"Sovereignty is a word that is used often but it has really no specific meaning. Sovereignty today is nominal. Any number of countries that are sovereign are sovereign only nominally and relatively"

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s observation on sovereignty interrogates one of the foundational ideas in international relations. Traditionally, sovereignty has signified the absolute authority and independence of a state within its borders, encompassing both the legal and practical capacity to make decisions free from external interference. Yet, Brzezinski dissects this concept, suggesting that what we call sovereignty is often little more than a rhetorical tool without fixed substance.

In the contemporary global landscape, most nations cannot genuinely claim absolute autonomy. International treaties, economic dependencies, multinational institutions, and technological interdependence have eroded the capacities of even the most powerful states to act unilaterally. Numerous states must conform to global norms, trade agreements, and shared security arrangements, diluting their ability to exercise singular, unchallenged will within their territory. Furthermore, economic globalization has woven a dense web of mutual reliance, where decisions made in distant capitals reverberate through global markets, impacting domestic policies without direct consent.

The proliferation of supranational organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union, and World Trade Organization, exemplifies this shift. Member states cede portions of their decision-making power for the promise of stability, prosperity, and collective problem-solving. Even non-member nations must adhere to established norms to access markets or diplomatic benefits. Thus, the term “sovereign” persists mostly as a matter of international legal formality or political rhetoric rather than a lived reality.

Brzezinski’s statement suggests that debates over sovereignty often mask the complex, porous reality of modern statehood. As globalization intensifies and transnational issues like climate change, terrorism, and financial crises demand international cooperation, the notion of absolute sovereignty recedes further into abstraction. In practice, sovereignty is not an absolute quality but a fluid, relative status shaped by the shifting balances of power, interdependence, and negotiated constraint in a densely connected world.