 The central thesis of the book, then, focuses on the “equivalence of statehood and sovereignty” (1925: 17[16]). Sovereignty is not only the “the conditio sine qua non of the state” (1925: 51[66]), it also represents its defining nature. A state is essentially a “sovereign sphere of power” (Herrschaftssphäre) with its own “governing state-power (Staatsgewalt)”. Specifically, the sovereignty of a state is a (self-)constitutive power, instituting not just the state as such, but also its law or rights (Recht). Hence, “state and law come to life at the same time” (1925: 48[62]). A state thus bears the exclusive “right to institute laws” (Recht, Recht zu setzen) and determines the sphere of persons (and specific forms of their behavior) for whom those laws apply (1925: 34[40]).