A state and its sovereignty are the corner stones of international law and international relations, and it is the very core of that system and of international law that is, in many parts of the world, crumbling. The sovereignty of an independent nation covers the whole of its territory. It is not concerned with a nation's area, whether large or small, wealth, whether rich or poor or its strength, whether strong or weak. This self-governing power is an invaluable jewel to the citizens of a nation in that the citizens of a country are able to solve their own problems in whatever way they see fit. It is evident that a group of people should have the right to determine what they want for themselves with rules that they themselves have evolved. However, upon deeper scrutiny, one sees that this statement is an emotional rather than a rational viewpoint and that in certain situations, countries can be justified in involving themselves in the internal affairs of another.
The internal affairs of a country refer to the politics and the governance of a country. A country is warranted in involving themselves in the internal affairs of another if their own security is at risk. It is in this context that there could be internal political affairs in one country that could have important bearings on the survival of another. The threatened invasion of Cuba by America is an example that shows this. Cuba had allowed the Soviets to set up base in their country and America, in an attempt to protect their own shores, ordered the Soviets to vacate Cuba. Another more recent illustration is the invasion of Iraq by America. It had been speculated that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in their midst. Due to the fact that this indirectly threatened the countries of the world, the United States invaded Iraq for the purpose of disarmament. These clearly represent cases where the internal affairs in one country affect another and the affected country has the right to protect itself from any possible threat.