POL114H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Nationstates, Schnapps, Territorial Disputes In The South China Sea
21 Jun 2018
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Monday – May 14th, 2018
Week 2 – Lecture 3 – Chapter 2
The Nation-State: Westphalia and Beyond
Why We See a World of States?
-The nation-state is a relatively new invention.
-Nation-state is a country whose citizens are homogenous in factors such as language and
descent and inhabit a geographical area on which they form a sovereign state.
Why is it Eurocentric?
-Both state and nation are European social formations.
-Exported to other countries through violent imposition and voluntary adoption.
Europe Before States
1-Greek Polis:
-Polis means the city-state.
-Urban center had the power and controlled the surrounding area.
-Areas in between Poleis (city-states) was unclaimed and shared between them.
2-Roman Empire:
-Different forms of administration throughout empire.
-Other political communities were not seen as equal.
3-Feudalism:
-The dominant social system in medieval Europe.
-Kings wanted to make their own religion the official religion in their territory.
-Kings were subordinate to Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor.
Treaty of Westphalia
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-WO73Dh7rY
-The Peace of Westphalia ended the 30 years’ war in Europe (1618 – 1648).
-The beginning of the modern international system which is also known as the Westphalian State
System.
-The year 1648 was the point of differentiation between kingly states and territorial states.
-Kingly states were not fully autonomous because there was always intervention by the Pope or
Holy Roman Emperor in domestic politics of these states in order to convert rulers and people to
Christianity.
-Therefore, Westphalia established the constitutional and legal status of states as territorial
entities who are free to:
-Declare war.
-Make laws.
-Raise taxes.
-Form alliances.
State
-State: a political entity with a determined territory, permanent population, active government,
and sovereign recognition by other states.
-Sovereignty: the ability of a government to manage internal affairs and independently represent
itself externally.
-States are seen as having a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within their territories.
Nationalism and the Nation
-A nation and a state are not the same thing, and a common assumption was that people are the
nation, and people were ultimately sovereign, therefore each nation should have a state.
-Nationalism: a sense of shared identity among a group of people, and a belief that this identity
should form the basis of political community.
-Previously, there was no shared identity between rulers and the ruled.
-French Revolution (1789 – 1794) changed the face of Europe by spreading equality before the
law, the end of feudalism, and the rights of the man (known as modern nationalism) to the rest of
the international system. It was opposed by the monarchs, but the internal chaos combined with
external threats caused it to collapse and result in a French Republic.
Document Summary
Week 2 lecture 3 chapter 2. Nation-state is a country whose citizens are homogenous in factors such as language and descent and inhabit a geographical area on which they form a sovereign state. Both state and nation are european social formations. Exported to other countries through violent imposition and voluntary adoption. Urban center had the power and controlled the surrounding area. Areas in between poleis (city-states) was unclaimed and shared between them. Other political communities were not seen as equal. Kings wanted to make their own religion the official religion in their territory. Kings were subordinate to pope or the holy roman emperor. The peace of westphalia ended the 30 years" war in europe (1618 1648). The beginning of the modern international system which is also known as the westphalian state. The year 1648 was the point of differentiation between kingly states and territorial states. Kingly states were not fully autonomous because there was always intervention by the pope or.
