Political Evolution and State Sovereignty

Lecture 4: The Challenge of Sovereignty

• The lecture focuses on the making of the European nation-state.
• The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is crucial to understanding state sovereignty, establishing the principle of non-interference in internal affairs of independent states.
• Key questions include the importance of the Peace of Westphalia, how Garner describes Weber's three types of legitimacy, how reasons for obeying the state changed in the 17th century, Tilly's concept of "war made the state and the state made war", the definition of a nation-state, the four core features of the modern European state, the two main functions of the modern state, and the differences between unitary, federal and confederal states.
• Readings are from Hirst (Chapter 9) and Garner & Lawson (pp. 53-54 and 173-178).

European Values

• European values are linked to humanism and the enlightenment
• Key values include: Rationality, Individualism, Secularism, Equality, Democracy, Human Rights, Freedom and Human Dignity.

Political Challenges

• The lecture outlines various political challenges including the challenge of religion, sovereignty, checking power, unchecked power and accurate representation, and fair representation, and freedom beyond the state.

Challenge of Battling Sovereignties

• The EU is composed of various sovereign national states.
• Brexit challenged EU unity.
• Hungary and Poland questioned EU legislation primacy.
• Border checks were reintroduced.
• Opt-outs and tensions between national and supranational levels are prevalent.

Time Frame

• A timeline visualises the evolution of Europe from the middle of the 17th Century (1648) to the present day, including periods like the Middle Ages, Classical antiquity, Early modern Europe, Modern Europe, and the period of the European Union and its enlargement.

The Rise of the Sovereign National State

• The enlightenment period played a key role both in ideas and political realities.
• Map visuals depict the evolution of European political geography over time.

Peace of Westphalia

• The Peace of Westphalia (1648) marked a major turning point in European politics, establishing state sovereignty.
• Important details about the agreements, and their impact on the international system, especially the concept of state sovereignty, are highlighted.
• Prior to this, political authority was often contested by external actors like the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor.

Why Obey the State? Three Types of Legitimacy

• Legitimacy is the right to rule.
• Max Weber distinguished three types of authority: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
• Traditional authority is based on tradition and customs.
• Charismatic authority rests on the personal qualities of the ruler.
• Rational-legal authority relies on collectively agreed rules.

"War Made the State and the State Made War."

• The quote by historian Charles Tilly highlights the crucial link between state formation and warfare.
• The need for states to raise funds for armies drove changes in taxation and administration (bureaucracy).
• The rise of a bureaucracy, as an impersonal, meritocratic, and goal-oriented system of administration, is a key aspect of modern states.
• The French Revolution transformed the state's relationship with citizens, with taxation for all citizens and a modern mass army in the service of the nation.

The Power of Nationalism

• Nationalism, as a political ideology, countered the Enlightenment idea of all humans being the same.
• It views humans as naturally organized into nations defined by features like ethnicity, language, religion, history, and rituals.
• In the 19th century, many groups/nations in Europe lacked their own state.

The State: Definition

• The Montevideo Convention (1933) defines a state as a geographic territory with an identifiable population, a government, and international recognition.

Sovereignty

• The sovereign is the ultimate decision-maker within a state.
• In democracies, the people are the sovereign.
• Modern states possess sovereignty, allowing them to act independently within their territories, free from internal or external rivals.
• There are internal and external aspects to sovereignty.

What Does the State Do?

• The state protects its territory and population, exercising a monopoly on legitimate violence.
• It provides collective goods via various institutions like those focused on law, regulation, taxation, and infrastructure.
• This requires leadership; this is the government, a part of the state.

Unitary and Federal States

• Comparing unitary and federal states emphasizes distinctions in power distribution between central and regional governments
  • Unitary states are led by a central government.
  • Federal states share power between central and regional governments.

Comparing Governments

• Different types of government structures are contrasted; including unitary, federal, and confederal.
• Illustrative maps are provided.

Separatist Movements in Europe

• There is a section, or visual, on separatist movements in Europe.

Concepts

• Key concepts from the lecture are summarized, including Peace of Westphalia, Sovereignty, the Nation-State, Nationalism, Legitimacy, types of authority(Weber's traditional, charismatic and legal-rational), unitary and federal states.

Explore the transformations in state sovereignty and legitimacy from the 17th to the 19th century in this quiz. Test your understanding of significant outcomes from the Peace of Westphalia, the core features of modern European states, and the impacts of the Enlightenment on political authority. Dive into the dynamics between national and supranational levels within the EU.