主権
しゅけん · shuken · JLPT N1 · noun
sovereignty
👑 主 (master) + 権 (power, right) = the master's power, i.e. sovereignty
権 also means right, as in 人権 (human rights). Sovereignty is a nation's supreme right to rule itself, with no master above it.
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.