Shifting Sovereignties

Bentham: Sovereignty and Constitutive Authority AbstractBentham is well known for his contributions to the conceptual history of sovereignty. What is less well known is that he adopted, developed, and pa

New handbook chapter by Peter Niesen on "Bentham: Sovereignty and Constitutive Authority"
academic.oup.com/edited-volum...

Performing the border: Mapping smuggling and state sovereignty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania-Prussia borderlands Scholars of borders and boundary-making have long emphasized that frontiers are not inert lines on maps but historically contingent, socially produced…

New article by Tim Cole, Alberto Giordano, Martynas Jakulis, Aivaras Poška, Andrej Ryčkov & Jurgita Verbickienė on "Performing the border: Mapping smuggling and state sovereignty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania-Prussia borderlands"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Territory, sovereignty and rebel oil governance in the Arab uprisings This article examines how oil, territory and rebellion intersected during the Arab uprisings. It introduces the concept of rebel oil governance to capture how rebels claim oil resources physically ...

New article Ariel Ahram by on "Territory, sovereignty and rebel oil governance in the Arab uprisings"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

New article by Bama Andika Putra on "Post-pandemic Southeast Asia: revisiting the relevance of the sovereignty script"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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New article by Tianren Luo, William Xing, and Jingjia Xiao on "Digital Sensing, Infrastructure of Sovereignty, and the Unmaking of the Chinese Surveillance State"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Colonialities, Decolonisation, and Harnessing Financial Sovereignty and Economic Structures This chapter reminds the reader about the longstanding ubiquitous historical and hegemonic influence of colonialism in West Africa that presents challenges and opportunities for urban transition. It u...

New chapter by Leonard Mbulle-Nziege on "Colonialities, Decolonisation, and Harnessing Financial Sovereignty and Economic Structures"
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Jerusalem and the Unresolved Question of Sovereignty The de facto annexation of East Jerusalem has advanced incrementally through a legal-administrative architecture that includes land registration, zoning, and permitting; residency rules; and redesign...

New article by Havva Yavuz on "Jerusalem and the Unresolved Question of Sovereignty"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The Shah of Afghanistan This book provides an in-depth analysis of Mohammad Zahir Shah’s reign, revealing insights into governance and political stability in Afghanistan.

New book by S. Yaqub Ibrahimi on "The Shah of Afghanistan: Politics in a Fragile State"
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Slavery, Sovereignty, and the Fante State: The Rise of a Ritual Confederacy in Eighteenth-Century Ghana The Fante are renowned for their historic engagement with Atlantic slavery in eighteenth-century West Africa but the form and development of their government remain elusive and enigmatic. Why are t...

New article by Andrew Apter titled "Slavery, Sovereignty, and the Fante State: The Rise of a Ritual Confederacy in Eighteenth-Century Ghana"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Many thanks @mihatsch.bsky.social for your fantastic lecture yesterday @humanitiesuu.bsky.social on your book @shiftingsovs.bsky.social! It was fascinating, thought-provoking and timely!

Brace yourself: the civilisation sovereignty nexus is making a comeback.

Escape the dreary Utrecht weather, and join us for a "cozy" discussion of sovereignty this evening.

New book by Stephen Onyango Ouma titled "Africa Unbound: Decolonial Pathways to Sovereignty and Liberation"
brill.com/display/titl...

New article by Ibrahim Burhan Isik on "Electrifying Sovereignty The Politics of Infrastructure and Emerging Governance Dynamics in Southeastern Turkey"
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

State Sovereignty and the Origins of International Legal Formalism This essay explores the historical and intellectual context of the late-19th century that led public international law to adopt a formalist focus on the sovereign will of states. The discussion of the...

New chapter by Martti Koskenniemi on "State Sovereignty and the Origins of International Legal Formalism" where he explores the historical & intellectual context of the late-19th cent for the adoption of a formalist focus on the sovereign will of states.
link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

ECOWAS and inverted sacrifice zones: towards a new regional paradigm for sovereignty and sustainability in West Africa This paper examines how ECOWAS can leverage mangrove ecosystems to build regional ecological infrastructure and foster economic integration. Anchored in the West African coast where 2 million hecta...

