IB DP Global Politics – Core topic – Sovereignty in global politics Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked examples, read the sovereignty study guide first.

These notes condense the core prescribed topic “Sovereignty in global politics” for IB Diploma Programme Global Politics. It follows the IB Diploma Programme Global politics guide (first assessment 2026, published February 2024), the course examined from the May 2026 session onwards. The topic is part of the core topics, common to SL and HL. When you have revised, try the sovereignty practice questions. The course hub and printable checklist list every other topic.

The prescribed content in one box

NATURE OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY
  - traditional and modern notions
  - sources of sovereignty
  - internal and external dimensions
CHALLENGES TO STATE SOVEREIGNTY
  - from states and the system: interdependence, interference,
    supranationality, humanitarian intervention
  - from other claims and actors: Indigenous claims, transnational
    cultural groups, nationalist movements, violent non-state
    actors, TNCs

The guide says what counts as a challenge depends on which notion of sovereignty you examine. Make that your opening move in any evaluative answer.

Key definitions

Term	Meaning to learn
Sovereignty	A state’s independence, control over its territory and ability to govern itself (the guide’s starting point; the concept is contestable)
Westphalian sovereignty	Territorial, supreme authority with no outside actor in domestic affairs; states legally equal
Popular sovereignty	Final authority rests with the people; the state rules by their consent
Pooled sovereignty	States choose to exercise some powers jointly through shared institutions
Sovereignty as responsibility	The right to non-intervention depends on protecting your own people (basis of R2P)
Supranationality	A body above states that makes rules binding on members, even against their will
Internal sovereignty	Supreme authority inside the borders
External sovereignty	Independence from outside control; recognition as an equal
De jure sovereignty	The legal right to rule
De facto sovereignty	Actual control on the ground

Traditional versus modern notions

	Traditional	Modern
Nature	Absolute, indivisible	Divisible, can be shared or conditional
Holder	The ruler or the state	The people; sometimes shared with institutions
Borders	Fixed and closed to interference	Porous to flows; some intervention accepted
Key idea	Non-intervention (UN Charter Art. 2(7))	Responsibility (R2P, 2005 World Summit)
Classic thinkers	Bodin (1576), Hobbes (1651)	Krasner (1999): four meanings of sovereignty

Krasner’s four meanings – learn them as a checklist for any case: domestic (control at home), interdependence (control of cross-border flows), international legal (recognition), Westphalian (no outside authority inside).

Sources of sovereignty

Source (guide’s list)	How it works	Weak point	Example to use
Possession and use of force	Monopoly of legitimate force (Weber) lets the state enforce law	Armed groups break the monopoly	Haiti’s gangs; UN-authorised Kenya-led mission (2023)
International law and norms	Territorial integrity and non-intervention protect states; Montevideo criteria define statehood	Enforcement depends on powerful states	UNGA resolution 68/262 (2014) on Ukraine’s territorial integrity
Recognition by other states	Gives diplomatic status, treaties, UN seat	Driven by economics and the balance of power	Nicaragua (2021) and Honduras (2023) switch from Taipei to Beijing
Consent of the governed	Participation gives authority a popular base	Low turnout, protest, secession votes	Scotland’s agreed 2014 referendum

Montevideo Convention (1933) criteria for statehood: permanent population, defined territory, government, capacity to enter relations with other states.

Must-know distinctions

• Sovereignty vs legitimacy. Sovereignty is about authority and control; legitimacy is about acceptance. A state can be sovereign but its government seen as illegitimate.
• Internal vs external. Rebels threaten internal sovereignty; an invasion or binding outside ruling threatens external sovereignty. Some cases hit both.
• De jure vs de facto. Kosovo: declared independence 2008, many recognitions, no UN seat. Taiwan: strong de facto control, few formal recognitions.
• Declaratory vs constitutive recognition. Declaratory: a state exists once it meets the criteria. Constitutive: it exists as a state only when others recognise it.
• Supranational vs intergovernmental. Supranational bodies bind members (EU law has primacy, Costa v ENEL, 1964). Intergovernmental bodies need each state’s agreement.
• Losing sovereignty vs pooling it. Pooling is a choice and can be reversed: the UK left the EU in January 2020 after its 2016 referendum.
• Humanitarian intervention vs interference. Intervention claims a protective aim and, ideally, UN authorisation (Libya, resolution 1973, 2011). Interference serves the intervening state’s own goals.

