Editing Sui generis (section)

==Politics and society==
In [[political philosophy]], the unparalleled development of the [[European Union]] as compared with other [[international organizations]] has led to its designation as a {{lang|la|sui generis}} [[geopolitical]] entity. The legal nature of the EU is widely debated because its mixture of [[Intergovernmental organization|intergovernmental]] and [[Supranational union|supranational]] elements causes it to share characteristics with both [[confederal]] and [[Federalism|federal]] entities. It is generally considered more than a confederation but less than a federation,<ref>For example, David Marquand says it is "less than a federation but more than a confederation". Brigid Laffan and Kimmo Kiljunen both see it residing "between a confederation and a federation". Thomas Hueglin and Alan Fenna locate it "somewhere between federation and confederation" and Kalypso Nicolaidis argues "it is more than a confederation of sovereign states" but "should not become a federal state". Marquand, David (2006) "Federalism and the British: Anatomy of a Neurosis", in Political Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 2, p. 175. Laffan, Brigid (2002) The Future of Europe Debate, Institute of European Affairs, Dublin, p. 10. Kiljunen, Kimmo (2004) The European Constitution in the Making, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, p. 22. Hueglin, Thomas and Fenna, Alan (2006) Comparative Federalism: A Systematic Inquiry, Broadview, Peterborough, p. 13. Nicolaidis, Kalypso (2004) 'We, the Peoples of Europe ...', in Foreign Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 6, pp. 101-2.</ref> thus being appropriately classified as an instance of neither political form. Compared to other international organizations, the EU is often considered "sui generis" because its legal system comprehensively rejects any use of retaliatory sanctions by one member state against another.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Phelan|first1=William|title=What Is ''Sui Generis'' About the European Union? Costly International Cooperation in a Self-Contained Regime|journal=International Studies Review|date=2012|volume=14|issue=3|pages=367–385|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2486.2012.01136.x}}</ref>

A similar case that led to the use of the label {{lang|la|sui generis}} is the relationship of [[New Caledonia]] relative to France because the legal status of New Caledonia can aptly be said to lie somewhere between a French [[overseas collectivity]] and a [[sovereign nation]]. Although other examples of such status for further [[List of dependent territories|dependent]] or [[List of disputed or occupied territories|disputed]] territories may exist, this arrangement is unique within the French realm.

The [[legal status of the Holy See]] is also described as a {{lang|la|sui generis}} entity possessing an international personality. The [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]] has likewise been described as a "{{lang|la|sui generis}} primary subject of public international law".<ref>{{Citation|last1=Bátora|first1=Jozef|title=The Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Extraordinary Resilience Meets Chance|date=2014|url=https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137314697_6|work=Fringe Players and the Diplomatic Order: The "New" Heteronomy|pages=112–137|editor-last=Bátora|editor-first=Jozef|series=Studies in Diplomacy and International Relations|place=London|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|language=en|doi=10.1057/9781137314697_6|isbn=978-1-137-31469-7|access-date=2021-12-14|last2=Hynek|first2=Nik|editor2-last=Hynek|editor2-first=Nik}}</ref> Another entity widely considered to have ''sui generis'' international legal personality is the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Torreblanca|first=Godofredo|date=2013-02-28|title=The International Committee of the Red Cross and human rights law|url=https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781849800358/9781849800358.00036.xml|journal=Research Handbook on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law|pages=540–569 |language=en-US|doi=10.4337/9781781006078.00036|isbn=978-1-78100-607-8 }}</ref>

In local government, a {{lang|la|sui generis}} entity does not fit with a country's general scheme of local governance. For example, in England, the [[City of London]] and the [[Isles of Scilly]] are the two ''sui generis'' localities, as their forms of local government are both (for historical or geographical reasons) very different from those of elsewhere in the country.
In a press conference during which reporters were trying to analyse his political personality,  [[Huey Long]] said "say that I am ''sui generis'', and let it go at that".<ref>Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 1999, page 473, quoted from T. Harry Williams' ''Huey Long'' (1969)</ref>

The [[Joint Council of Municipalities]] in [[Croatia]] is a {{lang|la|sui generis}} council of municipalities in the east of the country that was formed after the [[Erdut Agreement]] and [[UNTAES]] mission aimed at protection of the rights of the ethnic Serb community in the region and is, as such, a unique form of local cooperation and minority self-government in Croatia.<ref name="ZVO1">{{cite web|url=https://snv.hr/institucije/zajednicko-vece-opstina|title=Zajedničko veće opština|publisher=[[Serb National Council]]|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="ZVO2">{{cite web|url=http://radio-borovo.hr/2017/07/29/konstituisan-6-saziv-zajednickog-veca-opstina-novi-predsednik-srdan-jeremic-iz-borova/|title=Konstituisan 6.saziv Zajedničkog veća opština – novi predsednik Srđan Jeremić iz Borova|publisher=[[Radio Borovo]]|access-date=19 February 2018|date=29 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="ZVO3">{{cite web|url=https://www.portalnovosti.com/dragana-jeckov-vraticemo-ukradeni-mandat|title=Дрaгaнa Jeцкoв: Врaтићeмo укрaдeни мандат|publisher=[[Novosti (Croatia)]]|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>

=== Sociology ===
In sociology, methodological holists argue that [[social phenomena]] exist in their own right (sui generis) and are not reducible to the actions of individuals.<ref>Zahle, J, "Methodological Holism in the Social Sciences", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2016/entries/holism-social/.</ref> For example, [[Emile Durkheim]] argued that the [[suicide rate]] was a social phenomenon sui generis (existing over and above the actions of individuals)<ref>Durkheim, E. (1951) Suicide: a study in sociology. Trans. J. A. Spaulding & G. Simpson. London. Routledge. (2nd. ed. 2002)</ref> In a [[social constructionist]] perspective, "{{lang|la|sui generis}} is what has been externalized, then internalized in the overall public and becomes a part of society that exists in its construct. It is not something that is not thought to have been created because it is embedded in everyone's way of thinking and being. Instances include love, going to school, or clothing belonging to a specific gender. These examples are ''sui generis'' for they exist in society and are widely accepted without thoughts of where they come from or how they were created.<ref name="berger">{{Cite book|title = [[The Social Construction of Reality|The Social Construction Of Reality]]|last1 = Berger|first1 = Peter|publisher = Random House|year = 1966|last2 = Luckman|first2 = Thomas}}</ref>