Essay On The Peace Of Westphalia

Introduction

Many theorists believe that the modern international state system emerged after the Peace of Westphalia, which brought an end to the ‘thirty-year war’ across Europe, from the period1618-1648. Regarded as one of the longest and greatest armed contests of the modern era by Ronald G. Asch, Europe was torn apart by the greed of princes for religious and territorial dominance. Approximately 20% of the population in German was slaughtered and killed. The Thirty-Year War was fought between Catholics and Protestant states in the Holy Roman Empire, over the main principle that a local ruler could determine which religion could be practiced. "This contest was a German civil war, but foreign powers played a crucial role" (www.oxfordbibliographies.com). The Peace of Westphalia was not specifically one treaty signed but several treaties signed that brought the war to an end, namely the Treaty of Munster and the Treaty of Osnabruck. The treaty "marked the end of rule by religious authority in Europe and the emergence of secular authorities" (Mingst, 2004). Prior to the implications of the treaty, Europe was ruled by the Feudal System and while in some regards sovereignty did exist, it was neither a legal requirement nor respected across Europe.

This essay endeavors to explore and explain the role of the Peace of

‘Westphalian Sovereignty’ continued to grow in stature over three centuries, with Germany and Italy both unified in 1871. What was once the European order of states now was fast growing into the world order of states, as the Westphalian Model expanded. Major examples of this were America, Canada, Japan and China, which now became states of their own, governed by the Westphalia model. “Other advanced to full Westphalia status- the United States in 1783, Canada in 1867 and China and Japan by the early 20th century.” (Philpott,