Sovereign Equality Research Articles

Indonesia’s ambivalence in the Russia-Ukraine war: Balancing equal sovereignty norms with a familial approach

ABSTRACT This article examines Indonesia’s position during the Russia-Ukraine war, highlighting the tension between its traditional foreign policy principles and pragmatic approach to international conflicts. Indonesia’s support for UN resolutions condemning Russia, compared with its avoidance of directly naming Russia as the aggressor, reveals an ambivalence rooted in the paradox of upholding equal sovereignty norms while promoting a ‘familial’ approach to conflict resolution. This paradox is evident in Indonesia’s simultaneous support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity while calling for peace negotiations, which equates the aggressor with the victim. The study explores the historical context of Indonesia’s foreign policy, emphasizing sovereign equality and non-alignment, and how these principles are challenged by the current geopolitical landscape. Through qualitative content analysis of official statements, public opinion and media narratives, the article argues that Indonesia’s ambivalence in the Russia-Ukraine war reflects a tension between its normative commitments to sovereignty and pragmatic needs to peacefully end conflict.

시민민주주의와 보편적 법체계의 발전: 헌법과 국제법을 대체하는 세계법의 수사학

The Constitution is the highest law of the country, while international law is a field of law that deals with the rights and obligations between countries. The essence of international community is of decentralized nature, in which the legal order is formed according to the principle of sovereign equality. However, there are many perspectives that approach the international community and international law from a universalistic and idealistic viewpoint. In other words, if the positivist and pseudo-oriented view of international law is the reality of international community and international law, the universalist or idealist perception of international law can be said to be their goals. It is true that those two perspectives on international community and international law are neither omnicient nor all-perceiving, but complexly intertwined. The Constitution and international law, which can be considered the two axes of public law, are closely interrelated to the formation of a modern absolute state and civic democracy. The absoluteness of state power and civic democracy are doomed to fate our present and our future. This is not only such fundamental political order, but it also has become a foundation for the development of modern and contemporary order of law. And the two dimensions of order, politics and law, are developing in a dialectical manner. Under this background, this paper aims to provide a harmonious view sprucing up the reality of public law that penetrates both of the international and domestic society within a large framework. It is for research purpose and needs an effort of work by reviewing and analyzing the essence, commonalities, and differences among various adjacent concepts of the Constitution and international law discourse. This paper first begins with a discussion by presenting the historical development of existing hard legal system that penetrates the Constitution and international law through their realistic framework. Furthermore, we look at the softness of international law, conceptual discourse on the international law and world law, international constitutionalism and constitutional theory, and a compendium of world administrative law. We look at the background for the development of these commentaries, the main topics of discussion, and their commonalities or differences. Finally we briefly diagnose and place the future of new sermons that needs to be adduced due to changes in the international community.

Pakistan’s neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war: Navigating great power politics

ABSTRACT This contribution argues that Pakistan’s decision to maintain neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war is influenced by its policy to avoid entrapment in “camp politics”, signaling a departure from its longstanding strategic dilemma of choosing between major powers such as the US, Russia and China. It also argues that Islamabad’s unwillingness to denounce Russia for invading Ukraine and violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity demonstrates Pakistan’s “sovereignty paradox”. It highlights that Pakistan has always condemned any violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity as a contravention of the right/notion of “equal sovereignty.” However, on the Russia-Ukraine war, Pakistan has refrained from condemning Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, which not only violates the country’s principled foreign policy stance on the sovereign equality of all states, but also raises questions about its commitment towards the key principles of international law and the UN charter.

The Social Aesthetics of Digital Diplomacy

Abstract This article presents a theory and analysis of the social aesthetics of digital diplomacy. Drawing inspiration from the sociology of taste and visual theory, we conceptualize social aesthetics as the encoding of social norms and hierarchies into visual representations. Through this lens, we examine how the multitude of images uploaded by diplomats on social media daily contribute to the symbolic authority of their profession, ritually conveying ideals of international mediation and sovereign equality. Using advancements in computer vision methods, we analyze over 55,000 images sourced from tweets by more than 1,000 ambassadors globally. In contrast to prevailing research highlighting how social media images disrupt traditional diplomatic norms, facilitate strategic nation-branding, or promote individuals, our large-scale analysis reveals a remarkable uniformity in these images across diplomats from different countries. We demonstrate how diplomatic images perpetuate a Western visual canon, thereby reinforcing structures of power and distinction, and delineating the normative boundaries of diplomacy as a global institution. The article contributes to debates about diplomacy, aesthetics, taste, rituals, and power in international relations. Furthermore, it underscores the value of computer vision and convolutional neural networks in uncovering large-scale social patterns and relationships within practices previously perceived as highly personalized or strategic.

