Topic > International sovereignty and international sovereignty

Krasner emphasizes that Westphalian sovereignty has been largely approved through agreements and solutions. Krasner (1999, 4) describes international legal sovereignty and Westphalian sovereignty as involving questions of authority and legitimacy, but not control; internal sovereignty implies both authority and control; and interdependent sovereignty implies control, not authority. Krasner argues that a state can have one type of sovereignty but not the other. For example, in the case of the European Union, if international legal sovereignty is exercised, Westphalian sovereignty is undermined, since the ruler of a state enters into an agreement that recognizes external authority structures. Another example can be taken from the failed states of Africa, where Somalia was recognized internationally by other states but had very limited internal authority to exercise control over its countries.