The question of sovereignty is one of the essential and fundamental issues in political science. It helps to differentiate between the actors, measuring and setting up qualities for defining a sovereign state. For example, it explains how Nothern Cyprys is different from Italy. The list of these qualities consists but is not limited to territory or borders, population, government, use of power, relations with other states, autonomy, and recognition.
The first quality is the defined territorial claim and population residing in this territory. Throughout history, the first thing that a new sovereign country would do is to declare its territory and borders. The same applies to the principle in the contemporary world. After the appearance of the Internet, a lot of “virtual” nations emerged like Ladonia. Ladonia does not possess any territory or other sovereign qualities, except for some inspirational values, with its “citizens” residing and following the laws of other countries. Ladonia’s “citizens” primarily hold conversations over the Internet, with the virtual micronation resembling more of the Internet community. Another requirement for the nation is to have a permanent population. The population is the foundation of any country, and people are the ones who actualize other qualities of sovereignty. In other words, even though Antarctica has a territory, it has no permanent population to declare its statehood and independence from other nations that have a claim over its territory.
Being an essential element of the nation, people realize other sovereign requirements, including government, use of force or power, diplomacy with other states, and autonomy. Since the early years of political science, the basic definition of sovereignty was the ability to exert military force and power of law inside its territory over its population. Over the years, this definition expanded, but the core idea remained. Military force was always at the center of the state, as the states that lost this right are considered to be invaded or conquered. This loss also often results in the autonomy or inability to establish its set of rules or laws to govern its population.
This quality also presumes but does not require the presence of the government. Over history, people have always concluded that they need some form of organization that sets and upholds the rules to maintain a healthy and productive society. This organization often meant having a government. Moreover, it is hard or even nearly impossible to satisfy the sovereignty requirements without one, especially military force and autonomy. It can be seen in the examples of various anarchic states falling into the hands of the states possessing governments. It can be even the newly formed governments like the Bolsheviks invading Makhnovshchina. However, in the modern age, the necessity of a developed military is debated, with some sovereign states like Iceland, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, and other countries not possessing many armed instruments.
In contrast to military force, the role of diplomacy or relations with other states and recognition has become more prominent in the issue of sovereignty. Some states managed to preserve their independence because of their beneficial relations with the surrounding states like Liechtenstein. Moreover, as the world shifted, realizing the more advantageous nature of global trade, the need for gaining resources through military action and wars has slowly depleted. It allowed countries with low military power to prosper economically and remain sovereign. The countries are now actively encouraged to avoid conflicts, as the world tends to renounce the aggressors, punishing them economically. Thus, the most crucial tool for sovereignty has become a recognition by the global community. Going back to the first example of Northern Cyprus, it was not recognized by the world as a sovereign state. In this case, Turkey was deemed to exercise its authority over Cyprus to create this state and was judged by the European Court of Human Rights. This consequence denied Northern Cyprys the sovereign position and the opportunity to form relations with other states to establish its economy and maintain the rule of law within its borders.