WESTPHALIAN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
AND CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL POLITICS
Edward Lynch
Geoff Goldberg
Lauren Wygonski
AGENDA
The History of the Treaty of Westphalia
 The Westphalian International Society
 Contemporary Westphalian Models
 Issue Discussion

ISSUE AREAS
MEMBERS

Holy Roman Empire
 House
of Hapsburg
Other German Princes
 Spain
 France
 Sweden
 Representatives of the Dutch Republic
 Britain?

TREATY OF WESTPHALIA

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The Juridical equality and political independence of the
member states were recognized by international law
Every member state was considered a legitimate power by
the other states
The relations between these sovereign states were
managed by a professional corps of diplomats and
organized in a multilateral system of diplomatic
communication
Although they agreed on a Christian religion, a culture
evolved that was European
A balance of power between the member states was
created to make sure any one state would not make a play
for hegemony
The Future Wars of the Member States
WESTPHALIAN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
Creations of Nation States
 Respect of Boundaries and Borders
 Autonomy
 Sovereignty
 Balance of Power

BEFORE
AFTER
Theoretical and Practical Challenges
THE WESTPHALIAN MODEL:
IN THEORY
Steven D. Krasner, PhD

•
•
Professor Stanford
University
Director of Policy
Planning, US State
Department 2005-2007
Challenges to
Westphalia
 Sovereignty:

Treaty of Münster : "Alliances be not
against the Emperor, and the Empire, nor
against the Public Peace, and this Treaty,
and without prejudice to the Oath by which
every one is bound to the Emperor and the
Empire."

Final Authority is a Myth:
King and Parliament
IN PRACTICE

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Non-interference vs.
Humanitarian Aid
Somalia 1992: UN delivers
aid
Bosnia 1992: UN
Peacekeepers protect relief
supplies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=uEx5G-GOS1k


Former UN Secretary-General
Perez de Cuellar 1991:
“We are clearly witnessing
what is probably an
irresistible shift in public
attitudes towards the belief
that the defense of the
oppressed in the name of
morality should prevail over
frontiers and legal
documents.”
Boutros Boutros-Ghali: “The
time of absolute and
exclusive sovereignty…has
passed…. It’s theory was
never matched by reality.”
CHINA
The Middle Kingdom
A BRIEF HISTORY
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Middle Kingdom
Qing and Yuan
Dynasties
Opium war and foreign
incursions
Concessions and
Extraterritoriality
A BRIEF HISTORY



“东突厥斯坦”（简称“东突”），这一名词出现于１９世
纪末期。“斯坦”原为“地方”、“区域”之意，但“东突厥
斯坦”不是一个单纯的地理概念，而是某些老殖民主义
者为肢解中国提出的一个政治概念。
The term “East Turkestan” first appeared at the end of
the 19th century. “Stan” originally means “Place” or
“region”, but “East Turkestan” is no longer a simple
geological concept, but has become a political concept
envisioned by the same kind of colonialists who carved
China into pieces.
Source: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
WESTPHALIA AT HOME

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Xinjiang
Tibet
Taiwan
Human
Rights
Falun
Gong
WESTPHALIA ABROAD
Sudan: Friends With
Benefits
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
Extractive FDI
Schools and Hospitals
No Strings Attached
WESTPHALIA ABROAD
Myanmar



900-mile oil and gas
pipes
Rights to offshore gas
Hands off Internal
Affairs
Союз Советских Социалистических Республик
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
CCCP/USSR
COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION
9 November 1989
 7 February 1990
 15 Constituent Soviet Republics
 Struggles between States and Moscow
 Lithuania Pro-Independence Movement
 Estonia Reestablish Independence
 17 March 1991
 Weakening Soviet Position, both
Internationally and Domestically

CCCP/USSR
Demographic Breakdown
Содружество Независимых Государств
СНГ
COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
International Organization or Alliance
 11 Former Soviet Republics
 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
 Dissolution of the USSR
 Civilized Divorce between the Republics
 Geopolitical Tool for Russia
 Integration and Cooperation on Policy

CIS FOUNDING WESTPHALIAN IDEALS
CIS Charter stated: all member states were
sovereign and independent nations, and
thereby effectively abolished the Soviet
Union.
 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
 Illegal and Dangerous Constitutional Coup
 21 December 1991

CIS PRESENT DAY WESTPHALIAN VALIDITY
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Creation of Nation States:
Commonwealth of Independent States
Respect of Boundaries and Borders:
11 Former Soviet Republics
Autonomy:
Integration and Cooperation with Moscow
Sovereignty:
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Balance of Power:
Russian Buildup Along Border
Radical Islam
ASEAN (ASSOCIATION FOR SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS)
1)
2)
to accelerate
economic growth,
social progress
and cultural
development in the
region
to promote
regional peace and
stability and
adherence to the
principles of the
United Nations
Charter
GOALS OF ASEAN
"The fragmented economies of
Southeast Asia with, each country
pursuing its own limited objectives
and dissipating its meager resources
in the overlapping or even conflicting
endeavors of sister states carry the
seeds of weakness in their
incapacity for growth and their selfperpetuating dependence on the
advanced, industrial nations. ASEAN,
therefore, could marshal the still
untapped potentials of this rich
region through more substantial
united action.“
- Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
Narciso Ramos
ASEAN AND WESTPHALIA
 Similarities
Both had a treaty
 Both entered
negotiations after wars
 Both acknowledge the
sovereignty of the
individual member
states
 Both manages by a
congregation of
diplomats

 Differences
1648 v. 1967
 Outside Conflicts v.
Internal Peace
 Exclusive treaty v.
Inclusive treaty
 There was no UN

BENEFITS TO BEING PART OF ASEAN


ASEAN family
Ability to receive more FDI
http://news.bbc.co.uk
/player/nol/newsid_4
710000/newsid_4717
400/4717435.stm?bw
=nb&mp=wm&news=
1&nol_storyid=47174
35&bbcws=1
COSTS TO BEING IN ASEAN
Pressures to “westernize”
Intervention in Human Rights Issues
CONCLUSION

Final Thoughts
 Do
you think a Westphalian International Society
model currently exists?
 Could a Westphalian International Society model
exist?
 If
so, where?
WORKS CITED
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Treat of Westphalia; October 24, 1648Peace Treaty between the Holy Roman
Emperor and the King of France and their respective Allies
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/westphal.htm
John Baylis and Steve Smith, “The Globalization of World Politics, an
introduction to international relations,” (Oxford University Press: 2005) 54
Overview of the ASEAN Charter, http://www.aseansec.org/64.htm
CNN, “NZ looks at ASEAN security treaty,”
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/01/laos.asean/index.html
ASEAN members mull wording on Myanmar situation, Asian Political
News, PHNOM PENH, July 30 Kyodo
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2007_August_6/ai_n1945360
8,