| The sovereignty issue is not very well thought through. A claim to ownership is not, by itself, more than hot air, without a means of validation and enforcement. The Sioux could claim the Dakotas, but why would anyone let them hold in thrall lands beyond their ability to either use or defend, when there were those prepared to put it to productive use? If a group cannot administer territory, at least with the help of allies, its claim is automatically disputable, and may therefore be settled through force of arms, unless greater powers impose a solution. Israel is vindicated, in the end, because, at the crucial moment, the Arab Powers sought to crush it, and it prevailed. |
