Crimea, negotiations and “similar” or “identical”
shares of sovereignty
The egalitarian shared
sovereignty solves sovereignty conflicts because it simply acknowledges the
facts, because:
a) that sovereignty
conflicts and sovereignty are complex issues;
b) that complexity is given
by these issues being constituted by activities and goods that imply both
benefits and burdens; and
c) that the claiming agents
are most probably in very different comparative situations in many senses.
We do not have the problem
of defining equality because we are not referring to the parties but to the
target, the third territory. All the parties receive equal shares of
sovereignty since these shares are ideal (they only represent their right to
equal benefits and the obligation to equal contributions and only in what is
referred to the third territory).
Thereby, if they can make
equal contributions, they will receive equal benefits. We do not even think of
their relative situations as members of the international society. They are
equal or not in as much as it is referred to the target, the third territory.
Coincidentally, if they
cannot fulfil their obligations to the same extent, their returns will be
affected. It is when the qualitative differences come into play. And they are
referred to the situation of each of the parties in relation to a specific good
in what matters only to the third territory.
To give an example, if a
party A cannot defend the third territory because it does not have any means of
defence, then it cannot contribute (so its return will be lessened).
As we have
two pre-requisites and a targeted agreement, the other two parties B and C will
have to assist party A in as much as their assistance is needed to let party A
have a similar contribution in regards to that specific good or activity (in
the example, parties B and C will assist in the development of the means of
defense of party A, but only in as much as it is necessary for the defense of
the third territory).
Indeed, the egalitarian
shared sovereignty provides for the legitimacy of initial differences in the
benefits and burdens of the parties in a way that the equality principle does
not. So, when we reach the ultimate egalitarian shared sovereignty goal of
equilibrium amongst the parties, there will be no problem in knowing what
‘equal shares’ require since these will be similar shares of each of the goods
relevant to sovereignty (output) amongst three agents with similar level of use
of their respective shares (input).
I use the term “similar”
rather than “identical” when I refer to the final shares since there will be
obviously some elements that because of factual restrictions or limitations
cannot be equally or identically used, or at least not to the same extent in
the literal meaning of these expression such as geographical proximity.
Conclusion:
Crimea, the Egalitarian Shared Sovereignty, and Utopia
Following the previous
paragraphs, the next post will introduce a hypothetical situation in order to
show how the egalitarian shared sovereignty works in the context of the Crimean
sovereignty dispute. The aim of this example is to demonstrate how by
acknowledging certain features and by applying the criteria mentioned before, a
shared sovereignty model can work, at least in theory. Note that the following
paragraphs will use an oversimplified view with reference to some key points
usually controversial in any sovereignty conflict and that therefore are present
in the Crimean case.
NOTE:
This post is based on Jorge Emilio Núñez, Territorial Disputes and State Sovereignty.
International Law and Politics (Routledge 2020).
Previous
published research monograph about territorial disputes and sovereignty by the
author, Jorge Emilio Núñez, Sovereignty
Conflicts and International Law and Politics: A Distributive Justice Issue London
and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2017.
NEXT
POST: Crimea, the Egalitarian Shared Sovereignty, and Utopia
Wednesday 11th March 2020
Dr Jorge Emilio Núñez
Twitter: @London1701
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