Home > School of Law > Law School Journals > ILJ > Vol. 26 > Iss. 1 (2025)
San Diego International Law Journal
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The conventional linkage between territory and sovereignty in international law requires reevaluation, with territorial rights shifting from states to nations. Drawing on Anthony Smith’s theory of historical continuity between pre-modern ethnic communities and modern nations, it argues that legitimate claims to territory are grounded in the historical consolidation of social, economic, and political ties by ethnic groups to specific lands. The Article traces the evolution of territorial rights from loosely defined ethnic living areas and fluid state boundaries to the modern conception of national territories under effective control. By distinguishing sovereignty as a construct of the state and territory as a product of the nation, it contends that the legitimacy of territorial sovereignty arises from the process of nation-building or the integration of nations into state structures.
Recommended Citation
Henan Hu,
Revisiting Territorial Sovereignty: Origins, Legitimacy, and Modern Implications,
26
San Diego Int'l L.J.
1
(2025)
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol26/iss1/2
