Sovereignty: concept and application for water management

Abstract

Control over a territory. Monopoly on the use of force. Ability to nominate representatives in other countries. Promoting bilateral agreements or with multilateral organizations. These are some of the classic definitions of sovereignty. Are they currently valid? Have missed significance in the light of the progress of multilateral organizations and transnational corporations? Are operational in resolving cross border problems such as occurs in most environmental issues? These aspects are discussed from classical and contemporary authors that discuss sovereignty. It is necessary to revise the definition of sovereignty, without needing to abandon it as a neoliberal advocate, to assert its role in relations among countries in the contemporary world. This is the main objective of this article, which deals with the concept as an example access to water. To achieve this goal, it was organized into four parts: revisiting the classics, the peace of Westphalia, the contemporary debate and closing remarks.