33.2.3 The impact on state sovereignty

Impact on state sovereignty

Regionalism has impacted sovereignty, but the extent to which depends on the type of regionalism

• If regionalism has been predominantly intergovernmental, the impact on sovereignty is limited

• If regionalism has been predominantly supranational then there must be a significant erosion of sovereignty for them to succeed. However:

• states can ultimately still choose to leave supranational organisations e.g. Brexit Liberals and realists have different views on the impact of regionalism on sovereignty:

  • Liberals: cooperation is always good on any scale as long as states don't impede each other, states are strengthened through cooperation and liberals argue that governance on a regional and global scale is the only way to cope with the interconnected world to solve problems such as; poverty, human rights, climate change etc which states cannot solve on their own.
  • Realists: argue that regional and global governance is futile because states will continue to act in their own self-interest with states still being able to abuse and ignore the system. Three main regionalism theories in relation to sovereignty which consider how regional blocs are integrated and help establish the impact on sovereignty:

Do regional institutions erode state sovereignty?

Yes	No
Political• Many political decisions in the EU are made by supranational organs therefore the decisions lack legitimacy. Factortame case	EU member states still retain a significant degree of political sovereignty as the EU cannot influence domestic law. Principle of subsidiarity • EI will not make law at a supranational level when it can be made at local level.
Security • The AU is the regional institution with the largest expanding security influence and therefore is increasingly imposing on AU members. AU threatened to pull African states out of the ICC in 2017 showing decision-making for all.	The EU has been criticised for lacking the means to intervene militarily and uphold human rights due to no longstanding army. e.g. Did not respond to the Srebrenica genocide in Yugoslavia in 1995 AU despite growth is still limited in its powers and therefore doesn't infringe on sovereignty.
Structure • The EU's structure is criticised for being undemocratic and failing to consider the opinions of all members EU is in a democratic deficit • the impingement of sovereignty due to these methods heavily influenced the UK leave vote in 2016.	EU suffered major defeats to their structural integrity over the years compromising their ability to infringe on sovereignty. e.g. Expansion made decision-making harder, the UK leaving undermined their authority.
Economic • The EU largely imposes on the individual economics of its member states and therefore limits their economic sovereignty. + ASEAN. • 2012 fiscal contract and SGP's, creation of the EMU and Eurozone	The EU's impact on the economic sovereignty of states is not universal due to the SGP guidelines being non binding. 8 states are not part of the EMU Stability and growth pacs are non-binding so members can ignore e.g. Under Merkel, Germany adopted a policy of being constantly in budget surpluses.