Essay on Political Science - 1
Introduction
The principle of sovereignty, which means having supreme political authority, establishes independent nation states as independent actors on the global arena. The nation states are supposed to be independent entities working for the benefit of their peoples and in their future interests, without interfering in the affairs of other nation states. Hence, it should not be possible or desirable for one state to intervene in the internal affairs or of another state and the doctrine of sovereignty consists of the doctrine of formal equality and the doctrine of non-intervention. This concept of sovereignty is associated with the emergence of the modern nation-state which emerged after the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
This treaty was the culmination of the Thirty Year War in Europe and established national self determination as the principle for the formation of a state. States were, therefore, considered to be political units which were associated with a population which had a common cultural, language, religious, or historic heritage. Each state had a mechanism for governance and a head of state who ruled on his subjects without interference from other nation states and nation states were not supposed to interfere in the domestic affairs of other nation states including the methods of governance, the treatment of their subjects etc.
Since the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, the doctrine of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states has also been codified into other instruments of international law including the United Nations Charter. Article 2, Principle 7 of the United Nations Charter states that "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to......
