Evolution in Concept of Sovereignty in Political and International Approaches

It seems that all the changes and evolutions in the concept of sovereignty have been occurred in theoretical framework, then in sphere of international relations and international laws and other forms of international affairs. National sovereignty and the concept of “nation- state” came to essence as a normative and legal principle after Westphalian Treaty (1648); but this normative and legal principle has never been absolute. So in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the course of different approaches, it evolved completely and its normative aspect has been declined. The paper attends to four major controversial trends in political and international sphere, which are: a) contrast between communitarianism and universalism, which emerged from the European enlightenment in 18th and 19th centuries; b) contrast between realism and idealism, which came out after the establishing the discipline of international relations and had lasted till to 1970; c) contrast between neo-realism and liberalism, from 1970 to 1990; and d) contrast between realism and neo-realism in one side and critical post-cold war theories. The main discrepancy of these trends is on extent and limits of the state sovereignty.