SOVEREIGNTY, in political science the supreme power in a State by which the govern ment is administered. In republics generally it is held that sovereignty resides in the people, but in some countries, like Japan, it is hell that it is possessed by the sovereign. Various theories have been advanced as to the origin of sovereignty, some contending that it is the prerogative of the stronger force, others that it is created by divine sanction and still others that it is created by voluntary contract or that it is a property right descending in regular line of succession. Milton and Locke in the 17th century contended that the people were the ultimate source of political authority and the same principle was advanced by the French Revolution. The Declaration of Independence asserted the same doctrine when it declared that "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," and in polit ical addresses of the time the principle was frequently enunciated in all sections of the country that the people had the right to alter their governments whenever and in whatsoever manner they deemed expedient. These prin ciples were embodied in the State constitutions, and even the right of revolution was therein asserted. The doctrine of popular sovereignty is almost universally accepted in Europe at the present time.
Sovereignty is of two kinds: internal and external. Internal sovereignty includes all governmental powers which a State possesses over its own citizens or foreigners domiciled therein and over private ships on the high seas. External sovereignty includes the right to enter into relations with foreign states, as by treaty or by declaring war.
There has been much contention as to whether each State in the Union is vested with sovereignty or whether it resides solely in the United States. The prevailing view is that the sovereignty of a State is legally limited and, therefore, not absolute, although before the Civil War this view was not at all general.
Internal sovereignty is divided into political sovereignty and legal sovereignty. Political sovereignty is the final supreme power residing in any political society. Legal sovereignty is the power which is in legal control at any specified period. Other distinctions are de facto and de jure sovereignty, the former of which is sovereignty that has been assumed but is obeyed by the citizens, though not resting on a legal basis, and the latter of which is sovereignty founded on law. Some authors refuse to recognize these two distinctions.
A State may have internal sovereignty hut not external sovereignty, as by yielding its right to make war or to negotiate with other States. In international law, however, such States, while subject to other States, are treated as sovereign powers. Under this head are in cluded protectorates and suzerainties.
Some recent writers advocate the elimina tion of the term sovereignty from political science on the ground that it is synonymous with absolutism and should not be applied to the supreme power in any constitutional, Federal or similar government.