Reading Texts on Sovereignty

Stella Achilleos, J. C. Davis, Antonis Balasopoulos, John Morrow

"Reading Texts on Sovereignty charts the development of the concept from the classical period to the present day. Defined in antiquity as an absolute or supreme type of power, sovereignty's history has been marked ever since by numerous moments of crisis and contestation through which its meaning has been redefined and reconfigured. Using extracts of key texts selected and analysed by leading contributors from the USA, the UK, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Cyprus, Finland and Spain, this volume examines these moments and how different societies have grappled with sovereignty through the ages. The book explores a diverse range of geographical and cultural contexts within which the issue of sovereignty became critical, including Medieval Islam, 19th-century Latin America and 20th-century Africa and the Caribbean. In addition the book includes chapters that respond to the vital interplay...