As our survey of the historical development of the concept of sovereignty bears out, Bodin, Hobbes, Bentham and Austin are identified with the doctrine of ‘legal sovereignty’ while Althusius and Rousseau formulated doctrine of ‘popular sovereignty’. Similarly, Grotius introduced an important element by formulating the doctrine of ‘external sovereignty’. It may also be recalled how before Bodin, the sovereign was generally identified with the monarch. In fact, even today, monarchs and titular heads in countries like Great Britain, Japan and Spain are treated as nominal sovereigns. This is identified as ‘titular sovereignty’. A. V. Dicey has added a new formulation by coining ‘political sovereignty’ in contrast with legal sovereignty. We may also recall how the French Revolution resulted in declaration of ‘national sovereignty’. This concept was also invoked by post-colonial States. Some writers and observers have also made a distinction between de jure and de facto sovereignty to distinguish between legal and actual wielder of power. Added to these has come up the doctrines of ‘shared sovereignty’ which describes the status of a state when other nation-states interfere in its internal affairs either militarily or for humanitarian aid or both (as in Afghanistan, Timor Leste, Iraq, Kosovo and Somalia). Thus, we see how sovereignty has been viewed differently and has been used to describe its different aspects. We may briefly survey them all to understand their nature and inter-relationships and what extent they all contribute to or alter the position of the State in the debate of State versus individual.
However, we hasten to add that sovereignty is fundamentally a legal concept and stands for a unique element of the State in its juristic capacity.
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