Nation -State System

INTRODUCTION:
The history of the nation-state system starts with the political
consciousness of man. The term nation refers to a common ethnic and
cultural identity shared by single people while state is a political unit
defined in terms of territory, population, organized government, and
sovereignty. Thus, a nation-state is “A pattern of political life in which
people are separately organized into sovereign states and interact with
one another.

History of Nation-State System:

 Prior to the 500s, nation-states did not exist in Europe.

 People used to identify themselves with their region or feudal

lord.

 Feudalism was not only an economic system but also a

political system

 After Crusades’ wars,, European soldiers returned home with

tales of the wealthy Muslims.

 This led to the development of trade routes b/w East & West,
later on towns and cities began to develop along these routes.

 Over time, these towns started demanding independence from

local lords
Rise of the Modern Nation-State System

 During the 16th and 17th centuries, Holy Catholic Church

was ruling the West.

 But, few kings wanted to have control over religious affairs

to get absolute power.

 In England, Henry VIII broke away from the Pope and

established an independent Protestant church in the 1530s

Thirty Years Sectarian War 1618-1648

 The war involved almost entire Europe, including Germany,

Austria, Sweden, France, and Spain.

 Protestants defeated Catholics.

 Treaty of Westphalia 1648 ended the war. The Treaty of

Westphalia stated;

 “sovereign ruler of a state has power over nation and state,

including religion.”

 Resultantly, England, France, Germany, and Spain shook the

pope and became nation-states.

 The Treaty of Westphalia was meant to settle conflicts,

especially conflicts over religion.
  Pope regarded this treaty as a „Sin‟.

 Over the course of time, NSS evolved, brought democracy,

int. Law, diplomacy, mutual trade etc

Evolution of Modern Nation-State System:

(1). Westphalia to Utrecht (1648-1713):

During this era conflict between the UK, France, Holland and Spain
raised colonial supremacy. France faced great loss due to the coalition
of the UK and Austria on the question of Spanish succession.

(2). Utrecht to Vienna (1713-1815):

The conflict between France and Austria took place. Fredrick the
Great of Persia enforced France, Austria and Russia to form an
alliance. The UK made an alliance with Prussia. Due to these
alliances, the seven-year war of 1756-1763 took place. Under
Napoleon France became dominant but soon was defeated by the
combined efforts of the UK, Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden. As
a result, the Vienna meeting of 1815 restored the balance of power in
Europe.

(3). Vienna to Versailles (1815-1919):

During this period various states emerged in the world. This period is
known as the Pan-Britannica because during this period Britain
maintain a greater balance of Power in Europe. In 1854-56, Russia
threatened Britain’s autonomy in the region during the Crimean War
and in 1870-71, Germany displaces France and established her
supremacy in the continent during the Franco-Persian War. After
1913, the decline of Turkey’s Caliphate and Spanish power gave rise
to many nation-states. China also emerged as a power after defeating
Japan.

(4). Versailles to Present:

As a result of the hash principles of the Treaty of Versailles, Nazism

in Germany, Fascism in Italy and Communism in Russia emerged
which disturbed the entire world by bringing WWII. Resultantly,
many British colonies got independence and became nation-states.

Rights and Duties of States:

 Sovereignty and independence of states

 Equality of states
 Territorial jurisdiction
 Right to self-defence and self-preservation
 Power exclusively to control its own domestic affairs
 Power to admit or expel aliens from the state
 Privileges and immunities of diplomatic agents in other states
 Exclusive jurisdiction over crimes committed within its
territory.
 HUMAN RIGHTS
A right may be defined as something to which an individual has a
just claim. The American Declaration of Independence states that “all
men... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This
is a brief statement about human rights in contrast to civil rights.
Human rights are those that individuals have by virtue of their
existence as human beings. The right to life itself and the basic
necessities of food and clothing may be considered fundamental
human rights.
Civil, or legal, rights are those granted by a government. The right to
vote at age 18 is a civil right, not a human right (see Civil Rights). In
the course of the 19th and 20th centuries there was a broadening of
the concept of human rights to include many rights formerly
regarded as civil.

HISTORICAL.BACKGROUND

The term human rights came into common use only after World War
II. It was made current by the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, published in 1948. As a term human rights replaced
natural rights, a very old concept, and the related phrase rights of
man, which did not necessarily include the rights of women.

Most scholars trace the origin of the concept of natural rights to

ancient Greek and Roman thought. In the literature and philosophy
of both Greece and Rome there are abundant statements
acknowledging laws of the gods and of nature, and such laws were
understood to take precedence over laws made by the state.
The human-rights concept, however, can actually be traced to an
earlier period. The Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament by
Christians) relates the story of ancient Israel, and in it are abundant
inferences about human rights. There is no well-developed statement
on the issue, but there are significant scattered passages that give
clear evidence of a point of view at least as advanced as Greek and
Roman philosophy. The Ten Commandments, by the prohibition of
murder and theft, give implicit recognition of the right to life and
property. This recognition is considerably broadened by later
elaboration of the laws and by the passionate discourses on justice
by such prophets as Amos.

