1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910812691803321

Autore

Philpott Daniel <1967->

Titolo

Revolutions in sovereignty : how ideas shaped modern international relations / / Daniel Philpott

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Princeton, : Princeton University Press, c2001

ISBN

1-283-13466-7

9786613134660

1-4008-2423-0

Edizione

[Core Textbook]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (352 p.)

Collana

Princeton studies in international history and politics

Disciplina

320.1/5

Soggetti

Sovereignty

International relations

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-330) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- TABLES AND FIGURES -- PREFACE -- PART ONE: REVOLUTIONS IN SOVEREIGNTY -- PART TWO: THE FOUNDING OF THE SOVEREIGN STATES SYSTEM AT WESTPHALIA -- PART THREE: THE REVOLUTION OF COLONIAL INDEPENDENCE: THE GLOBAL EXPANSION OF WESTPHALIA -- PART FOUR: THE REVOLUTIONS CONSIDERED TOGETHER -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

How did the world come to be organized into sovereign states? Daniel Philpott argues that two historical revolutions in ideas are responsible. First, the Protestant Reformation ended medieval Christendom and brought a system of sovereign states in Europe, culminating at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Second, ideas of equality and colonial nationalism brought a sweeping end to colonial empires around 1960, spreading the sovereign states system to the rest of the globe. In both cases, revolutions in ideas about legitimate political authority profoundly altered the "constitution" that establishes basic authority in the international system. Ideas exercised influence first by shaping popular identities, then by exercising social power upon the elites who could bring about new international constitutions. Swaths of early modern Europeans, for instance, arrived at Protestant beliefs, then fought against the temporal powers of the Church on behalf of the



sovereignty of secular princes, who could overthrow the formidable remains of a unified medieval Christendom. In the second revolution, colonial nationalists, domestic opponents of empire, and rival superpowers pressured European cabinets to relinquish their colonies in the name of equality and nationalism, resulting in a global system of sovereign states. Bringing new theoretical and historical depth to the study of international relations, Philpott demonstrates that while shifts in military, economic, and other forms of material power cannot be overlooked, only ideas can explain how the world came to be organized into a system of sovereign states.