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Today, many countries have an "Independence Day" or "National Day" to celebrate the day on which they ceased to be dependent on and governed by a colonial power and became instead independent and self-governing. Sovereign state is defined by the International Law as "a state that is not subject to the paramount authority of another state" (Ray August, 2002; p4). Krieger (1993, p878) defined it as a series of governmental institutions ranging from the army, the nationalised industries through the civil service to universities and hospitals, with a supreme jurisdiction and a monopoly of coercive power over a geographically bounded territory. Therefore, the role of the sovereign state includes the maintenance of external independence, internal supremacy and a national identity (Geocities, 2003; p2).
In order to remain a sovereign entity, the state must sustain its independence in foreign affairs. It is based on the concept that all sovereign states are equal and independent in the world system. Thus two characteristics are established: (i) non-intervention in the internal affairs of another state, and (ii) the right to protect and promote national interest (Grant & Hughes, 2003; p13). The United Nations Charter, Article 2 (1 & 7), recognises the principle of sovereign state and non-intervention. Only sovereign states are eligible to become full members of the United Nations. There are currently 191 member states of the UN and all member states claim their sovereignty and independence equally (United Nations, 2003).
In recent years, there has been political controversy over humanitarian intervention. During the Cold War, some interventions by States in the internal affairs of another State were justified on humanitarian grounds, such as Tanzania's intervention into Uganda in 1979, Vietnam's intervention into Cambodia in the same year and India's intervention into East Pakistan in 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh (Garfinkle, 2003; p2).
