Westphalian sovereignty

Examples of Westphalian sovereignty in the following topics:

• The Peace of Westphalia

  • The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster that ended the Thirty Years' War.
  • General recognition of the exclusive sovereignty of each party over its lands, people, and agents abroad, and responsibility for the warlike acts of any of its citizens or agents.
  • The Peace of Westphalia established the precedent of peaces established by diplomatic congress, and a new system of political order in central Europe, later called Westphalian sovereignty, based upon the concept of co-existing sovereign states.
  • As European influence spread across the globe, these Westphalian principles, especially the concept of sovereign states, became central to international law and to the prevailing world order.

• The Peace of Westphalia and Sovereignty

  • The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster.
  • The delegates also recognized the exclusive sovereignty of each party over its lands, people, and agents abroad, and responsibility for the warlike acts of any of its citizens or agents.
  • A norm was established against interference in another state's domestic affairs known as the principle of Westphalian sovereignty.
  • As European influence spread across the globe, these Westphalian principles, especially the concept of sovereign states, became central to international law and to the prevailing world order.
  • Instead of a traditional balance of power, inter-state aggression may now be checked by the preponderance of power, a sharp contrast to the Westphalian principle.

• Introduction to Nation-States

  • For others, the nation existed first, then nationalist movements arose for sovereignty, and the nation state was created to meet that demand.
  • Most commonly, the idea of a nation state was and is associated with the rise of the modern system of states, often called the "Westphalian system" in reference to the Treaty of Westphalia (1648).
  • The balance of power, which characterized that system, depended on its effectiveness upon clearly defined, centrally controlled, independent entities, whether empires or nation states, which recognize each other's sovereignty and territory.
  • The Westphalian system did not create the nation state, but the nation state meets the criteria for its component states.

• Cardinal Mazarin and the Fronde

  • Cardinal Mazarin, for years de facto the ruler of France, continued earlier anti-Habsburg policies, was critical to establishing the Westphalian order of sovereign states, and laid the foundation for Louis XIV's absolutism.
  • Austria, ruled by the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III, ceded all Habsburg lands and claims in Alsace to France and acknowledged her de facto sovereignty over the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Verdun, and Toul.
  • Following the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Mazarin, as the de facto ruler of France, played a crucial role establishing the Westphalian principles that would guide European states’ foreign policy and the prevailing world order.
  • Some of these principles, such as the nation state sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs and the legal equality among states, remain the basis of international law to this day.

• [PF content: Popular Sovereignty]

• Popular Consent, Majority Rule, and Popular Sovereignty

  • Popular consent, majority rule, and popular sovereignty are related concepts that form the basis of democratic government.
  • Popular consent (or the consent of the governed), majority rule, and popular sovereignty are related concepts that form the basis of democratic government.
  • Popular sovereignty is thus a basic tenet of most democracies.
  • Thenceforth, American revolutionaries generally agreed and were committed to the principle that governments were legitimate only if they rested on popular sovereignty–that is, the sovereignty of the people.
  • Explain the significance of popular sovereignty and the consent of the governed for liberal democracy

• The Sovereign States

  • The sovereignty of the states as opposed to the power of the federal government has been a longstanding issue in American politics.
  • Domestically, the federal government's sovereignty means that it may perform acts, such as entering into contracts or accepting bonds, that are typical of governmental entities but not expressly provided for in the Constitution or other laws.
  • Sometimes, the Supreme Court has even analogized the states to being foreign countries in relation to each other as a means to explain the American system of state sovereignty.
  • However, each state's sovereignty is limited by the U.S.
  • Compare the sovereignty of the states to the power of the federal government

• Thinking Politically

  • Other states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state.
  • For example, when India was a colony of the British Empire, India did not have sovereignty of its internal affairs.
  • Similarly, the American Revolution brought an end to British sovereignty over its American colonies in the New World.
  • Other states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state.
  • For example, when India was a colony of the British Empire, India did not have sovereignty of its internal affairs.

• Monarchies and Liberal Democracies

  • Monarchies, in which sovereignty embodied in a single individual, eventually gave way to liberal democracies.
  • A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual, the monarch.

• Characteristics of the State

  • States differ in sovereignty, governance, geography, and interests.
  • Other states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state.