New article by Arjuna Da Silva & Alena Gross on "ECOWAS and inverted sacrifice zones: towards a new regional paradigm for sovereignty and sustainability in West Africa"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reexamining Shifting ROC Positions on the Sovereignty of the Ryukyus (1943–1972) This study reexamines the position and policies of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) towards the Ryukyus in the period from the 1943 Cairo Conference to the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement. In ord...

New article by Ryota Hiyane & Long Piao which is "Reexamining Shifting ROC Positions on the Sovereignty of the Ryukyus (1943–1972)"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Monetary sovereignty in the digital age: the role of Central bank digital currencies This article examines the challenges that blockchain-based digital currencies pose to state monetary sovereignty in the digital era. As technological advancements transform monetary systems, decent...

New article by Jack Buchan & Murat Üngör on "Monetary sovereignty in the digital age: the role of Central bank digital currencies"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New article by Marcin Kosienkowski on "Unilateral Sovereignty Referendums by Territorial Autonomies: Motivations and the Case of Gagauzia’s 2014 Referendums"
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

We rarely post arxiv papers, but for this we'll make an exception. "Cooperative Sovereignty on Mars: Lessons from the International Telecommunication Union and Universal Postal Union" by Alexander H. Ferdinand Ferguson and Jacob Haqq-Misra
arxiv.org/pdf/2602.08853

Happening this Thursday at @humanitiesuu.bsky.social: join us at 5:00 PM to hear Moritz Mihatsch's lecture on @shiftingsovs.bsky.social - all welcome!

Sovereignty and Treaties as Colonial Instruments: The British Occupation of Java 1811–1815 This article examines how sovereignty and treaties functioned as colonial instruments during the British occupation of Java (1811–1815). The British East India Company imposed the language of sover...

New article by Gareth Knapman on "Sovereignty and Treaties as Colonial Instruments: The British Occupation of Java 1811–1815"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🇳🇱🗣️💬 Come and discuss sovereignty with me in Utrecht on 19 February 2026 at 17:15 (details in the link).

www.uu.nl/en/events/le...

🇳🇴 Join us tomorrow!

Complexities of governance and sovereignty in maritime security Maritime governance should be tailored to effectively confront the complexity of maritime security challenges, namely their cross-boundary nature, the…

New article by Eleanor Dayan & Aviad Rubinon "Complexities of governance and sovereignty in maritime security"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Stateness under Disputed Sovereignty: Youth Narratives of Constitutional Limbo in Gilgit–Baltistan Gilgit–Baltistan (GB) occupies a constitutional limbo. It is administered by Pakistan, yet its legal status remains tied to the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, even as Pakistan has stea...

New article by Hira Ausaf & Muhammad Shoaib Pervez on "Stateness under Disputed Sovereignty: Youth Narratives of Constitutional Limbo in Gilgit–Baltistan"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Introduction: Sovereignty, Utility and the Problem of Monarchical Legitimacy in Nineteenth-Century Europe Published in History of European Ideas (Ahead of Print, 2026)

Intro to a new special issue by Carolina Armenteros:
Introduction: Sovereignty, Utility and the Problem of Monarchical Legitimacy in Nineteenth-Century Europe
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

“Romulus was not less prince than Trajan”: Paolo Sarpi, reader of Jean Bodin and theorist of sovereignty (The early consulti, 1606) In the autumn of 1605, Pope Paul V promulgated an interdict against the Republic of Venice, compelling its government to formulate an immediate political response. The Servite friar Paolo Sarpi was...

New article by Gregorio Baldin titled:
“Romulus was not less prince than Trajan”: Paolo Sarpi, reader of Jean Bodin and theorist of sovereignty (The early consulti, 1606)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The Standard of Civilisation in Anglo-Japanese Treaty Revision, 1890–94 The concept of civilisation was central to nineteenth century international legal thought. The concept was an ambiguous one, however. Its ambiguities were particularly marked in the case of consula...

New article by Alexander O’Kane titled "The Standard of Civilisation in Anglo-Japanese Treaty Revision, 1890–94"
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Top 5 books: January 2026 Every new year brings new challenges, but picking which book to read next should not be one of them. In this round-up of the best books…

📢 NEW BLOG ALERT!

To ring in the new year, Book Reviews Editor Mariana Vieira is back with 5️⃣ recommendations of the latest International Relations books to keep you hooked.

Check them out 👇
medium.com/internationa...