Today, I was solving a JAMB question and I saw these two words: sovereignty and autonomy. The question was:
'Choose the word nearest in meaning to the word in brackets:
Justice is difficult to enforce because people are unwilling to accept any loss of [sovereignty].'
The options were:
A. positing
B. leadership
C. autonomy
D. kingdom
This was confusing. So, what is sovereignty? In my own words, from my research, I see sovereignty as God because He has the supreme power to control me. I see autonomy as God working in me because He is practically doing so.
Sovereignty is having that supreme, absolute power over a territory and its people. It is the right to govern without external interference. God is my Lord legally with power in the Bible; however, He expresses this supremacy by working in me, and that is autonomy.
If I am to rank both of them, I would say they are similar. Autonomy is synonymous with sovereignty. Just that one must attain a level of sovereignty before one can exercise one's power.
Another perspective is using countries to explain. The US has a lot of power and influence, and that is why it is a sovereign country. It is able to sanction countries around the globe all because of its autonomy. If the US wants something done today, it will be done. A country under heavy influence from a powerful neighbor, such as Ukraine, or one that relies entirely on another country for its defense and economic aid, is sovereign in name but has limited autonomy in practice.
Looking into the nitty-gritty of it all, no country is fully autonomous. Even the US has not attained the highest level of autonomy.
The sovereign parent ultimately has full legal authority and responsibility for the household. The autonomous teenager (me) is granted autonomy the freedom to choose clothes, manage homework, and spend an allowance. The teenager has practical self-governance in specific areas, but the parent remains the sovereign authority. The teenager's autonomy exists within the framework of the parent's sovereignty."
