League of Nations to Enforce Peace. Both have great possibilities; neither is a permanent abode, but only a temporary shelter. And even so, the Great Powers will not avail themselves of such protection to the exclusion of other means, until the foundations have been thoroughly tested. During this interval, the system of alliances cannot be abandoned by a world that tenaciously clings to the theory of the sovereign state. This will probably become even more apparent if the bases of modern nationalism be examined and if due recognition be given to the exacerbation of national feelings resulting from the internecine war. "Une nation est une âme, un principe spirituel. Deux choses qui, a vrai dire, ne font qu'une, constituent cette âme, ce principe spirituel. L'une est dans le passé, l'autre dans le présent. L'une est la possession d'une riche legs de souvenirs, l'autre le consentement actuel, le désir de vivre ensemble, la volonté de faire valoir l'héritage qu'on a reçu indivis." —Ernest RenaN, Qu'est ce qu'une Nation? (1882). "Present facts, then, demand the recognition of continuous and normal interdependence of States. The nature of the State is to be understood, at least in part, from its relations with other States: and all philosophies which even imply that the State is isolated are out of date. Indeed, one may say that the modern State must be understood by this external reference." -C. DELISLE BURNS, The Morality of Nations, p. 50. CHAPTER II NATIONALISM AND SOVEREIGNTY The Theory of Sovereignty Its Disaccord with Actual Facts The Unity of Western Civilization — Cultural and Economic Interdependence - The Rise of Large Political Aggregates Their Significance Nation and State - Modern Nationalism - Effect of the War upon National Feeling — International Government and the System of Alliances. THE stern obstacle to the political organization of the world is the sovereignty of the state. This legal doctrine is the fundamental corner-stone of the modern statesystem; and, until it is totally abandoned or at least radically altered, there is no possibility of a really effective super-state political system securing justice and right. The most essential attribute of sovereignty is that it is supreme and unlimited, which means that it is subject to no earthly authority. A limited sovereignty would patently be an unavoidable contradiction in terms. Hence its absoluteness. As to this, there has been a general agreement among political scientists, but in recent years there has arisen some serious questioning as to whether the state does actually exercise unlimited authority either within the body politic1 or in its relations with other states.2 The literature on the subject is almost as voluminous |