A Grotian Moment: Changes in the Legal Theory of Statehood

This article examines the Grotian Moment theory and its practical application toward the legal theory of statehood. To that effect, this article describes, in Part II, the notion of a Grotian Moment. In Part III, it examines the legal theory of statehood in its traditional form. Part IV describes changes in the legal theory of statehood brought about by the forces of globalization in a Grotian Moment manner. These changes include a new notion of state sovereignty and the accompanying right to intervention, the emergence of human and minority rights that sometimes affect state territorial integrity, the existence of de facto states, like Northern Cyprus and Republika Srpska, and the concept of state inter-connectivity and the proliferation of regional and international norms and organizations. The article concludes that all these changes, caused by globalization, have affected the legal theory of statehood in a Grotian Moment.