Should States Ever Interfere in the Affairs of Other States?
Is the intervention of one state in the affairs of another ever justified? Do states have a moral duty or a legal right to interfere? Where is the line drawn? This essay will observe some of the answers to these and other questions surrounding the interference of one state in the affairs of others. It will also distinguish between interference and intervention and consider the conflict between these issues and sovereignty. Furthermore, it will examine different types of intervention and pro- and anti-intervention arguments to try to determine whether states are ever justified in interfering in the affairs of other states.
The Westphalian Constitution of world politics based on the peace treaty of Westphalia in 1648 formed the foundation for the international system of states we know today. It outlined three main principles: firstly, territoriality - humankind is organized principally into exclusive territorial (political) communities with fixed borders. Secondly, sovereignty - within its borders, a state or government has an entitlement to supreme, unqualified, and exclusive political and legal authority. This is also called political self determination. Lastly, autonomy: countries are autonomous containers of political, social and economic activity in that fixed borders separate the domestic sphere from the world outside. Based on the Westphalian constitution, and further developed by the UN Charter , the general rule is that a state should never interfere in the affairs of other states because the international state system is based on state sovereignty.
A sovereign state, as a political authority, has no internal equal and no external sovereign. Sovereignty is absolute, pertains to the ruler (in a dynastic system – in the modern system the ruler can change without affecting the state’s sovereignty), and is perpetual, meaning it doesn’t expire with its holder. It can also be seen as the legitimate exercise of power by a state. Modern sovereignty is the
The Westphalian Constitution of world politics based on the peace treaty of Westphalia in 1648 formed the foundation for the international system of states we know today. It outlined three main principles: firstly, territoriality - humankind is organized principally into exclusive territorial (political) communities with fixed borders. Secondly, sovereignty - within its borders, a state or government has an entitlement to supreme, unqualified, and exclusive political and legal authority. This is also called political self determination. Lastly, autonomy: countries are autonomous containers of political, social and economic activity in that fixed borders separate the domestic sphere from the world outside. Based on the Westphalian constitution, and further developed by the UN Charter , the general rule is that a state should never interfere in the affairs of other states because the international state system is based on state sovereignty.
A sovereign state, as a political authority, has no internal equal and no external sovereign. Sovereignty is absolute, pertains to the ruler (in a dynastic system – in the modern system the ruler can change without affecting the state’s sovereignty), and is perpetual, meaning it doesn’t expire with its holder. It can also be seen as the legitimate exercise of power by a state. Modern sovereignty is the
Bibliography: Accessed from http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml on 05.01.2010 Vincent, R.J.: Nonintervention and International Order (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1974) Cited in: John Baylis and Steve Smith. The Globalization of World Politics: An introduction to international relations, Third Edition, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) Chapter 18 – The United Nations, Paul Taylor and Devon Curtis Walzer, Michael: Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations Third Edition (New York: Basic Books 2000)