How does the United Nations affect the sovereignty of the state?

Question by David: How does the United Nations affect the sovereignty of the state?

Does the United Nations' influence reach too far a length? Is the sovereignty of the state (who are members of the UN) become diminished?
Please feel free to not be restricted by what I put in the 'body' of the question.




Best answer:

Answer by FreemanSA
The sovereignty of the nation-state is of the highest authority and cannot be superseded by any other nation-state or an NGO like the UN. The UN can only suggest and condemn certain aspects of governance within a nation-state. It cannot interfere at all with the daily 'running' of a state.

This is mainly due to the fact that the world is ordered by realism - a theory that suggests that all individuals and societies are power-hungry entities that search only for personal and national wealth at the expense of other individuals and nations. So, while the UN is based on idealism and the pursuit of equilibrium between nations, it cannot actually enforce its statutes on its member countries, because those member-states have the final authority to their own governance. The US going to war in Afghanistan is a prime example of realism - even though they were condemned by the UN, their actions were not punished. And another major flaw is that even if the UN enforces its condemnation on a nation-state, that nation-state has the option of leaving the UN without any rebuttal, much like South Africa did during apartheid.

Regional or/and International hegemony by one state is far more likely to affects sovereignty of another state than the UN ever will, like Germany in Europe, China in Asia, South Africa in southern Africa and (at the moment) the US internationally.

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