What is meant by the term sovereignty
Complete authority of a government over its land and the people within the territory
Example of when a state has been intervened
Russia annexed crimea which goes against territorial integrity.
What is territorial integrity
An area of land a state legitimately controls which cannot be violated- UN article 2.4
What is self determination
The right of a group to freely determine its political status and pursue its own developments
What is the definition of a state
An area of a land of an independent country with clear boundaries and people organised under a single government
What is a nation and give an example
A group of people united through a strong identity of culture, religion language and traditions and an example would be the Kurds in Kurdistan
Why are nations different
You can people who are a part of the same nation living in multiple states like the Kurds living across countries like Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Nations can coexist within territories and usually do not have sovereignty over an area.
What is the case study for challenges to sovereignty
Ukraine and Russia over the annexation of crimea
Give some facts about the background of Ukraine
- was a member of the Soviet Union until 1991 when it gained independence
- in 2013 a huge crisis occured
Challenges to Ukraine
- geographic location shows Ukraine to be between Russia and the EU
- western Ukraine speaker Ukrainian whereas eastern being closer to Russia speak Russian
- big political divide between western and eastern Ukraine
- ehtinic diversity (77 percent Ukrainian and 17 Russian)
- since independence Ukraine has gained a poor and corrupt identity
- very dependent on Russia for resources
What happened in 2013 in Ukraine
Ukraines government formed more deals with putin and Russia which sparked violent protests within the Ukrainian population in a period called Euromaidan and forced the Ukrainian position yanukovych out of power.
What did putin do in 2014
The annexation of crimea started where putin sent in troops of soldiers and claimed it as Russian sovereign territory
What happened to the eastern part of Ukraine in 2014
Putin began to annex the eastern part of Ukraine by sending in troops of military as the eastern part of Ukraine is where the more Russian population of Ukraine lives, so Russia started funding and fighting for separatists within the eastern part of Ukraine called the Donbas region.
What are some impacts on people from this annexation
1.47 million people were displaced in eastern Ukraine.
600k people migrated to neighbouring countries eg. Russia
7000 deaths and 13k injuries in immediate fighting
Displaced people living in poor conditions with limited access to healthcare and education
Significant bombings or railway links which caused big disruption to transportation.
Impacts on a place from the annexation of Crimea
Economic sanctions made by USA and EU on Russia caused Russian economy to drop significantly.
NATO assisted Ukraine by sending battalions to baltic states to prevent Russian from further aggression on other places
Ukraine has started military training with NATO to strengthen their military forces in the hope to join NATO
What happened in 2022 to cause Putin to attack into other parts of Ukraine other than just Crimea
Ukraine started military training with NATO which sparked violent actions from Putin which caused him to start invading into other parts of Ukraine suck as Kyiv and western parts of Ukraine rather than just Crimea which has caused a huge displacement of people (7.8 million Ukrainian refugees) being one of the largest displacements since WW2.
What are some examples of supernational institutions
NATO
UNITED NATIONS
Regional trading blocks like EU, ASEAN and MERCOSUR
Benefits of being a part of the EU
All member states are part of the single economic market making trading easier
There is greater peace throughout Europe and member states protect each other
What happens to sovereignty when states sign to these supernational institutions
They still have independence and are responsible for the citizens however they surrender some of their sovereignty as they must follow the laws written by the institutions.
What are the negatives of being a part of a supernational state
Member states must implement EU laws even if they did not vote for them.
What is the case study for challenges to sovereignty with natural resources
Kashmir region- contested territory between Pakistan and India
What are some causes of challenged to sovereignty in the Kashmir region
Differences in religion, culture and ethnicity within the Kashmir region who are arguing over access to water
