The Peace Of Westphalia

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The peace of Westphalia

Peace of Westphalia refers to a series of peace treaties in 1648 in Muster and Osnabruck cities that

were meant to settle religious conflicts in Europe which had lasted for thirty years. Among the

conflicts solved included the Spanish-Dutch eight-year conflict, Roman Empire, France kingdom

and Swedish empire. It is called the peace of Westphalia because it was located in Westphalia, the

modern day German. Negotiations between France and the Roman Empire took place in Hamburg

leading to the formation of the treaty of Homburg. The Roman Empire also negotiated with

Sweden in Westphalia near Muster and Osnabruck cities which were maintained as neutral and

demilitarized negotiation zones.

As mentioned earlier, the peace of Westphalia was a system of peace negotiations thus did

not have an exact beginning and ending. A total of one hundred and nine delegations were held

between 1643 and 1648 with a maximum number of diplomats being present between 1646 and

1647. The delegations involved sixteen European states such as Claude d’Avaux and Abel Servien

of France, Philip IV of Spain, Johann Ludwig of Rome and Johan Oxenstierna of Sweden.

The Peace of Westphalia resulted in the establishment of internal political boundaries in

Europe. Empires such as Rome which had taken up other imperial states was stripped and the states

were granted autonomy. Religious freedom was achieved significantly as each state was allowed

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to decide their religious worship without external interference. The two main religious ideologies

of catholic and Protestants were legally equalized as minority religions such as Calvinism and

Lutheranism were given formal recognition. Christians living in areas where Christianity was not

common were granted the right to practice their religion in public. Furthermore, Switzerland

formally received independence from the empire and Sweden was freed from France. France, on

the other hand, retained control over its states Metz, Tour, Verdun and Alsace-Lorrain. The treaty

also led to the lifting of the trade barriers that had been placed during the war thus free trade and

navigation were guaranteed.

The peace of Westphalia not only brought to the end a long-standing conflict among

European nations but also remains of significance even in the world today as many academics

assert it as the forerunner of the present international systems. The concept of equality in legal

value of nation states adopted by the United Nations can be traced directly to the Westphalia

system of sovereign states. International policy experts also refer to it when making peace

negotiations as in the Syrian war because of its success in ending the religious conflicts which

happen to be part of the challenges facing the international society today. For instance, it formed

the basis for the Syrian Peace talks.

The peace of Westphalia is significant because it was the forerunner of religious diversity

in Europe and the creation of modern states through the balance of power among European nations

irrespective of their size. The conflict that led to the peace of Westphalia was a mixture of political

and religious struggles which happen to be similar to those in some parts of the world today.

Therefore, the most important part of the treaty is how it ended, without a clear loser but the

agreement to live together but in independent units. This is borrowed when it comes to solving

many other conflicts in the modern society.

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East and South China Seas

Over many years, tension has sprung up between China and other states over the ownership of the

east and south china seas which has gone to as far as an armed conflict due to the aggressive

behavior of China. This is because the sea is an important area for the Chinese naval strategy

implementation and a busy commercial center with the largest number of shipping lanes in the

world (Wu 36). The sea dispute arises from the continuous interference of trade and navigation of

the sea by Japan and South Korea.

The South China Sea is important to other states especially the United States because it has

promoted the liberal rules which have caused an impressive economic growth and elimination of

war and conflict threats since the pacific war. Furthermore, the south sea is a center for commerce

that can be used for basic trade development and economic relations from which all countries in

the region can benefit (Wu 48). America and other countries, therefore, show concern as a result

of China's effort to secure complete territorial control over the sea and the resources it contains.

On the contrary, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines all claim exclusive economic

zones under the UN Convention of the Sea Law.

The south and east seas have a strong geopolitical sense being the largest sea lane in the

globe. The Strait of Malacca very busy with an average of ten million cubic meters of oil daily

shipments and over half of the world's merchant fleet tonnage pass through there. It is, therefore,

a strategic place of high economic interest. The region also has an estimated 7.7 million barrels of

oil and about seven thousand cubic kilometers of natural gas. Such natural resources make the

region very productive. Furthermore, a research revealed that the region shelters one-third of the

world's marine biodiversity thus a crucial environmental and ecosystem area (Wu 121).

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Also, the South and East seas have islands which China perceives as strategic and

productive. They can serve as good naval bases and through them, China can have jurisdiction

over the neighboring waters. Such islands include Spratly, Macclesfield, Pratas, Paracel and the

Scarborough Shoal. Therefore, China seeks ownership over the seas to boost their projecting

military power and to form outposts from which she can defend herself from other countries such

as Taiwan (Wu 179).

The south and east china seas are important for the pride and prestige of china. Chinese

leaders perceive china as an economic heart thus purpose to make it stronger both on land and sea.

The fact that most Chinese decisions rely on public view make it difficult to settle the sea disputes

since the people do not understand the compromises that should be made. China claims the

ownership of the south sea in the effort to achieve its extensive maritime ambitions and global rise

(Wu 144).

China has no legal treaties that allocate offshore lands to her to support their maritime

claims. Therefore, many china leaders tend to think that the international society is taking

advantage of China’s past weaknesses to take up its resources thus a potential conflict. Following

the productivity of the seas, the following countries claim territory over the area; China, Indonesia,

and Taiwan claim Natuna islands, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam claim ownership of the gulf of

Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and China claim the Spratly islands (Wu 246).

Work Cited

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Wu, Shicun. Maritime security in the South China Sea: regional implications and international

cooperation. Routledge, 2016.

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