Az európai regionális integráció jövője. Kormányzási és elosztási dilemmák

The cornerstone of the global system, as well as the EU, is the principle of the sovereign equality of states. However, states are far from being equal. This paradox is one of the main obstacles to the smooth functioning of international organisations, including the EU. Sovereigntist critics of the EU pretend that national competencies are sacrificed in exchange for co-operation and joint governance at a larger scale. In reality, EU membership has widened the scope of member states’ sovereignty: they are better informed and can take part in decision-making at the European level. However, the EU’s decision-making power has weakened for two main reasons. First, EU competencies have been watered down: exclusive union competencies exist only in five sectors, in parallel with a large and growing number of mixed and shared competencies. As a result, EU decision-making tends towards intergovernmental methods, and consensus seeking opens the way for veto players. Second, after the end of the Cold War, in the 1990s, many new states were formed because of the dissolution of former federal structures. In place of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia 24 new states have taken form so far, 19 out of them Europeans, and the majority is attracted by the EU. The EU member states from the former eastern bloc which have Soviet-type political, economic, and social heritage, have ‘imported’ their unsolved – internal and external – conflicts into the EU. After the European elections in 2024 and the renewal of the European Parliament and the European Commission, those institution should undergo a ‘slimming diet’ and speed up decision-making by extending qualified majority voting. This is an absolute precondition of further enlargements.

Tantangan Penyelesaian Konflik Internasional yang Dilematik mengenai Hak Veto dalam Dewan Keamanan PBB (Studi kasus Palestina dengan Israel)

This research aims to explore and contribute to the understanding of the misuse of the veto power in resolutions for international conflict resolution. The focus is on describing the challenges arising from the use of the veto power in the UN Security Council, often prolonging conflicts without a definitive resolution. The research methodology employed is juridical normative with descriptive analysis, referring to provisions in the UN Charter and other reliable literature. The findings highlight that the abolition of the veto power in the UN Security Council could serve as a solution for more effective conflict resolution. Prolonged international conflicts result in significant losses, especially for civilians, while the UN, as the largest international organization, frequently fails to resolve these conflicts. The main issue lies in the rejection of resolutions by veto-wielding states, leading to the failure of these resolutions and the continuation of conflicts. Structural reforms within the UN are crucial to enhance its performance in conflict resolution to prevent further casualties. The unbridled use of the veto power, based on the geopolitical considerations of certain states, slows down the conflict resolution process. Additionally, the power disparity between veto-wielding states and other members contradicts the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the UN Charter. Therefore, clear criteria must be established for the use of the veto power in peace resolutions to ensure that conflict resolution is not hindered by purely geopolitical interests.

The Rationale of Turkish Cypriot Position on Two-State Solution in Cyprus

This article examines the rationale behind the Turkish Cypriot position on the Two-State solution in Cyprus. The analysis consists of three interrelated parts. Initially, the question of whether Turkish Cypriots are entitled to ‘peoplehood’ that can exercise the right of self-determination according to international law is discussed. This is followed by evaluating the reasons driving the Turkish Cypriot side to exercise the right of self-determination and whether Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) fulfills the criteria for statehood. In accordance with arguments carried out in the previous sections, the final part delves into the reasons for the Turkish Cypriot position on the Two-State solution in Cyprus in detail. It is argued that Turkish Cypriot people possess all of the attributes of statehood and are entitled to the same rights and status as the Greek Cypriot side currently exercises. Therefore, reinstating Turkish Cypriot people’s rights by reaffirming their sovereign equality and equal international status is necessary for a just and sustainable settlement in Cyprus.

Law, Peace and Status: Brazil’s Call for Sovereign Equality During the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907

This article reevaluates Brazil’s role in the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907, challenging prevailing narratives about Brazil’s call for sovereign equality. By combining theoretical insights on international status with an extensive examination of primary sources, such as diplomatic communications and conference proceedings, I show that Brazil’s call for sovereign equality was a strategic response to status struggles rather than an ideological commitment. The call enabled Brazil’s leading delegate, Rui Barbosa, to gain leadership over a Latin American multilateral coalition against a Great Power proposition to create a hierarchical international court. The leadership not only bolstered Brazil’s position as a regional power, but paradoxically, also strengthened the relations with its main opponent during the conference, the US. As such, this study both contributes to our understanding of Latin American historical diplomacy and underscores the nuanced dynamics of non-Great Powers in international politics.

