The United Nations and State Sovereignty: Mechanism for Managing International Security

Recently, some analysts have accused the United Nations of eroding the sovereignty of its members. However, these critics often ignore the fact that the creation of the United Nations was itself one incident in the process of reinterpreting sovereignty which has gone on for centuries. Before 1945, sovereignty was often reinterpreted to fit the changing norms and institutions. As a principle which legitimises political control and helps enhance international security, sovereignty often reflects the prevailing notions of international order. While the Security Council has tried to redefine sovereignty after the cold war, the UN Charter remains a constraint on such reinterpretation. If the Charter is not amended to reflect post-cold war changes, the international society might be split between supporters of the Charter principles of sovereignty and those who seek change.     

经济全球化与民族国家的主权保护

经济全球化是一个发展过程,也是一个客观现实。经济全球化对威斯特伐利亚体系所确立的传统的民族国家主权进行着挑战,但并未导致主权的终结。对包括中国在内的发展中国家来说,必须积极参与国际经济秩序的重构,才能有效地维护国家利益和捍卫国家的主权。     

浅析13世纪西欧提出的“主权论”

"君权神授"的神学政治理论是西欧中世纪王权的理论依据。13世纪的西欧经历了广泛的拓荒运动,促进了贸易的复苏和发展,从而使其经济结构和社会结构逐渐发生了演变,以此为基础的封建王权的性质和权能也随之发生了变化,有了改变以习惯法为主体的法律体系的要求。经院哲学在阐述理性的同时对传统的自然法思想进行了新的诠释,法学家们在用经院哲学的方法对罗马法进行研究的同时为自然法注入了新的法理元素,在此基础上提出了"主权论",由此取代了"君权神授"的神学政治理论。世俗的政治理论"主权论"为刚刚起步的议会制度提供了政治理论,为其继续发展扫清了理论障碍。     

Beyond the Segmentary State: Creative and Instrumental Power in Western Uganda

The concept of the segmentary state was proposed by Southall, based on ethnographic fieldwork among the Alur people of Uganda, and subsequently applied elsewhere, notably to the putative ancient kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. Archaeological research, summarized here, has demonstrated that ancient Bunyoro-Kitara was not a segmentary state; indeed, neither was the political system of the Alur. The Nyoro state of the nineteenth century shows a complex interplay of political sovereignty and ritual suzerainty and of accommodation and resistance to central authority. This is understood through examination of the concepts of instrumental and creative power, the latter particularly relevant to negotiations concerning the status of women. The archaeological record of this region is then explored for evidence of earlier expressions of instrumental and creative power. Finally, the paper shows how the archaeological record of Munsa is itself an arena for modern political struggles in which protagonists harness different forms of power.