A01=Daniel Philpott
Activism
Advocacy
Algeria
Anti-imperialism
Author_Daniel Philpott
British Empire
British West Africa
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
Cambridge University Press
Category=JBCC9
Category=JPA
Category=JPHC
Category=JPS
Central Africa
Christendom
Christian state
Colonial empire
Colonial Office
Colonialism
Colony
Communism
Criticism
Decolonization
Early modern Europe
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Foreign policy
Governance
Government
Great power
Head of state
Holy Roman Empire
Ideology
Imperialism
Institution
International law
International organization
International relations
J. (newspaper)
Jean Bodin
Kenya
Legitimacy (political)
Marxism
Metropole
Middle class
Nationalism
Peace of Westphalia
Political science
Politician
Politics
Politique
Polity
Prerogative
Princeton University Press
Protestantism
Regime
Revolution
Self-determination
Skepticism
Sovereign state
Sovereignty
Soviet Union
The Sovereign State
Theocracy
Thirty Years' War
Treaty
Uncertainty
University of California Press
Vichy France
War
Wealth
Westphalian sovereignty
Woodrow Wilson
World Politics
World War I
World War II
Product details
- ISBN 9780691057477
- Weight: 510g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 25 Feb 2001
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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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.
Daniel Philpott is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has published on such topics as self-determination, sovereignty, and ethics and international relations.