Reading China's Global Security Initiative Through an International Legal Lens

Closely related to China's response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Global Security Initiative (‘GSI’) has attracted attention to its vision on the current international legal order. This essay examines three major themes of the GSI through an international legal lens: common security, sovereign equality and the amorphous idea of ‘legitimate security interest’. Firstly, it highlights the risk that the notion of common security and the related emphasis on ‘major countries’ relationship in the GSI could be abused to justify state oppression of domestic population or major countries’ domination over ‘minor countries’ and proposes a reading to limit these concepts to promoting peace-making efforts led by states, particularly ‘major countries’, with cascading effects on other countries in conflicts. Secondly, it argues that the GSI's re-emphasis on sovereign equality usefully counters unilateralism and should be interpreted not retrospectively to avoid accountability but prospectively to combat impunity for serious violations of international law. Thirdly, it argues that while the notion of legitimate security interest may be irrelevant to the prohibition of the use of force in international relations, it could be a useful consideration in discharging states’ obligation to settle international disputes peacefully.

THE GAZA CONFLICT WITHIN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Israel came under brutal attack on October 7, 2023, culminated in a long festering all out conflict against the Hamas perpetrators in the Gaza Strip. All parties to conflict must act in accordance with international law. This article examines whether Israel’s subsequent use of force to rescue and defend its nationals, abides by the right of self-defense under the UN Charter and is in accordance with the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law. Keywords: Gaza Conflict, Right of Self-Defense, Law of Armed Conflict, International Humanitarian Law

Theories of Interpretation: Islamic Law v. International

Whereas Europeans exercised influence over Muslim areas in the last century, Muslim countries and its legal systems were expected to be considered and to interact with international rules. The Hague Conferences of 1896, 1902 and 1905 were established for the purposes of developing agreement on private international law. These conferences did not invite Muslim countries though these states situated outside Europe could have treaties applied on their territories when they were under the jurisdiction of European states. In the same line several conferences and arenas have called and recommended the study of the Islamic legal rules. For example, North Sea case the judge argued that the principle of ‘sovereign equality’ protected in Article 2(1) of the United Nations Charter, necessitates the court to refer not only to European legal traditions but also to Islamic legal principles when seeking for a general principle of law. This paper argues that the Islamic law has its unique methodologies of interpretations, can share common views compared to the rules of interpretations in international law, and can offer unprecedented solutions to many international disputed issues. This article questions the ways in which the international scholarship and legal community could benefit from such an ‘exquisite understudied art.’

Community of Portuguese Language Countries: Formation, development, and role on the international arena

This article addresses the pertinent issue of irreversible transformations in the diplomacy of contemporary states, international organizations, and peoples. Using the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) as a case study, the contribution of historical, cultural, and linguistic heritage is analyzed as a specific factor fostering positive changes and progress in the lives of the people of these member states. The study aims to analyze the role of the CPLP in modern diplomacy and identify its influence on the formation of relationships between states. The aim of this research is to study the contribution of the CPLP to the development of Portuguese Language Countries. The authors conducted a comprehensive study of the history, development, and achievements of this international organization over its 27 years of existence. Special attention is given to the activities of the International Institute of the Portuguese Language (IIPL). The research successfully achieved its goal and addressed the tasks through the application of SWOT analysis. The relevance of this research lies in the growing importance of multilateral cooperation among countries sharing a common linguistic heritage. Understanding the dynamics and transformations within the CPLP is essential for grasping the changing nature of global diplomacy and the role of language as a unifying force in international affairs. The research successfully examined the formation and development of the CPLP as an actor in international relations, analyzed the activities of the Institute of the Portuguese Language as an accountable body of the organization, and studied the influence of the CPLP on the development of relations among Portuguese Language Countries. Based on the research findings, the authors conclude that the sovereign equality of CPLP member states is a paramount result of the global transformation of diplomatic relations between former metropolis and former colonies.

Fundamental jurisprudence as a strategic basis for national legal leadership

The current stage of historical development is characterized by the tendency of an increasing value and ideological crisis, directly related to the crisis of legal understanding, spiritual, moral, civilizational and cultural disorientation of jurisprudence. The unifying humanity and the legal values it has suffered have been shaken by the policy of single-vector globalization, which has called into question national identity and the primordial possibility of peoples to self-determination. The methods of dictate, unilateral sanctions, and hybrid forms of aggression that have entered into current international use, based on ideas about the exclusivity and dominance of a certain form of legal culture and civilization, destroy the sovereign equality of states, and have nothing to do with the laws of natural history development. The need to form a new global legal paradigm and substantiate the intrinsic value of domestic law as the normative embodiment of Russian civilization require the mobilization of domestic fundamental jurisprudence, which is currently experiencing a number of difficulties and is characterized by negative development trends. This concerns, in particular, the disclosure in our jurisprudence of the historical, civilizational and cultural factors of the Russian legal system, the development of the ideological and philosophical potential of the national legal heritage, the establishment of systematic work to update the methodology of legal cognition, taking into account fundamental changes in the world and in the national worldview, thematic and substantive consistency of research work with the priorities of state development. Increasing the role of fundamental disciplines in legal education and its constitutionalization, revealing the unity of the Russian state and law, the original foundations of our legal system, focusing on a predictive approach that allows us to form advanced models of legal regulation, coordinating the topics of scientific and legal research in accordance with national priorities — key areas in the field of fundamental jurisprudence.

