State independence
State independence describes the right of a state to make its decisions independently of the tutelage of another state. It is legally the same as sovereignty under international law ; however, both terms are not synonymous.
Sovereignty and independence
The term sovereignty comes from the theory of absolutism of the French state theorist Jean Bodin (* 1529/1530; † 1596). The sovereign is, his decisions so without regard to others after the original definition of the absolute monarch, who is above all, and through all domestic can fell forces.
The concept of independence , on the other hand, is linked to the concept of freedom , transferred to communities with the right of peoples to self-determination . Accordingly, at the beginning of the existence of all republics that emerged through separation from a colonial empire or separation from a state , there is the declaration and - sometimes only years later - the recognition of their state independence.
Equal contractual binding and state dependency
Worldwide international treaties brought about by the UN , as well as membership of special alliances such as NATO or closer communities such as the European Union , certainly limit the scope of action of states, but in democratic states, intergovernmental agreements require the approval of parliaments or plebiscites . As a result, restrictions on action through treaties negotiated on an equal basis are different from the dependence of a colony on its mother country or a province on its central state .
Ideally, the difference between equal contractual obligations and state dependency is great, in practice it was and is not infrequently smaller, especially in the case of military alliances .