THE SOVEREIGNTY WARS.

• Author: Ward, Robert
• Position: Book review

A Review of The Sovereignty Wars

By Stewart Patrick

(Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2017), 352 pages.

In The Sovereignty Wars, Stewart Patrick weighs in on the long-running debate about how and when the involvement of the United States in multilateral organizations, treaties, and other international commitments compromises its sovereignty. Patrick believes deeply in international cooperation, but the book is anything but a polemic: he recognizes that there are real costs involved in taking on international obligations, and he makes a genuine attempt to determine when and how they are worthwhile. To do this, he uses the three-part conception of sovereignty, consisting of authority (the "exclusive and legitimate right to make rules"), autonomy (the "ability to make and implement decisions independently") and influence (the "effective capacity to advance [the state's] interests"). He argues that while self-styled protectors of American sovereignty tend to be concerned about attacks on authority, this dimension is rarely threatened. Instead, the relevant tradeoff is typically a net-positive one between autonomy and influence.

Patrick spends the first part of the book tracing the historical roots of America's ambivalent attitude toward international obligations and sovereignty. He draws on competing factors such Americans' deep respect for popular sovereignty and the country's growing interdependence with the world to explain how the US went from undermining the League of Nations to building the post-WWII liberal international order to refusing to ratify even the most unthreatening treaties today. He then details the U.S. approach to several different realms of international cooperation, such as arms control and national security, international organizations, and immigration. In each, he describes how and why some American leaders have resisted supposed infringements on American sovereignty; how, in most cases, the relevant commitments would add to American influence more than they would reduce its autonomy or authority; and how to improve upon existing mechanisms and institutions.

These sections of the book shine when Patrick is able to make a clear case for the influence benefits of specific international obligations. One especially compelling example is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Patrick points out that ratifying the treaty would allow participation in "the last great partitioning of sovereign space on the...