EMERGENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL STATE SYSTEM

Introduction:

Many people have a passport. They dutifully show it when they cross borders, but do they take a
moment to stop and think about what it really means? In fact, that passport is visible proof of how
our world is organized now-divided up into different territorial units. In this modern state system, at
least theoretically, these units are sovereign, meaning that they possess their own authority: They
have supreme and independent rights such as the right to control their territory. In this respect, the
sovereign state is a political powerhouse, the actor on the international stage. Indeed, this concept is
written in the United Nations charter of 1945, which declares, "The Organization is based on the
principle of the sovereign equality of all of its Members."

But how did this international order come into being? This turning point came in the year 1648 at
the end of the long and traumatic Thirty Years' War in Europe, a war that itself came at the tail end
of about a century of religious slaughter and warfare in the western Christian world.

The peace settlement that ended the Thirty Years' War, called the Peace of Westphalia, pointed
international politics in a new direction. This international order has been called the Westphalian
system, denoting a system of sovereign states interacting with one another.

Rise of Nation-State System in International Relations

The nation-state system in international relations began taking shape around the year 1648 when
the Thirty-year War in Europe (War of Religion 1618-1648) between the Catholics and Protestants
states of Central Europe. The Westphalia Peace Treaty (1648) led to the recognition and acceptance
of the sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of each state. It also recorded that no state was
to interfere in the domestic affairs of another state and was to practice religious tolerance. Further,
that each state can have its own official religion. It held that the Rome (Pope) could no longer
command the allegiance of the states and that he had no right to interfere in the affairs of any states
in the name of his highest spiritual authority. The state as such, emerged supreme in its territory
with the power to command its people in both secular and temporal spheres. The era of Holy Roman
Empire virtually came to an end.

In this way Westphalia paved the way for the development of Nation-State system in the world. The
concept of sovereignty of the state got a due recognition. Relations among nations came to be
conducted by sovereign states for securing their respective interests in relations among themselves.

In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the rise of nationalism as the basic principle of nation- state got
a world-wide acceptance. The rise of the modern nation-state in England in which nationalism
became co-equal with the idea of individual liberties and popular participation in public affairs, the
American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution 1789, gave strength to the concept of
nation-state fortified with the spirit and philosophy of nationalism. Napoleon Bonaparte, however,
transformed nationalist sentiments into an expansionist ideology and used his citizen's army to score
victory after victory in Europe and Middle East. Ultimately, however, he was defeated in 1815 by the
forces of nationalism, he had helped to awaken.'
The unification of Germany (1864-71) gave further strength to the concept of nationalism as the hall
mark of the state. The modernisation of Japan and rise of intense Japanese nationalism gave further
strength to it. In the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the coming of the Industrial Revolution
invigorated the consolidation of the nation-state as the fundamental unit of protection. Once this
development had taken place, the resulting case of economic and social interactions within them
and the relative isolation of their populations from neighbouring states helped the solidification of
different cultures, institutions, and linguistic and religious patterns of behaviour which came to be
identified with the nation-state. The state came to be sovereign, territorial and powerful nation-
state. International relations got transformed into relations and interactions among the nation-
states.

Main Features of the Nation-State System in the World

The nation-state came to get more firmly entrenched in international relations when humankind
entered the 20th century. It got identified with its four essential elements: Population, Territory,
Government and Sovereignty. In the sphere of international relations its four basic credentials
Nationalism, Territorial Integrity, Sovereignty and Legal Equality got fully recognized and respected
under International Law. Let us study these.

1. Sovereignty of the Nation State

Sovereignty came to be regarded as the hall mark of the nation-state. The concept of sovereignty
implied internal and external sovereignty. Internally, the state had the right to order the behaviour
of all its citizens and their associations in all respects. Externally, sovereignty implied the right of the
state to act out its desired role in international relations on the basis of its desired policies. The right
to secure the goals of national interest by the use of national power got recognised as the supreme
power of the nation-state. The right of each nation to use war as an instrument of its policy came to
be defined as the sovereign right of each nation to protect and secure its sovereignty.

