Knowra Sovereign state Sovereign state A political entity with a permanent population, defined territory, government, and independence from external authority in domestic and foreign affairs.
Montevideo Convention : A 1933 treaty that lists population, territory, government, and capacity for foreign relations as statehood criteria. Its four criteria closely match the standard definition of a sovereign state.
Westphalian sovereignty : The principle that states have exclusive authority within their territories and are formally equal in international relations. It captures the territorial independence commonly associated with sovereign statehood.
Nation : A community whose members share an identity, history, or claim to political belonging. A nation can exist without controlling a sovereign state of its own.
United Nations Charter : The 1945 treaty establishing the United Nations and setting out its purposes, principles, and institutional framework. Its rules frame sovereign equality and restrict the use of force between states.
Holy See : The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the pope and the central governing authority of the Catholic Church. Its international personality and treaty relations differ from those of an ordinary territorial state.
State (polity) : A political organization that exercises authority over a population and territory. Sovereignty describes a state's independence, not the broader idea of political organization.
International recognition : Acceptance by states or international organizations that an entity or government has a particular legal status. Recognition affects how statehood claims are treated internationally, though its legal role is contested.
Nation-state : A sovereign state whose boundaries largely coincide with the territory of a nation. It is a particular form of sovereign state, not a synonym for every state.
Self-determination : The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. It grounds many claims to independent statehood and decolonization.
State of Palestine : A state proclaimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988 and recognized by many countries. Its contested sovereignty illustrates how recognition and effective territorial control can diverge.
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