Abstract
This book explores how actors practise sovereignty as a force in a multiscalar context. Among the various power structures that perform sovereignty, such as the head of state, a legislative body, or the military, one aspect is clear: the practice of sovereignty relies upon people at multiple levels - better portrayed as scales - of authority. This book focuses on actors – the people who bring ...
Abstract
This book explores how actors practise sovereignty as a force in a multiscalar context. Among the various power structures that perform sovereignty, such as the head of state, a legislative body, or the military, one aspect is clear: the practice of sovereignty relies upon people at multiple levels - better portrayed as scales - of authority. This book focuses on actors – the people who bring sovereignty to life, who imbue it with meaning, and who are ultimately responsible for its practice. With that perspective, the volume interprets various case studies, such as Russian approaches to sovereignty in its leadership and Central Bank, Scottish parties' discourses, and NATO command structures. Beyond those contexts, the work also examines Chinese digital platforms, criminal gangs in Latin America, Polish and Czech nationalist movements, want-to-be states in Kurdistan-Iraq and Abkhazia, and Polish video games – together, these examples demonstrate how actors practise sovereignty in unity with, but also in place of, the state. As proof of concept, the authors further examine how they, as researchers, also qualify as practitioners of sovereignty. In a concluding three-chapter section, they reflexively explore how research methods and disciplines of study actively shape sovereignty and how the latter defines the outer limits of scholarly research. This book will be of interest to students of statehood, sovereignty, discourse analysis, history, political science, sociology, and international relations.
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Traditionally conceived as ontologically related to the state, sovereignty is often regarded as indivisible. Proceeding from a multiscalar standpoint, supported by interdisciplinary research, this chapter argues that sovereignty reveals itself to be a dynamic and functional force, not by assuming an inherent and timeless condition but by investigating instances of practice. Evidencing sovereignty scalar elasticity, this book’s operationalisation of an actor-centred analysis demonstrates how sovereignty is exercised at varying degrees of scale. Ranging from atop, below, adjacent to, or even in place of the state, sovereignty through practice is advocated as an emerging interdisciplinary approach. Going further, employing this approach to understand how scholars of sovereignty themselves practice sovereignty, this chapter expands on the expedient benefits of reflexivity in scholarship on this topic.
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