Research on the international legal problems concerning union of states

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This research project focussed on the idea of "state", "union of states", and "international society" in the theory of various publicists from the late half of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Especially the concept of "Etat souverain" of Vattel and the so-called "theory of German international law" of some authors from the 1770s to the beginning of the 19th century were the main target of this research. I made it clear by this research that Vattel's concept is not same with that of modern sovereign state because according to his theory even the protected state, tribute state and vassal state have a position of "sovereign state" and that neither the clear-cut distinction between international law and national law nor the concept of modern sovereign state based on the fundamental difference between internal sovereignty and external sovereignty are found before the very end of the 19th century or the very beginning of the 20th century.The dispute about the idea of "societas gentium" of Hugo Grotius among various scholars, such as J.a Felde, Th. I.F.Graswinkel and A.F.Glafey, was also the object of this research. It was made sufficiently clear that the concept of "civitas maxima" of Ch.Wolff, which is sometimes esteemed as a model of League of Nations, was based upon this dispute, but that the content of his concept was totally original. It is also important in understandig his concept that the idea of "state" behind civitas maxima is widely different from the modern sovereign state.