Sovereignty is undoubtedly one of the most disputed and controversial concepts in politics today. What does it mean to say that a state, a people or an individual is sovereign? In this book, twelve contributors, all specialists in their own area, tackle these questions in different ways. Underlying the range and diversity of their responses is a common problem: how does sovereignty relate to society and the state?

The first part focuses upon developments in British politics, the European Union, Northern Ireland and South Africa in the late 20th century. The second part explores state sovereignty from an international perspective, while the third looks towards detaching sovereignty from the state. Feminist arguments about the self and the exploitation of prostituted women are interrogated along with a democratic analysis of popular organizations and a novel assessment of the question of sovereignty and animal rights.

Laura Brace is Director of Research and PhD Studies in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester, UK.

John Hoffman is Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester, UK.

Introduction: Reclaiming Sovereignty Laura Brace and John Hoffman
Part I: Traditional Perspectives: Sovereignty and the State
1. Is it Time to Detach Sovereignty from the State? John Hoffman
2. What Has Happened to the Sovereignty of Parliament? R. L. Borthwick
3. Sovereignty and the European Union: Eroded, Enhanced, Fragmented Philip Lynch
4. The Search for Peace and a Political Settlement in Northern Ireland: Sovereignty, Self-determination and Consent Stephen Hopkins
5. Coping with Diversity: Sovereignty in a Divided Society J.E. Spence and David Welsh
Part II: The International Perspective: Post-Sovereignty Developments?
6. Sovereignty in International Law: A Concept of Eternal Return Anthony Carty
7. Political Economy, Sovereignty and Borders in Global Context Gillian Youngs
Part III: Broadening the Concept: Self, Society and Nature
8. Imagining the Boundaries of a Sovereign Self Laura Brace
9. The Citizen, Here Sovereignty and Democratization: Lessons from Chile Lucy Taylor
10. 'Does She Do Queening?': Prostitution, Sovereignty and Community Julia O'Connell Davidson
11. Ecology and Animal Rights: Is Sovereignty Anthropocentric Robert Garner
Index