If the concept of human rights is very old, the general recognition of

their validity is not. Throughout most of history, governments failed
to accept the notion that people have rights independent of the
state. This is called statism, and it implies the supremacy of the state
in all matters pertaining to the lives of subjects. Statism is still a
potent concept in the 20th century. Germany under Adolf Hitler and
the Soviet Union during the rule of Joseph Stalin are prime examples,
and there are other equally valid instances that still exist.

The modern development of the human-rights concept began during

the late Middle Ages in the period called the Renaissance, when
resistance to political and economic tyranny began to surface in
Europe. (For a survey of the historical development, see Bill of
Rights.) It was during the 17th and 18th centuries, a period called the
Enlightenment, that specific attention was drawn by scientific
discoveries to the workings of natural law. This, in turn, seemed to
imply the existence of natural rights with which the state should not
be allowed to interfere.

By the time of the American and French revolutions, a complete

turnaround had taken place in the relationship of governments to
human rights. The point of view elaborated by the American
Founding Fathers, as well as by the French revolutionaries, is that
government's purpose is to protect and defend rights, not to
dispense or exploit them. James Madison went so far as to assert
that “as a man is said to have a right to his property, he may equally
be said to have a property in his rights.” And further, “Government is
instituted to protect property of every sort.” The Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen (France, 1789) states that, “Men are
born and remain free and equal in rights,” and “The aim of every
political association is the preservation of the natural and
inprescriptible rights of man.”

Such advanced views of human rights were not without their critics.
From the end of the 18th century through the third decade of the
20th, outspoken and influential theorists attacked the human-rights
concept. Edmund Burke in England denounced what he called “the
monstrous fiction” of human equality. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham
stated that only imaginary rights can be derived from a law of nature.
These thinkers were joined, in the course of 100 years, by Bentham's
disciple John Stuart Mill, the French political theorist Joseph de
Meistre, the German jurist Friedrich Karl von Svaigny, the Austrian
philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, and others. By 1894 the British
writer F.H. Bradley could exalt the concept of statism by saying: “The
rights of the individual today are not worth consideration. . . . The
welfare of the community is the end and is the ultimate standard.”

The critics, however, were going against the tide of history. In the
United States and many parts of Europe, there was distinct progress
in the development of human rights. These instances might not have
been sufficient without the laboratory of human rights abuse that
Nazi Germany provided for all the world to see. The appalling crimes
against humanity, most evident in the extermination of millions of
people in concentration camps, horrified the civilized world and
helped bring human rights to their present level of acceptance
(see Genocide; Holocaust).
Definitions

The general acceptance of human rights led to a widespread

agreement on certain fundamental assumptions about them: (1) If a
right is affirmed as a human right rather than a civil right, it is
understood to be universal, something that applies to all human
beings everywhere. (2) Rights are understood to represent individual
and group demands for the sharing of political and economic power.
(3) It is agreed that human rights are not always absolute: they may
be limited or restrained for the sake of the common good or to
secure the rights of others. (4) Human rights is not an umbrella term
to cover all personal desires. (5) The concept of rights often implies
related obligations. Thomas Jefferson noted that eternal vigilance is
the price of liberty. Therefore, if individuals would maintain their
freedom, their duty is to guard against political, religious, and social
activities that may restrict their rights and the rights of others.

Acceptance of fundamental assumptions has not lessened

disagreement on which rights can be classified as human rights.
Historically the debate has been carried on about three categories:
individual, social, and collective. Individual rights refers to the basic
rights to life and liberty mentioned in the Declaration of
Independence. Social rights broadens this concept to include
economic, social, and cultural rights. Collective, or solidarity, rights
has come into prominence since the end of World War II, the collapse
of old colonial empires, and the emergence of many new nation-
states. These particular forms of rights are best described by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Individual rights.

These rights were best described by the 17th- and 18th-century

political theorists—such men as John Locke in England, Montesquieu
in France, and Jefferson and others in the United States. They are the
rights to life, liberty, privacy, the security of the individual, freedom
of speech and press, freedom of worship, the right to own property,
freedom from slavery, freedom from torture and unusual
punishment, and similar rights as spelled out in the first ten
amendments to the United States Constitution. Basic to individual
rights is the concept of government as a shield against encroachment
upon the person. Little is demanded from government but the right
to be left alone. Government is not asked for anything except
vigilance in safeguarding the rights of its citizens.
Social rights.

This concept of rights grew out of the socialist and Communist

criticisms of capitalism and its perceived economic injustices: low
wages, long working hours, unsafe working conditions, and child
labor, among others. Social rights make demands on government for
such things as quality education, jobs, adequate medical care, social-
insurance programs, housing, and other benefits. Basically they call
for a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of the
individual and the family.

Collective rights.

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948. It urged the right to
political, economic, social, and cultural self-determination; the right
to peace; the right to live in a healthful and balanced environment;
and the right to share in the Earth's resources. It also pledged the
rights of life, liberty, and security of person—the basic human rights.