sovereignwhose

Sovereignwhose is a neologism used in political theory and speculative discourse to describe a situation in which sovereignty is claimed or exercised by multiple actors within a single polity or territory, producing ambiguous or competing authority. The term emphasizes the difficulty of determining which entity holds ultimate governing power when claims overlap or conflict.

Origin and usage

The term appears mainly in thought experiments, worldbuilding, and discussions of international law and governance. It is employed to illuminate questions of legitimacy, recognition, and the practical consequences of shared or disputed sovereignty in both historical and fictional settings.

Definition

Sovereignwhose refers to a polity or territory where sovereignty is not held by a single, clearly defined actor but by a set of overlapping or competing authorities. The phrase highlights that the rightful owner of supreme authority remains unsettled, even as different actors exercise de facto or de jure power in various domains such as law, security, and administration.

Contexts

The concept is applicable to contested borders between rival states, secessionist movements, occupations, and arrangements of joint, rotating, or conditional sovereignty. It also appears in discussions about governance in cyberspace, outer space, or other evolving domains where traditional state-centric sovereignty may be redefined or distributed.

Theoretical significance

Sovereignwhose provides a framework for analyzing how legitimacy, recognition by other states, and practical governance interact when sovereignty is not exclusive. It invites examination of how disputes are resolved, whether through negotiation, inheritance of authority, or the emergence of new normative orders.

See also

Sovereignty, Territorial integrity, Recognition (international law), Joint sovereignty, Occupation (international law), Contested states.