Treaty of Westphalia to the Modern State Flashcards
What defined the Ideal Typical Modern State at the birth of the modern state system?
- Defined, limited territory
- Legitimate monopoly on the use of
force internally and externally - Defined and specialised bureaucracy
organise by function - Sovereignty recognised by other states
What things might have contributed to the birth of the modern state system?
- Historically unique events
- Physical, cultural or ethnic geography
- Population growth and pressures
- Technological advancements
- Philosophical writings
Summarise Nicolo Machiavelli
- (1469 - 1527)
- Governance is separate from morality
in leading the modern state - “Of all types of princes, the new prince cannot escape the reputation for cruelty, since new states are full of dangers”
- “It is much safer to be feared than to be loved”
- “But since men are a wicked lot and will not keep their promises to you, you likewise need not keep yours to them”
- Prisoner’s Dilemma
What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma and who is associted with it?
- Whilst cooperating is group-optimal, without perfect information of the other parties intentions and in the face of self-maximising behaviour, there is a tendency for rational agents to defect
- Nicolo Machiavelli
What were the causes of the shift from European wars of religion to wars of ideology?
- 16th Century Protestant Reformation
- Technology
- Printing press
- Chronographs
- Weaponry
- Demography
- Exploration
- Colonisation
- Trade
What was the 16th Century Protestant Reformation?
- One of the main societal triggers for questioning the established order
- Martin Luther
- Nailed his “95 Theses” to
Wittenberg’s All Saint’s Church
in 1517- Not a fan of indulgences
(paying off sin)
- Not a fan of indulgences
- Excommunicated by Pope, 1520
- Translated Bible into the
vernacular
- Nailed his “95 Theses” to
What ended the Protestant Reformation?
- Peace of Ausgsburg
* End of the Thirty Years War
What was the Peace of Augsburg?
- End of Protestant Reformation
- 25 September 1555
- Treaty between Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V and an alliance of Luterhan
princes - Made the legal split within Holy
Roman Empire permanent - Allowed princes to decide the
religion (Lutheranism or Catholicism)
within their territory
What was the Thirty Years War?
- 1618 - 1648
- Began when the Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II of Bohemia tried to
restrict religious activities of his
subjects which led to Protestants
rebelling - Eventually came to include many of
Europe’s great powers and a crucial
fight between France and the Hapsburgs - Incredibly destructive with estimates
of a fifth of the population of what
is now Germany perishing
What was the Treaty of Westphalia?
- 1648
- Series of treaties signed In Osnabruck and Munster (current Germany)
- Ended the Thirty Years’ War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years War between Spain and the Dutch Republic
- Created a basis for the national self-determination of co-existing sovereign states
- Interstate war was to be kept under control through a balance of power
What was the balance of power that evolved from the Treaty of Westphalia?
- A balance of power did not mean no war
- There were over three dozen wars,
conflicts, revolts etc. in Europe
from 1648 to 1789 - It signified a willingness to form
alliances if one got too powerful - Balancing is the opposite of
bandwagoning, another foreign policy
technique (bandwagoning - coalition
of the willing)
Who were the most influential thinkers during the shift from European wars of religion to wars of ideology?
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke
- Jean-Jacque Rosseau
- Immanuel Kant
Who was Thomas Hobbes?
- British
- 1588-1679
- Best known for Leviathan (1651)
- Concerned with social and
political order and how people
can live in peace - People should give power to an
authoritarian sovereign or else
people are in a state of nature
with violent death is a constant
risk - Helped establish the idea of a
social contract where people
exchange autonomy for security
- Concerned with social and
- In a state of nature “there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently, no culture of the earth, no navigation, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”
Who was John Locke?
- British
- 1632 - 1704
- Best known for Two treatises of
Government (1689) - Right after 1688 Glorious Revolution
when King James II overthrown and
William III became English Kind - Like Hobbes, focuses on the
social contract - Unlike Hobbes his view of the state
of nature was less bleak
- The state of nature “is full of fears and continual dangers: and it is not without reason, that he seeks out, and is willing to join in society with others, who are already united, or have a mind to unite, for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties and estates, which I call by the general name, property.”
Who was Jean-Jacque Rosseau?
- 1712-1778
- Philosopher, writer and composer from
Geneva whose ideas also influenced
the French Revolution - Best known for Social Contract (1762)
- Rousseau argues that the state of
nature is without law or
mortality and that people join
together through the social
contract under authority of the
general will of the people - He therefore argues that
sovereignty is in the hands of
the people
- Rousseau argues that the state of
- “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.”
Who was Immanuel Kant?
- 1724-1804
- German philosopher who wrote widely
on morality, ethic and metaphysics
and politics - Most relevant is Perpetual Peace
(1795) - He argues that democracy, economic
interdependence and international law
and organisations would foster the
conditions for perpetual peace - the
Kantian tool or tripod
What were the important events in the shift from dynastic to popular sovereignty?
- The British Civl War 1642-1651
- The American Revolution 1775-1783
- The French Revolution 1789-1799
What was the British Civil War?
- 1642-1651
- King Charles I
- Oliver Cromwell
- Actually considered three civil wars
- Pitted forces of the Royalists and
parliamentarians against each other - Other linked conflicts with Ireland
and Scotland - King Charles I was executed in 1649
- Ended with Parliamentary victory at
Battle of Worcester - Republican Commonwealth of England
1649-1653 - Protectorate under Cromwell 1653-1658
- Charles II returned from exile in
1660 and declared King - Set England and Scotland’s course
towards parliamentary monarch
What was the American Revolution?
- 1775-1783
- Boston Tea Party 1773
- No taxation without representaiton
- Government was not holding up
it’s side of the social contract
- Battle of Lexington & Concord 1775
- Drew in the interests of major
european powers and ended up
destabilising the balance of power
What was the French Revolution?
- 1789-1799
- France under King Louis XVI
(1754-1793)- King Louis XVI was crowned in 1774
- Helped US rebels, who were
successful but this aid led to
substantial French debt and a
financial crisis - Executed in 1973, quickly
followed by his wife, Marie
Antoinette
- The National Constituent Assembly
abolished feudalism and passed the
“Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen” - 1789- Further defined the social
contract
- Further defined the social
- Legislative assembly declared war on
Austria and Prussia - 1792 - Bloody Reign of terror when suspected
enemies of the revolution were
guillotined - 1793-1794 - New constitution which created
bicameral legislature - 1795 - Napoleon established as First Consul
- 1799
What did the influential thinkers during the shift from wars of religion to wars of ideology proclaim?
- They helped shape an increasingly literate publics views of 1. the state’s role domestically and internationally and 2. the sources of sovereignty and legitimacy
- Influenced democratic peace theory and supporters of constitutional republics