2. Nationalism as the Philosophical Foundation of the Nation State

The nation-state was considered fortified with the philosophy of nationalism. In fact the rise of
nation-state was accompanied by the rise of nationalism, which in turn strengthened the nation-
state. Nationalism grew steadily to advocate an identification of the individual with the state. The
political socialization process of the individual inculcated the value that every person was a citizen of
the state by birth. That as a citizen one derived all rights and benefits from the state and that as a
citizen one was bound to obey and defend the state. It was accepted that the state provides
innumerable services to its citizens in return for obedience to its laws. The resulting faith of the
individual in his state and his love for it gave rise to strong nationalism.

3. Territorial Integrity of the Nation State

The nation-state is conceptualised as a territorial entity. Protection of the people living within its
boundaries is its chief responsibility. Territoriality is responsible for making the nation-states: (1)
defensible units, and (2) internally pacified areas. Further, territoriality gives further strength to the
concepts of Sovereignty and Nationalism just as these gives strength to it. Preservation of territorial
unity and integrity of the state is a valuable aspect of nationalism and the sovereign right of the
nation-state.
4. Legal Equality / Sovereign Equality of All Nation-States

Finally, the nation-states of the world got recognised as equal sovereign states irrespective of their
sizes, populations, military capabilities, economic resources etc. International law recognized all
states as equal sovereign entities with an equal legal status and rights.

Post Westphalia

In the Post-Westphalian system, contemporary international politics both in theory and practice,
progressed or matured significantly and assumed a new dimension with the start of process of
decolonization which results in the emergence of new states in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

With the end of Balance of Power system that had existed for three centuries, the post-Second
World War international order is different; it sees the emergence of two non-European nuclear
(weapon) superpower, the US and USSR, instead of the earlier five to six major non-nuclear
(weapon) European powers.

In the Post-Westphalian system, Westphalian wars are on decline and non-Westphalian war on the
issues of economic and informational are on rise. The world became unipolar after the Cold War,
with the US remaining the only superpower; the present international order has become more
interdependent due to the spread of globalization, including international trade, information
technology revolution, terrorism, and environmental degradation. Since the end of Cold War
International Relations (IR) as an academic discipline is also addressing the issues with more sincerity
which has assumed multi-dimensional character.

THE PRESENT INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM

The structure of the present day international system is quite complex and is increasingly becoming
more complex. This is more so because of the changes in the nature of the component units of the
system. Traditionally, it was only the states which were considered to be the vital parts of the
international system or the primary actors, but now there have been an increasing recognition of the
existence of other agents, or as they are now called non-state actors in international relations.
Therefore, international system can be thought of as one combining several kinds of actors of
varying degrees of autonomy in their international behaviour, with the states among them retaining
a leading but by no means an exclusive role.

By international system, some scholars mean a more complex concept involving a set of states and
other actors interacting with each other. Any system is defined by the combination of the attributes
of its component units and the nature, pattern, and number of interactions among those units.

If this idea is applied to the international system, then the factors, which become important, are:

• The number of state actors

• The relative size of various actors

• The number and types of non-state actors

• Linkages or interactions among state actors

However, as Frankel points out, international system lacks two pre- requisites of domestic political
systems, namely, the social basis of a community and the political structure of a government.
International system does not possess any unconditional agreement on cooperation, on the
precedence of some basic common good over sub-group or individual interests. It is built only on
some limited and conditional cooperation, which sometimes degenerates into anarchy. In the
absence of a hierarchically arranged government, there is no authority to determine the jurisdiction
of all the social sub-groups and enforce norms and laws. What exists is only a loose structure and
weak sets of norms to regulate the behaviour of the states. Nevertheless, the international system
has been characterized by the presence of sovereign states and ensuing anarchy, security dilemma,
balance of power, hegemony, alliances, regional alignments, international regimes, collective
security, conflict and conflict resolution from time to time. At present, in the contemporary
international system, there is an increasing crisis of the territorial states vis-à-vis the challenges
posed by the non- state actors.