Globalization and International Relations

          

•Treaty of Westphalia 1648

•Westphalian  Sovereignty is  a concept of nation state  sovereignty regarding territoriality and absence of a role for external agents in domestic affairs ;

•The ‘Treaty of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabruck and Munster;

•These treaties ended the ‘Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the ‘Eighty Years’  War(1568-1648) between Spain and Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognized the independence of Dutch republic; and

•Territoriality and absence of a role for  external powers in the internal matters of nation sates were strongly established under Westphalian sovereignty.

•Globalization: A Challenge to Westphalian Order

•Due to development of Westphalian Order in the world, both bigger and smaller  states  were territorialized and delimited/bordered/surrounded/enclosed. As a result, nation sates were sovereign and a role for external agents in internal matters was not legitimized;

•Westphalian Order   was  a historical phenomenon which  came to existence to address issue pertaining to a specific period of time.  Since globalization has been influencing all aspects of society, it is on the verge of collapse;

• If the state system in the Seventeenth Century  was moved  in absence of organized despotic power, why the same system is not applicable to days to come? Such speculative question governs us; and

•If it happens, what will be the biggest challenge to Westphalian Order?

•End of Sovereignty

•The end of the sovereignty must be understood in the light of reducing the monopolistic order of state  in terms of regulating and controlling the behaviors of citizens and states;

•The reason is that any of enterprises, human activities and other phenomenon are not taken place only within a territory of a single state.  There is no monopoly of a single state on their controlling and regulation;

•Overseeing as well as regulating on global stock exchange, computer networking and credit card, etc. is not falling on the single controlling and regulating of a single state; and

•The concept of shared sovereignty is being so  flourished that the Westphalian Order is being weakened day by day.

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•Indication of Sub -state Global Governance

•Due to globalization, not only the ruling elites attached to the central layer of the governance, but also the ruling elites  in the province/state have started dealing with cross-border initiatives policy matters;

•Some of the Provincial Governments in Canada and China and almost  all the State Governments in America have started exchanging their diplomatic missions;

•This practice has been common to Europe. Belgium Government is obliged to seek consensus from the provincial governments on the agreements to be signed with European Union.  The provincial governments from Belgium represent the different offices of European Union;

•Cross- border collaboration has been  prevalent between municipalities specially on matters of pollution control, crime control, disarmaments and development partnership;

•World Association of Major Metropolises incepted in 1985 and International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives established in 1990 are insightful evidences; and

•Relations on the telecommunications between developed cities in the world has been deepened   than the cities within their boundary.