Re-defining sovereignty

How the EU has expanded the possibilities for Puerto Rico

Abstract

The dynamic nature of international politics is responsible for the constant changing of the definition of certain concepts. Sovereignty is one such concept. Since it was first used in the 16th century, “sovereignty” has gone from “absolute and supreme” to “indivisible and inalienable” to merely “independent from other political entities.” The Globalization process has, once again, started to redefine what being sovereign is. There is not one single actor in international politics that can exclusively account for the redefinition this concept is going through right now; International Organizations, Multinational Corporations among others have helped re-define this word. However, in this paper I analyze how the European Union specifically helped in this process and how this current meaning of the word can be used by remaining colonies in the world as a means to de-colonization. I especially focus on the case of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.