund Loan: The Nexus Between Political Risks and Economic GrowthUpon the approval of the 70 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan for South Africa, concerns have emerged over the affordability of this loan and its impact on the economy and sovereignty of the country. South Africa’s ability to pay its IMF loan is assured because its track record of loan repayment is good, considering that the loan is repayable in five years at an interest rate of 1.1%. This study explores political and economic indicators of sovereign risk of South Africa’s IMF loan taken in 2020. The tenets of sovereign risk are being explored in a South African context. The significance of this study lies in understanding sovereign risk from a South African context and forecasting the country’s capacity and sustainability of servicing its IMF debt. This study presents a special and underexplored case of sovereign risk mainly due to 2020 being the first time South Africa has taken an IMF loan since the inception of a democracy in 1994. This qualitative study heavily relies on secondary literature, theories, and predictive forecasting models and is aided by descriptive statistics to reach its conclusion. Findings from the Council of Foreign Relations used the CFR Sovereign risk tracker designed to gauge the susceptibility of emerging economy to default on external debt.
Pro-Democracy Protests in the Kingdom of Eswatini 2018–2019Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) is an absolute monarchy, ruled by King Mswati III (1986–current), who took over from his father, King Sobhuza II (1921–1982). Power is vested in the King and influential ruling elite, who have stakes in the perpetuation of a closed and repressive regime that is known for human rights abuses. The actuation of political parties and civil society is severely constrained not only in law (ban from 1973; and 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act) but in practice (protesters face high level of repression). Despite facing a very inhospitable political context, groups and citizens have found ways to engage in protest. In the case of Eswatini, trade unions have been the leading protest actors against government policies and advocating for democracy. With a special focus on 2018–2019 protests, this chapter aims to understand the emergence and outcomes of pro-democracy protests in Eswatini.