Introduction
This article is mainly concerned with uniting the European countries in terms of a common market whereby the countries in the European Union are prioritized and exempted from some harsh policies that hinder the smooth running of their businesses. Some of the main goals of the European Union were operating their businesses among the European Union countries free of tax; giving goods manufactured in these countries the priority before considering goods from outside the union among others.
European Union
The European Union had become a threat to the United States in the 1950s and the 1960s whereby the US felt that the EU would soon become the strongest economies in the world if they adhered to their policies. Hence the US established itself within the EU to be part of the privileges. Apart from the US, many other nations realized the benefit of joining the EU. By 2004, many other nations had joined the EU, comparable to the six nations that found the Union. Due to the extensive membership of the EU, regional sub- unions were formed within the union some of which tended to outgrow the EU. For instance, countries from North America formed the NAFTA whose goal was mainly inclined towards MNCs, and also there was the formation of APEC and ASEAN.
I agree with the author’s main idea which is based upon the goals and objectives of the formation of the European Union. The establishment of the UE was an eye-opener to many nations on the means of creating a common market that would facilitate a free and fair trade with reasonable tariffs and taxes. It also led to the idea of MNCs by the American countries. However, some of the ideas like adopting a common currency were not positively welcomed by every nation.
Sovereignty
This article is mainly inclined towards the power of sovereign nations and shows clearly that the opinion of a sovereign nation is closely equitable to law. However, globalization and technological changes have come in making it very difficult for sovereignty to continue persisting and though it may not completely disappear, the influence of sovereign nations across their borders is becoming lessening each day.
Several ideas concerning sovereignty have been discussed in this article. Firstly, there is the controversial idea that a sovereign state is about dead. Sovereign nations have had a great voice both within and across their borders whereas the weaker nations may not have the power to even tackle issues within their borders. Several nations like Israel and Palestine are good evidence of those who are fighting to gain sovereignty.
Again, decisions made by the sovereign nations are found to carry the same weight as the law. The sovereign nations have recently been putting more emphasis on human rights rather than considering the minority as it was the case in the past. The author also insists that globalization does not undermine state control but the influences how states are controlled by relating states all over the world. NGO’s are found to have less sovereign power in states when compared to MNCs.
Conclusion
I agree with the ideas the author has put across in this article concerning the impact of sovereignty in the world we are living in today. For instance, through the influence of technology and globalization, currencies from the sovereign nations carry a lot of weight. Starting with sovereign nations, people can attain citizenship in several countries contrary to what was the norm in former days. MNCs are having more sovereign power than NGO’s due to their impact on the economy. In most of the nations that are fighting for power, the notion of sovereignty has made it even harder to come up with concrete solutions.