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Beyond Trending: What is Peace of Westphalia?
The history of modern international relations is commonly traced to the Peace of Westphalia (1648). But what is it, and why does international relations use this as a foundational narrative?
Renewed great-power competition has put international rules and norms under strain, sparking an intense debate about the post-war order. (AP Photo)
Conflicts, violence, and threats of the use of force by major powers have intensified debates about the international order established after World War II. The Russia-Ukraine War, tensions around Iran’s nuclear programme, US President Donald Trump administration’s reassertion of American primacy in the Western Hemisphere, and China’s expanding geopolitical ambitions signal that the post-war international order is under pressure.
Such great-power competition has also been a recurring theme in the history of modern international relations, which is usually traced to the Peace of Westphalia (1648). But what is it, and why does international relations use this as a foundational narrative?
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia commonly refers to a series of treaties signed in Münster, a city in the north–west of Germany, and the nearby town of Osnabrück, signed in 1648 that ended the devastating Thirty Years’ War in Europe. The war took place within the fragmented Holy Roman Empire between 1618–1648 and caused massive devastation.
Scholars of international relations often credit the Peace of Westphalia for laying the foundation of the modern state with key principles defining it, i.e., territoriality, sovereignty, legal equality of states, and non-intervention. These principles became the defining features of modern international relations, with sovereign states emerging as its basic units.
In defining sovereignty, scholars have underlined that it stands for the idea of having supreme authority over a defined territory. Noted political scientist Amir Ali, citing John Austin, pointed out that sovereignty connotes supreme authority, that there is no authority higher than the sovereign to which it can become subservient. These principles became central to how international relations were understood and practiced.
Power politics and international relations
The order emerging out of Westphalia institutionalised the principle of state sovereignty. But these sovereign states came to operate within an anarchic system of international relations, as no higher authority exists above states.
In this system of anarchical international relations (no world government), sovereign states were encouraged to pursue balance of power politics. The balance of power politics aimed at preventing hegemonic expansion through the use of military force. This was seen as a momentous development in world politics.
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Over time, these Westphalian principles evolved into the post-war order, grounded in international law, multilateral institutions, and the notion of collective security. But renewed great-power competition has put international rules and norms under strain, sparking an intense debate about the post-war order. Notably, the United Nations, which symbolised this order, also faces significant challenges amid the prevailing geopolitical rivalry.
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