MADRID ¿ Despite the huge sums expended to write down Greece¿s foreign debt, there has been an outcry of censure against ¿interference¿ with the country¿s national sovereignty. True, in exchange for considerable European aid, Greece¿s ability to maneuver independently will be limited. But are complaints that Greek sovereignty has been severely impaired justified? The idea of a nation-state¿s sovereignty is rooted in the seventeenth-century Treaty of Westphalia, which embraced non-interference by external agents in states¿ domestic affairs as the guiding principle of international relations. But, taken to its logical extreme, national sovereignty would require the complete physical and social isolation of states from one another. Indeed, an excessive emphasis on national sovereignty leads to serious problems: after all, any international agreement, whether political or economic, entails a certain transfer of sovereignty. Europe¿s aid to Greece is an example of a cooperative agreement whereby the various... Read more