Hypocrisy and Norms of Sovereignity: a Brief Study on the Policies of the Superpowers in the Spheres of Influence during the Cold War

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between international norms and national interest by analyzing it through case studies that provide a historical perspective on the concept of sovereignty.  The analysis is focused on four military interventions carried out by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War —when the sovereignty regime in place rendered such interventions both illegal and unjustified, save for cases of self-defense or collective security. Each case study evaluates the extent to which international norms on sovereignty served as constraints for the military action, by examining both the tactics used and the justifications offered for the intervention. The article concludes that both Cold War superpowers did not shy from slanting international norms in order to fit their notions of national interest, with multiple facets of the concept of sovereignty emerging from each case study.