Question is in the instruction box Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Question is in the instruction box - Essay Example This is so because since the end of colonialism many countries and states have become less and less influenced from European countries and any external forces of other governments, leaving countries to determine their own fate through controlling their internal activities and affairs. Therefore, the traditional perspective of nations monopolizing their exercise of powers over the territory and the citizens within its boundary has been discredited as the perfect definition of sovereignty, since modernity demands for a more liberal approach to governance. Thus, with the end of colonialism and the advent of the concept of modernity, sovereignty has emerged to focus on the rights of the citizens within a country, as opposed to the rights of the nation-state or government, over its territories and its subjects 2. Sovereignty under modernity now refers to the rights of the people to access and use the natural resources within their country, without any undue interference with that right fr om either the government of the land or even the foreign powers. Since the end of colonialism, most of the foreign interrelationships are based on commercial, social, political and other cultural activities, which are based on the mutual respect and understanding amongst the member countries2. Thus, the traditional relationship between countries, which was based on the dominance of some countries over others has been replaced by the commercial relationship between such countries, where investors from different other countries can invest within a country where they find ample business opportunities3. However, the right to the access of the natural resources is primarily given to the citizens of the country, who have the rights to access and exploit the natural resources that are bestowed within their regions of jurisdiction, thus making the rights over the natural resources a matter of sovereignty for the people, as opposed to the powers of the governments to exercise its authority o ver the people. Therefore, the modern concept of sovereignty is defined in terms of the rights that the people within a country have access to the natural resources and their application for their benefits, as opposed to the application of such resources to benefit other external forces, at the expense of the people of the country within which the resources are bestowed. Therefore, the principle of sovereignty over natural resources now requires that such resources shall be applied towards the interest of national development, and the well-being of the people of the countries that has such resources 4. The principle of sovereignty over natural resources, which came about as a result of the concept of modernity started in the period after World War II, when the countries realized that the freedom of other countries from interference by others in the conduct of their internal affairs, was vital and essential for the peaceful co-existence of countries in the world3. The first aspect to wards the establishment of the concept of sovereignty started with the establishment of the United Nations, which sought to enhance democracy in the world, through ensuring the non-interference in the affairs of one country by the others, where such interference is unnecessary, or where the interference is likely to interfere with the rights and freedoms of the country to govern itself without any undue interference 9. With the