Editorial: Around the Disputes over Sovereignty

Abstract

Despite its long academic tradition, the category of sovereignty is a concept which seems to be rediscovered nowadays. Contemporary challenges faced by states, both in their international and national dimensions, require the term sovereignty to be redefined. Representatives of various academic disciplines research this concept and reach interesting conclusions revealing new perspectives on the old concepts of sovereignty. However, within these novel approaches, the category of sovereignty invariably refers to the relations between states, to political systems, to organized societies and sometimes even to individuals. It is worth considering centuries-long heritage of thought devoted to sovereignty, as drawing from it might offer a greater insight into and solutions to certain current problems connected with the understanding of sovereignty.