AIR SOVEREIGNTY: LEGAL FOUNDATIONS, STRATEGIC DIMENSIONS, AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES SOUVERAINETÉ AÉRIENNE : FONDEMENTS JURIDIQUES, DIMENSIONS STRATÉGIQUES ET DÉFIS CONTEMPORAINS

Abstract

This study examines air sovereignty as a core pillar of the state's complete authority over its territory, particularly in relation to territorial protection, the regulation of air navigation, the governance of civil and military aircraft, and the management of cross-border threats. It proceeds from the premise that airspace is no longer merely the vertical extension of territory, but a sensitive domain where international law, national security, technological change, and international civil aviation intersect. The study aims to clarify the legal concept of air sovereignty, analyze its treaty-based and regulatory foundations, and investigate its strategic and security dimensions in light of the growth of unmanned aircraft systems, the increasing closure of airspaces, and new forms of threat. It also addresses how states balance complete sovereignty over national airspace with the practical necessity of international cooperation. The paper employs the doctrinal legal method, the comparative method, and the functional method. It concludes that air sovereignty cannot be reduced to a mere right of exclusion, but should be understood as a composite sovereign function encompassing regulation, surveillance, protection, coordination, and adaptation to technological and security change.