Sovereignty and Private Security Companies

Sovereignty is a hotly contested concept. Some writers of international relations see the concept of the westphalian state as outdated. They claim that while non-state actors get more and more important, the role of the state is diminishing. Logically following, realism must be wrong, because one of its basic assumptions is that states are the […]

Read more

Some Thoughts on Sovereignty

Students of IR criticise realism’s emphasis of states as the main actors in international politics. They stress that an understanding of states as sovereigns in the westphalian sense is outdated. Economic interdependence, international institutions and technological developments diminish the role of the state and empower transnational actors and processes. What if this argument is valid?

Read more