Ironies of sovereignty: The European Union and the United States

The concept of sovereignty can help us understand contemporary policy disagreements between Europe and the United States. Ironically, the US, from which the first republican critique of the concept of sovereignty emanated, has now become one of its staunchest defenders. Meanwhile, the European Union has moved away from the classical conception of external sovereignty. The success of the European Union could enable it to serve as a model for more troubled regions; for which insistence on classical sovereignty is a source of conflict. More ominously, transatlantic differences over sovereignty could increase tension and conflict between democracies, thus undermining world order in the long run.