Chapter 19 — Archipelago; where do the information platforms that are states live? The EU, Paragraph 12.1 (§19.00.12.01)

Interoperability is the ability of systems to communicate with each other to a larger or smaller degree. While it is a notion developed in computing (and enforced by regulation), it can be seen as the dominant principle in international law today. States, as information platforms, have become able to interact with each other, that is, they have developed throughout human history in a way that enables them to, at a minimum, communicate with each other. For example, the unique identifiers of one state (identification numbers, tax numbers, business registration numbers) are recognised as such, by means of bilateral agreements, in another state, even if the other does not internally have an exact equivalent. However, this is as far as communication goes, and can go. Each state continues to function independently, with each information platform developed within its confines. Whenever the need arises for more communication (for example, through the development of more complex regulation as in intellectual property law or more complex accounting systems) then the list of functions that are interoperable expands. Nevertheless, communication is always on an ad hoc, case-specific (and thus fragmented) basis, through small, restricted and closely guarded access points.

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