Westphalia in the 21st Century
Westphalian System
Treaty of Westphalia 1648
Core legacies
End of Thirty Year War: religious war - Catholics vs. Protestants - destroyed much of central Europe
Doctrine of non-interference
Sovereignty
Multilateralism: congress of states that establish peace and sovereignty through diplomacy
Secularism: religion is a matter entirely confined to the domestic sphere > intl. system became devoid of religion
Non-secular states are not necessarily incompatible w/ the Westphalian system as long as there is a sharp divide between international & domestic
IR perceives religion to be a threat because it assumes it is irrational
Henry Kissinger
Former US National Security Adviser & Secretary of State under Nixon
Staunch defendant of Westphalia
Flaw in system: advent of states which are wedded not so much to Westphalian secularism but to religious principles, e.g. Iran
Tension between Westphalian system and Islamic principles that ultimately transcend the domestic
2014: questioned the role of Saudi Arabia in supporting a non-secular, Islamic world order
It's playing a double Westphalian/religious game, practicing conservatism & exporting revolution but still regarded as a Westphalian state
Westphalia must be seen as malleable & subject to the needs of balance and power
Religious Resurgence
Posing a direct threat to the Westphalian system
Deterritorialized religious movements undermine the system which is predicated on the territorialization of political communties & the privatization of religion
Erosion of state sovereignty + loosening link between territory & identity has opened space for transnational religious movements
Hitherto, religion has always been understood as an intervening factor in the secular system which is perceived to be normatively superior
Conventional wisdom for most of the 20th century: religion in decline
Wrong: 9/11, Iranian Revolution, etc.
Juergensmeyer, 1994: many global religious groups overtly reject the secular nature of the Westphalian state and seek to reintroduce religion into the system
Mendelsohn: religion conflicts with the Westphalian order because the religious source of authority overrides any temporal claimant of authority and the state and thus can never be accepted as a legitimate source of authority
However, most religions are comfortable with the coexistence of both state & religious order, especially since the Westphalian order has accommodated religion by relegating it to domestic politics (Mendelsohn)
Globalisation has created various enabling conditions and arguably weakened the Westphalian state so that opportunities have risen for religious actors to challenge the order
Westphalia as an Analytical Category
Religion renders Westphalia as an analytical category obsolete
Thomas: IR is predicated on the liberal myth which believes that whenever religion is brought into international life it causes intolerance, war, and even the collapse of the international order
This understanding is based on the invention of religion by Western modernity as part of privatively held doctrines and beliefs
Has religion ever departed?
Divide of religion and politics established at Westphalia is not fixed but rather historically and socially constructed
It is Eurocentric and was imposed by the West onto the rest of the world through imperialism and colonialism
Moreover, the secular character of Westphalia can be understood as a specifically Christian achievement
If pluralism wants to accommodate civilisational and cultural diversity, it must renounce the exclusion of religion from the international sphere
We are in a post-secular world
With the exception of a number of Western states, religion remains a potent force in modern societies around the globe
Term 'post-secularism' challenges the too narrow Eurocentric perspective of secularization theory as universal process of human and social development