Note 105 — Chapter V · THE STATE.

The conception of sovereignty is made by many writers the central point in their theory of the state. They lay down certain fundamental propositions with respect to the nature of this power: namely, (1) that its existence is essential in every state; (2) that it is indivisible, and incapable of being shared between two or more different authorities; and (3) that it is necessarily absolute and unlimited in law, that is to say, its sphere of action is legally indeterminate. A discussion of this difficult and important branch of political theory will be found in an Appendix.