Westphalia Treaty 1648



Westphalia Treaty 1648

Introduction

While the origins and early history of the nation-state are disputed, most theories view the nation-state as a 19th-and 20th-century Western phenomenon deriving from the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), which many historians identify as marking the beginning of the modern European idea of a nation-state in which the national community and the sovereign ruler are identified as a single entity. The Treaty, or Peace, of Westphalia in 1648, ending the Thirty Years War, laid the foundation for modern nation-state sovereignty. Coinciding in part with the Protestant Reformation, this treaty further weakened papal authority throughout much of Europe, marking the transition from feudal principalities to sovereign states. The treaty also established the concepts of territorial integrity and sovereignty—nonintervention of one state in the internal affairs of another state, legal equality between states, and the state's right of self-determination (Asch, 1997).

Diplomacy and Treat of Westphalia 1648

The development of the modern state system and the concept of an international system are generally traced to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which brought to an end the Thirty Years' War in Europe. Prior to this, while states existed in name, the focus had been on the various monarchs and religious leaders who dominated Europe. The Peace of Westphalia established the principle of sovereignty, which remains a fundamental element controlling international relations today. The establishment of the concept of sovereignty effectively meant that a state's political leadership (initially, mostly monarchs) had ultimate authority within a state's borders and that others had no right to intervene in the internal affairs of another state (Osiander, 2001).

The result was a system that encouraged the establishment of independent nation-states and the institutionalizing of state interaction through the mechanism of diplomacy. The subsequent colonization of the rest of the world by the leading European states meant that this system became global and was finally institutionalized with the formation of the United Nations. The United Nations Charter has been endorsed by virtually all the states of the world; contained within it is guidance on how force may and may not be used and the responsibilities of states to their citizens. This entry discusses the international system, diplomacy, international law, and institutions that support the international system (Spielvogel, 2003).

This complex world continuously witnesses strategic interaction in a variety of forms, with diplomacy continuing to play a major part. For as long as there have been separate kingdoms or states, there has been a need for such organizations to be able to communicate with one another. The rules and processes underlying such communication that have developed over time are known as diplomacy. In its widest sense, diplomacy is both the art and the practice of undertaking discussions and negotiations between representatives of groups and states. This can take place at a variety of levels and functions ranging from peacemaking to trade or cultural exchanges. Traditionally, such negotiations were undertaken on behalf of the state by its foreign service or its head of state, but such interaction has increasingly spread ...