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What I Talk About When I Talk about Sovereignty

Now the country has enjoyed sovereignty for 66 years, but the role of youth has become even more essential in determining the nature and direction of Indonesia’s development. (JG Photo/Ali Lutfi)

A friend of mine keeps complaining how his girlfriend is a constant pain in the butt, especially on weekends. Weekends, for many boys, are the time when we can sit back, drink a glass of lager while supporting our favorite football clubs. But that isn’t the case for those with nagging girlfriends. Us guys must entertain our girlfriends and might miss out on our club games on TV. This is a serious breach of our dignity and, in terms of public international law, our sovereignty as an individual. 

May I remind you that the term sovereignty is a term well-known in public international law. Charles Fenwick defines sovereignty as “the independent personality of the state in its relation with other members of the international community”. J.G. Starke explains sovereignty as the supreme authority of the State over persons and property.

In short, sovereignty is a supreme authority one should exercise over oneself. How is it that I can make such an analogy? Besides being an international law scholar, it’s because I see “sovereignty” in everyday life.

The closest thing you can feel to exercising sovereignty is at your home. Your parents, as heads of the household, may exercise their supreme authority over you and your siblings until you are legally old enough to do your own thing. Although you have your own room, don’t think of it as your very own sovereign land. Think of it as a small autonomous land given to you out of your parents’ kindness. You should expect that your mum will enter your room without knocking, even though you hung your sock on the handle. No biggie, it’s their “sovereign land”’ anyway. As long as you are in your parents’ house, you are bound by their rules. 

As I said earlier, sovereignty can be described with simpler analogies. It’s inherent in each and everyone of us. We are even sovereign over our own bodies. When we football fans stay up through the night to watch Man United against Barcelona, we are actually exercising our rights to our own body. We know our body needs rest, but heck we watch it anyway. We can interact with other people, have social lives, do our jobs, make enemies, get in fights, and determine our sexual orientation in the name of sovereignty. 

Some might mistake sovereignty for independence, I won’t blame them since sovereignty is interchangeable with independence. One cannot exercise his or her sovereignty if one is not independent. That is why, I guess, every wealthy province in Indonesia is aching to be independent. 

So whenever your girlfriend is nagging you to hangout on weekends, you can always say, “Woman, I want to watch some football, so butt out. If you’re still nagging, I take that as a breach of my sovereignty”. 

Disclaimer: The writer will not be held liable for any reason should there be any arguments, breakups, or parting of any sort by any couple after reading this article.

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