Westphalian Order: Pre and Post

 

The treaty of Westphalia is an important event in the history of international relations and world history which marks a significant change in socio-religious and most importantly political systems of the world. It is not just an event but an idea and a process.

 

The world we encounter today is set on the structural framework of the treaty of westphalia. The treaty of Westphalia was signed in the westphalian region of Germany after the 30 years war. The 30 years war is one of the most devastating wars in European history which took place between 1618-1648.

 

Pre-Westphalia

 

Europe, pre-westphalia was suffering from ecological, economical and political crisis. The church did not allow the prince of England to marry another lady and so he revolted against the church.

 

 Ecologically, a mini ice-age was going on, meaning that the very cold climate affected agricultural production drastically, there was shortage of food to the extent that cannibalism started in europe. Plague also hit Europe.

 

Apart from renaissance, technological advancement happened in Europe and with the advent of the printing press, the bible got printed. People carefully pointed out significant differences in the Bible as opposed to what the church preached. As a result there was much fury and mistrust among people and they started questioning the Church's authority.

 

Another process that unfolded in the period was the clash between the Emperor and the Church because both of them claimed divine authority. As a result, everyone went against the catholic church and started the protestant movement.

 

It was in the backdrop of civil wars between the catholic and protestant christians. Clash between two sects of Christianity- the Catholics and the Protestant which started off on the religious basis culminated into a war for power.

 

It further destroyed Europe and killed almost 20% of its young population. Finally when the situation worsened and Europe couldn't stand war anymore, they thought of signing a treaty which would bring peace and stability, and terminate war.

 

Post-Westphalia

 

The treaty of Westphalia was signed by major powers of europe. It brought about few changes in the system:

 

It laid the framework for the functions of the state which extended to welfarism, development and modernization apart from collection of revenue and ensuring security. The order no longer demanded the divine authority to be legitimate.

 

The interference of the church in religious matters stopped. The separation of state and religion, i.e., secularism came up. It is also important to note that the acceptance of diverse religions also began. States agreed to respect the territorial integrity of states. Equality of all states was the major phenomenon.

 

Most importantly, the concept of sovereignty of state came in. The sovereign state took all the decisions on its own without external interference. The sovereignty of the state further resulted in the development of an international system.

 

Foreign relations, diplomatic ties between states were established and balance of power was also maintained by these sovereign entities. Changes regarding the status of citizens also changed. It established equality and autonomy of people.

 

It was followed by the total change in socio-political and economic model as two major events happened. One was the French Revolution which spelt out the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. It paved the way for democracy and respect for individual rights.

 

Second event was the industrial revolution which brought in the concept of wages and people were involved indirectly in the production process due to industrialization. It resulted in surplus production and so imperial expansion also began. Hence, the economic structure as well as the idea of life changed.

 

The world war changed the political scenario as different states grew to power. Countries like Germany, Turkey, Prussia, and Britain rose to power. The balance of power at the time was multipolar and eurocentric. Women were involved in production as men died because of the world war.

 

The later period, 17th and 18th century saw many wars. The fall of the ottoman empire was also visible. Nation state was the main political functionary. In England, the Scientific revolution happened and the protestant queen came into power.

 

A very significant phenomenon that developed was nationalism. People started feeling strongly about their nation and united against a common enemy. Nationalism arose in Germany and in Italy, in the form of Nazism and fascism respectively.

 

This period also saw the emergence of the USA as a global power and the ottoman empire dissolved. After the Russian revolution in 1919, under the leadership of a communist leader, V.I. Lenin, USSR also became stronger.

 

Nationalism eventually culminated into the second world war. The powers of allied powers declined. World war II ended with the US dropping a nuclear bomb on Japan.

 

After the second world war, the balance of power changed from multipolar to bipolar. The US and the USSR emerged as two superpowers with different ideologies, the US was a capitalist country and the USSR advocated communism.

 

There was an ideological war going on between these two superpowers. This led to an arm race and growing suspicion. The world was divided into two power blocs.

 

In the cold war period, the Korean War(1953), Vietnam war and the Israel-Palestine issue also emerged. New concerns emerged regarding climate change and global terrorism. The cold war ended with the disintegration of the USSR in 1991.

 

In the post-Westphalian era, an international system grew where states established diplomatic relations with each other through embassies. It is very important to note that the international system is in a state of anarchy, where there is no higher authority to control the actions of the state.

 

Importance of Treaty of Westphalia

 

1 It secularized the international system- state was anchored on the tenets of national interest and the role of religion in politics was abolished.

 

2. Emergence of concept of sovereignty- this means non-interference of other states or power holders in domestic politics.

 

3. Establishment of equality of states- this implies that legally, all states are equal there is no hegemonic power.

 

Post-westphalian order clearly spelt that there is a distinction between domestic and foreign policies.

 

Changing international dynamics

 

1. Eroding sovereignty with the advent of globalization and cosmopolitanism, it implies that in a world with a complex network, states are not the sole actors who decide upon policies. International organisations are becoming independent sites of authority.

 

2.New concerns emerged in international politics- issues such as human rights, gender and women rights, democratization and energy politics caught the attention of the international system.

 

3. International relations became bi-focused, it was no longer about just state-to-state relations but also about relation between state and non-state, NGOs, MNCs, sub and supra-national actors.

 

We can conclude that  the international system presently isn’t about collision between states but also civilizations and cultures. It has become independent as states act in collaboration with non-state actors.

 

The post-westphalian, present international system is multi-level and multi-centered and there is cooperation and coordination between different actors to solve and carry out multiple tasks. Today’s world, a part of post-Westphalian order resembling its features but nuanced, have been noted as well.

 

Written by- Disha Jain