СТРАТЕГІЯ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ НІМЕЧЧИНИ В УМОВАХ ШИРОКОМАСШТАБНОГО ВТОРГНЕННЯ РФ В УКРАЇНУ

The article analyses the main mechanisms of developing Germany’s security strategy in the context of key issues and prospective threats to European security in the 21st century. By examining changes in the overall security landscape and contemporary challenges to the global order, it analyzes how countries’ military security strategies shape approaches to defence and protection over a certain historical period. On the other hand, a detailed analysis of the prerequisites and course of military conflicts at the end of the 20th and the first decades of the 21st century allows the conclusion that those states capable of swiftly and effectively altering their approaches to security are able to resist external threats efficiently. To achieve this, a state must possess and continuously refine all doctrinal documents related to national defence matters. The German doctrinal documents regarding the definition of national security fundamentals are specifically studied. This is pertinent for understanding shifts in the views of the senior military and political leadership on how to adequately ensure the state’s integrity from external and internal threats. The article asserts that Germany’s leadership pays significant attention to general security issues, including purely military aspects. Moreover, such shifts in perspectives occur under changes in the global military-political environment, not only in Europe but worldwide. At the same time, the article examines the main sections of the latest National Security Strategy of Germany, which was approved in 2023. According to this document, one of Germany’s primary tasks today is direct participation in shaping a free international order committed to international law, the United Nations Charter, and sovereign equality of states. Therefore, emphasis is placed on the fact that such an approach to national security issues and Germany’s NATO membership are bases for providing significant military-technical assistance to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

Crises of the international legal system and their role in developing principles and norms of international law: Retrospective analysis

The article examines the influence of international legal system crises on the establishment and advancement of generally recognized principles and norms of international law. It is shown that the causes of crisis phenomena in international law can include inconsistency of the norms of international treaties and customs with the proclaimed principles of international law, poor regulation of the critical issues of the world community’s life and its institutions; non-implementation of the enshrined principles because of the lack of political will or imperfection of international legal mechanisms. On the example of the principles of conscientious fulfillment of international obligations, the sovereign equality of states and respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty, non-intervention in the internal affairs of states enshrined in the 1945 United Nations Charter, it is shown how the principles undergo changes in different eras, resulting in shifts in emphasis and enabling the evolution of international legal regulation. The terminological discussions, which have spanned centuries, leading to a wide range of interpretations regarding the fundamental principles and norms of international law, including the concept of general recognition, are considered. It has been concluded that numerous principles of international law were established to address crisis situations in international legal affairs. However, sometimes, these principles can inadvertently exacerbate conflicts, as evidenced by the Europe-America tensions in the 19th century. The primary areas of development for the international law principles are revealed: the alignment of specific principles in different international law branches with generally recognized principles and norms, the interplay between principles across different international law branches, which is crucial for regulating a substantial portion of international legal relations and the consolidation of judicial practice from international justice bodies.

Information security: international legal aspects of its provision

The relevance of the topic under consideration is due to the globalization of the information space, which arises in connection with the intensive development of information technologies, which implies the need to develop new approaches to ensuring information security. Based on the principles of sovereign equality and international cooperation, States interact with each other in the common interest (including in the legal field), develop basic principles and norms on which the legal foundation for the legal provision of international information security is based. The author states that the importance of implementing coordinated measures by participants in international legal interaction in this area is due to the fact that if information security is an integral part of national security, then international information security is an immanent element of international security, without which it is impossible to build a system of secure interstate cooperation in modern realities. The author applied the method of theoretical analysis in the process of research, the conclusions are based on a formally logical method. The main conclusion of the author of the study is the following position: the goals of maintaining the state of security of the global information space may be unattainable without proper cooperation (in particular, organizational and legal in nature) in solving problems related to ensuring international information security at several levels of interaction: bilateral, regional, global. The high level of interdependence of countries and the need to ensure the principle of indivisibility of security form the global need to find compromises and common approaches in ensuring international information security. The definition of a single conceptual framework that does not allow ambiguity, contradictions and terminological uncertainty, as well as the basic principles that are the legal foundation of the legal regulation of international information security, should be implemented by developing a single international treaty. This conclusion is due to the ineffectiveness of the norms of "soft law" and international morality based on the principles of voluntary fulfillment of obligations implemented in the process of interstate interaction.

