Treaty of Westphalia to the Modern State Flashcards
1
Q
What defined the Ideal Typical Modern State at the birth of the modern state system?
A
- 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
2
Q
What things might have contributed to the birth of the modern state system?
A
- Historically unique events
- Physical, cultural or ethnic geography
- Population growth and pressures
- Technological advancements
- Philosophical writings
3
Q
Summarise Nicolo Machiavelli
A
- (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
4
Q
What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma and who is associted with it?
A
- 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
5
Q
What were the causes of the shift from European wars of religion to wars of ideology?
A
- 16th Century Protestant Reformation
- Technology
- Printing press
- Chronographs
- Weaponry
- Demography
- Exploration
- Colonisation
- Trade
6
Q
What was the 16th Century Protestant Reformation?
A
- 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
7
Q
What ended the Protestant Reformation?
A
- Peace of Ausgsburg
* End of the Thirty Years War
8
Q
What was the Peace of Augsburg?
A
- 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
9
Q
What was the Thirty Years War?
A
- 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
10
Q
What was the Treaty of Westphalia?
A
- 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
11
Q
What was the balance of power that evolved from the Treaty of Westphalia?
A
- 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)
12
Q
Who were the most influential thinkers during the shift from European wars of religion to wars of ideology?
A
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke
- Jean-Jacque Rosseau
- Immanuel Kant
13
Q
Who was Thomas Hobbes?
A
- 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.”
14
Q
Who was John Locke?
A
- 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.”
15
Q
Who was Jean-Jacque Rosseau?
A
- 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.”
