Suzerainté

The word Suzerainty (/ˈsjuːzərənti/ or /ˈsjuːzərɛnti/) is a back formation from the late 18th century word suzerain, an artificial formation meaning upper-sovereign, derived from the french sus (meaning above) + -erain (from souverain, meaning sovereign).

It was first used to refer to the dominant position of the Ottoman Empire in relation to its surrounding regions; the Ottoman Empire being the suzerain, and the relationship being suzerainty. The terminology gradually became generalised to refer to any relationship in which one region or people controls the foreign policy and international relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary nation to have internal . Modern writers also sometimes use the term suzerain to refer to a feudal lord, in regard to their relationship to their vassals.

Suzerainty differs from true sovereignty, as the tributary state/person is technically independent, and enjoys self-rule (though usually limited in practice). Although the situation has existed in a number of historical empires, it is considered difficult to reconcile with 20th- or 21st-century concepts of international law, in which sovereignty either exists or does not. While a sovereign nation can agree by treaty to become a protectorate of a stronger power, modern international law does not recognize any way of making this relationship compulsory on the weaker power. Suzerainty, as a term, describes the practical situation, rather than the legal one.

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