Sovereignty and systemic change: An examination of the utility of sovereignty in the context of systemic change from an English school perspective.

This thesis is concerned with assessing the current relevance of the concept of state sovereignty to the study of international relations in the context of contemporary systemic changes, European integration and globalization. It engages with two central questions. First, given that it is said that the above changes significantly undermine sovereignty, to what extent does sovereignty actually continue to constitute an important concept for IR? Second, and more challenging, what is the most appropriate way to conceptualize sovereignty in the context of these changes? This research engages with the above questions from the vantage point of the English School theoretical approach, exploiting its three traditions spectrum. In doing so, it develops the application of the three traditions by both reflecting on a new subject area and also recognizing fresh perspectives from within its traditional sphere of activity. On the one hand, it considers economics (a subject largely ignored by the School), developments in relation to which are central to the contemporary systemic changes under consideration. On the other, it highlights relevant unidentified perspectives residing in a traditional area of engagement, theology, which is rendered increasingly important in the context of globalization and the so-called La Revanche de Dieu. The thesis argues that, appropriately applied, sovereignty continues to be an important concept for the study of international relations. In making this case, however, it contends that if sovereignty is to clarify rather than obscure, it must be handled in a way that means it can competently engage with change. The thesis contends that the English School carries the latent potential to rise to this challenge and that in a significant sense this makes the three traditions more important today than at the time of their initial formulation, thus endorsing the current renaissance of interest in the ES theoretical approach