Hierarchy in International Relations Quotes

“It is now clear that what was actually agreed on at Westphalia and codified in the treaties is substantially different from the received wisdom. Whether the princes at Westphalia actu­ally intended to establish principles of international order is a topic of continuing debate, but the record makes plain that they did not intend to create the specific principle of sovereignty as we know it today. Yet, subsequent observers and practitioners have nonetheless interpreted Westphalia as creating-by de­ sign or not-a particular conception of sovereignty that has now been passed down through generations. It is the myth of Westphalia, rather than Westphalia itself, on which today's understanding of the principle of sovereignty rests.”
― David A. Lake, Hierarchy in International Relations

“The principle of sovereignty is commonly understood to possess three pri­mary components:
1) The sover­eign possesses absolute authority over the people and territory of a given realm
2) External actors are excluded from possessing or exercising author­ity over the people and territory governed by the sovereign
3) Sovereignty is indivisible-of a single piece, a whole that cannot be disaggregated, shared, or divided between different authorities”
― David A. Lake, Hierarchy in International Relations