Challenges: quick map

Challenge	Notion most threatened	Counter-argument	Example
Global interdependence	Interdependence sovereignty	States pool power to regain control	15% global minimum tax (2021)
Interference by other states	Westphalian, territorial	Collective condemnation reasserts the norm	Crimea (2014); invasion of Ukraine (2022)
Supranationality	Traditional, absolute	Pooling is chosen and reversible	EU; UK exit (2020)
Humanitarian intervention	Non-intervention	Sovereignty as responsibility	Libya (2011); vetoes on Syria
Indigenous claims	State as sole source of authority	Self-government inside the state	UNDRIP (2007); Treaty of Waitangi
Transnational cultural groups	Fixed borders	Recognition withheld	Kurdish referendum in Iraq (2017)
Nationalist movements	Territorial integrity	Consent tested by agreed votes	Scotland (2014) vs Catalonia (2017)
Violent non-state actors	Monopoly of force	States reclaim territory	Islamic State (2014–2019)
TNCs	Regulatory control	States can win disputes and cooperate	Philip Morris v Uruguay (2016)

Dates worth knowing

1648  Peace of Westphalia (background only)
1933  Montevideo Convention: criteria for statehood
1945  UN Charter: sovereign equality, non-intervention
2001  ICISS report sets out the Responsibility to Protect
2005  UN World Summit endorses R2P
2007  UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
2008  Kosovo declares independence
2011  UNSC resolution 1973 on Libya
2014  Crimea annexed; Scottish referendum; Islamic State "caliphate"
2016  UK votes to leave the EU; Uruguay wins Philip Morris case
2017  Kurdish referendum in Iraq; Catalan referendum
2021  15% global minimum tax agreed
2022  Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Sovereignty across the thematic studies

• Rights and justice: does non-intervention shield a state that abuses rights? Use R2P.
• Development and sustainability: loan conditions (Greece’s bailouts from 2010) and control of natural resources.
• Peace and conflict: secession, territorial disputes, armed groups and host-state consent to peacekeepers.

Method in steps: a Paper 1 evaluation question on sovereignty

Paper 1 lasts 1 hour 15 minutes and has four compulsory questions worth 3, 4, 6 and 12 marks. The 12-mark question asks you to evaluate the sources and combine them with your own knowledge.

1. Define the notion of sovereignty you are testing (e.g. internal,
   de facto; or Westphalian).
2. Take the claim apart: which sources support it, which challenge it?
3. Quote or cite each source briefly and say what it shows.
4. Add own knowledge: one or two named, contemporary examples,
   explained, not just named.
5. Weigh: which side is stronger, and under which notion?
6. Conclude with a judgement that answers the exact question.

Worked reminder: the claim “Sovereignty is being eroded by TNCs” is strong under interdependence sovereignty (firms move capital freely) but weaker under international legal sovereignty (only states sign treaties and win cases, as Uruguay did).

Quick self-test

1. Give the four features of the Westphalian notion of sovereignty.
2. Distinguish internal from external sovereignty.
3. Name the four Montevideo criteria.
4. Which UN Charter article protects domestic jurisdiction, and what is the exception?
5. When was R2P endorsed by UN members, and at which meeting?
6. What does “pooled sovereignty” mean? Give an example.
7. Name the four sources of sovereignty in the guide’s list (after the Westphalian conception).
8. State the difference between declaratory and constitutive theories of recognition.
9. Give one example of recognition shaped by economics.
10. Which of Krasner’s four meanings is most affected by an armed group seizing territory?
11. Why is Scotland 2014 a useful contrast with Catalonia 2017?
12. Give one reason a supranational body may not reduce sovereignty.

Answers

1. Territoriality; supreme authority inside the borders; non-intervention; legal equality of states.
2. Internal: supreme authority over people and territory within borders. External: independence from outside control and recognition by other states.
3. Permanent population; defined territory; government; capacity to enter relations with other states.
4. Article 2(7); enforcement measures under Chapter VII.
5. 2005, at the UN World Summit.
6. States choose to exercise some powers jointly, e.g. EU members negotiating trade as one bloc.
7. Possession and use of force; international law and norms; recognition by other states; consent of the governed through participation.
8. Declaratory: statehood exists once the criteria are met. Constitutive: statehood depends on recognition by others.
9. Nicaragua (2021) or Honduras (2023) switching recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
10. Domestic sovereignty (effective control at home).
11. Scotland’s referendum was agreed with the central government; Catalonia’s was ruled illegal and followed by direct rule. Same challenge, opposite responses.
12. Membership is chosen by treaty and can be ended (UK, 2020); pooling can give a state more influence than it has alone.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using “sovereignty” without saying which notion or dimension you mean, so the judgement has no anchor.
• Treating sovereignty and legitimacy as one idea.
• Claiming the EU “abolished” member sovereignty; members keep international legal sovereignty and can leave.
• Naming Libya 2011 without explaining the Security Council authorisation or the regime-change criticism.
• Describing Paper 1 sources in turn instead of weighing them against each other on the 12-mark question.
• Using only Westphalia and other historical cases instead of contemporary examples.
• Forgetting non-state challenges (Indigenous claims, TNCs) and writing only about states.
• Giving one side only on “to what extent” or “evaluate” questions.
• Confusing de jure recognition with de facto control when describing cases such as Taiwan or Kosovo.

Links

• Sovereignty study guide
• Sovereignty practice questions
• Rights and justice revision notes and Peace and conflict revision notes for the thematic links
• Legitimacy study guide for the sovereignty–legitimacy distinction, and Interdependence study guide for global governance
• Assessment revision notes

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Global politics guide, first assessment 2026 (published February 2024) – core topics, prescribed topic “Sovereignty in global politics”.