Treaty Of Westphalia Research Paper

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Born out of the Wesphalian region of the northwest Germany, the Treaty of Westphalia, ended one of the most destructive religious conflicts in European history. Resulted from the complicated diplomatic congress, the Treaty of Westphalia created the so-called Westphalian model of sovereign states in 1648. In particular, at the time of great economic, political, and religious conflicts between the European principalities, the Treaty effectively terminated the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic. As a result, the Treaty established three core tenets: the principle of state sovereignty, the principle of legal equality of states, and the principle of non-intervention of one state into the affairs of the other. Furthermore, The Treaty of Westphalia ended the rule of the Holy Roman Empire and recognized Calvinism as the third acceptable religion in addition to Catholicism and Lutheranism. Essentially, the Westphalian model gives preference to the national interests of each nation-state over the interests of international community at large. The Westphalian model launches the development of market capitalism and celebrates the triumph of sovereignty over empire and nationality over globality.
The Westphalian model works as follows:
MARKET CAPITALISM – ANTI-GLOBAL CAUSE – ANTI-IMPERIAL FORCE
1. The Treaty of Westphalia unlocks the forces of market capitalism.
2. Its tenets of sovereignty and self-determination, non-interference, and legal equality serve as a major force of anti-global cause in the twenty first century.
3. By effectively ending the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, The Treaty of Westphalia emerges as an anti-imperial force.
The Westp...

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...a result, the Westphalian model creates a dichotomy between market capitalist interests against the global agenda. The Peace of Westphalia model in its entirety can be used to justify national movement that favors managed rather than expansive neoliberal capitalism because of its fixation on the national cause. The analytical deconstruction of the Westphalian model provides important clues as to the nature and development of such concepts as capitalism, imperialism, and globalization. The “ghost” of the Westphalian model still chases and impacts decisions made by leaders all over the globe. In its quest to build a democratic and egalitarian national order, the Westphalian model seeks to promote legal equality and capitalist economics of nation-states without destroying or impeding its cultural and political diversity by establishing either imperial or global regime.

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