Violation of the Principle of Sovereignty that Legitimizes the Actions of the Security Council

The link between sovereignty and international law found its legal embodiment in the principle of sovereign equality of states. The principle of sovereign equality of states is a complex principle, in two ways: both of its components can be considered independent principles. The combination of these elements gave rise to an international legal phenomenon - the principle of sovereign equality of states. It assumes that any state must fully fulfil its international obligations. Within the framework of this principle of sovereign equality, sovereignty itself has regained its definition in the relations of international law. These relations, as a rule, are established between the subjects of international law, i.e. states, but they can also be between states and organizations or only between intergovernmental organizations. The essence of this principle is the rule, according to which the maintenance of international law and order is possible and can be ensured only with full respect for the legal equality of the participants. This means that each state must respect the sovereignty of the other participants in the system, that is, their right on their own territory to exercise legislative, executive, administrative and judicial power without any interference from other states, as well as to exercise independently external politics.

Legal Basis of Sanctions against Russia and Asset Confiscation

"This study provides an in-depth examination of the legal bases for current asset freezes in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), and how these differ from confiscations of Russian state assets. It explores the evolving political deliberations that have led to new goals of making reparations to Ukraine, which has suffered extensive damage estimated at more than 600 billion euros as a result of Russia’s invasion. The primary focus of this study is on the potential confiscation of frozen state assets of Russia as a means to achieve reparations. Western governments have initiated comprehensive assessments of avenues to perform permanent asset seizures, with the overarching goal of strengthening the tracing, identification, freezing and management of assets as preliminary steps for potential confiscation. The study discusses the legislative pitfalls associated with sovereign asset confiscation, its challenges and limitations. It highlights how the principle of sovereign equality of states can hinder such actions, protecting the assets of Russia’s central bank from court proceedings and execution in another state. Despite Russia’s actions contravening the fundamental norms of international law, interpretations of customary international law maintain Russia’s immunity from legal proceedings in foreign courts. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are no legal bases for the expropriation of Russian sovereign assets. Keywords: confiscation of assets, Russian assets, reparations, legal considerations, International law, sanctions, sovereign equality."

State sovereignty, statist bordering principles, and the statocentric spatio-political imaginary

In this paper I investigate the process of modern State formation focusing on the spatiality of the State, bordering in particular, and its links to State sovereignty. The State has its double origin in the collapse of the faith-based unity of Respublica Christiana in Europe and in the colonial encounter with non-European peoples of the New World. Contrary to the theories of modern State formation that consider it to be a European endogenous process, I argue that colonialism was a necessary condition for the emergence of the modern State. In particular, colonialism was essential for the emergence of the notion of sovereign equality of States among European rulers, and of the statist bordering principles of fixity and clear inside/outside distinction that were first implemented in the New World. In the paper I trace how sovereignty and bordering come together in the political form of the State, trace theoretical and practical links between the two, and explore the statocentric spatio-political imaginary.

The International Legal Framework with regards to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

The Russia-Ukraine War highlights the collision of realpolitik with international law, illustrating the unavoidable conflicts that develop when international law meets defiance. This article deals with the conflict's complex legal landscape, finding contradicting results in the fields of collective security and international judicial procedure. While collective security has been ineffective in addressing the jus ad bellum parts of the war, Ukraine has demonstrated great effectiveness in its legal counterattacks against Russia, demonstrating its potential for international judicial advocacy. Despite occasional obstacles, the article argues that the enduring Westphalian values of sovereign equality, border inviolability, territorial integrity, political independence, and autonomy are the cornerstones of the international system. These principles, which are incorporated in the United Nations Charter, have legal relevance for all member nations. The Russia-Ukraine War vividly illustrates Russia's flagrant breach of these fundamental norms, prompting a critical study of the relationship between realpolitik and international law. Despite occasional challenges, this research asserts that the enduring principles of Westphalian sovereignty, border integrity, territorial inviolability, political independence, and autonomy remain fundamental to the international system. These core principles, enshrined in the United Nations Charter, hold legal significance for all member states. The Russia-Ukraine War serves as a stark reminder of Russia's blatant violations of these foundational norms, prompting a crucial examination of the intricate interplay between realpolitik and international law, with broader implications for the global order and future conflicts.