| Abstract: | The concept of sovereignty arose with the appearance of themodern state. It has survived because the state has survivedas the seemingly necessary basis for political order. The persistenceof cultural and ethnic nationalism and international anarchyhas given the state a new lease on life. Countertendencies.includingareactionagainstthemonarchicalabsolutismassociatedwith sovereignty, have given rise to federal systemsoffering a more flexible, if less certain, combination of governmenton a large scale with relative autonomy on a smaller, localscale. Given modern realities promoting interdependence andmaking autarky both difficult to sustain and a threat to therights of minorities, it may be better to settle for the "moreor less" of federalism and autonomy than the "either/or" ofthe state and sovereignty. |
