ABSTRACT
The subject of the sovereignty of the nation-state presents a puzzle. The argument that sovereignty must be absolute in this sense can be criticized on both theoretical and practical grounds. The puzzle of internal sovereignty is that the apparent reality of internal sovereignty flies in the face of the ability of various domestic forces seriously to challenge the power of the ruling group of the state. The puzzle of external sovereignty is how states can be seen to have retained their sovereignty in the face of economic, environmental, and other outside pressures which appear to have robbed them of that sovereignty. Economic interdependence and global environmental degradation undermine the interest independence of all states, but states' responses to these factors are, in general, exercises of, hence a demonstration of, legal sovereignty. The contemporary growth in international law is coincident with increasing economic interdependence, growing environmental impacts, and other factors that have robbed states of their interest independence.
