Readings on Basic Knowledge of Western Social Sciences: Sovereignty

Author: [British] Hoffman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In this book, Mr. Hoffman aims to achieve several goals: 1. Sovereignty plays a very real role in our lives, yet its concept is so confusing that it has long troubled theorists and the public. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to clarify this important yet controversial concept. 2. What resources do the three representative theories—democratic theory, feminism, and postmodernism—provide for subverting the traditional notion of state sovereignty? 3. Can we transcend the state and achieve sovereignty for individuals rather than the state? In other words, can we reconstruct a new type of sovereignty concept? Mr. Hoffman points out that sovereignty has not always existed, and the concept of sovereignty is even more recent. Sovereignty and its concept are products that emerged only after the rise of modern states and ideologies. Modernism tells us that sovereignty is both supreme and subject to limitations. This contradictory theoretical assumption makes it difficult for the concept of sovereignty to escape its logical traps. It is precisely because of the modernist connection between sovereignty and the state that the concept of sovereignty has become ambiguous and controversial. Therefore, to clarify the concept of sovereignty, it is necessary to separate sovereignty from the state, which is also the purpose that runs through this book. On this basis, to reconstruct the concept of sovereignty and propose a new type of sovereignty concept, Mr. Hoffman draws rich theoretical resources from democratic theory, feminism, and postmodernism, constructively proposing the "relational concept of sovereignty." This concept of sovereignty resolves the fundamental opposition between the subject and object of power; it links sovereignty to its object and environment; it achieves individual autonomy while avoiding atomistic individual existence; it preserves the order necessary for public life while safeguarding individual rights; it is an "ideal realism." In the book, Mr. Hoffman demonstrates his profound theoretical expertise and reveals the historical logic of the development of the sovereignty concept. Among them, the author's discussions on different schools of thought regarding sovereignty and their critical, relational, and historicalist approach to the concept of sovereignty offer us valuable insights. Of course, we must also note that the sovereignty concept advocated by the author, which is separated from the state, has inherent theoretical flaws. The connection between the state and sovereignty has its own historical rationality, and to dismiss this rationality is not only at odds with history but also futile. Moreover, this would open the door for the hegemonic practices of Western powers, which is something we must simultaneously critique and absorb.