Comprehensive Review of International Relations and the Peace of Westphalia

International Relations (IR) Definition: International Relations is defined as the study of the behavior and interactions of international agents.
International Agents: These are entities that comprise the international community. They include:
- States: The primary political entities in the global system.
- Multinational Corporations (MNCs): Companies that operate in multiple countries.
- International Organizations (IOs): Formal institutions such as the United Nations or the World Bank.
- Individuals: Singular human actors who can impact global politics.

Physical and Demographic Scale:
- The world's population exceeds $7 \times 10^9$ (7 billion) people.
- The total landmass is approximately $130 \times 10^6\,m^2$ (130 million square meters).
Political Organization: The world is divided into political entities known as countries or States.
Absence of Central Authority: A defining characteristic of the international system is that there is no central authority uniting or overwatching these States.

Political Fragmentation: Before the year $1648$ , Europe and the rest of the world were organized into various kingdoms, cities, and villages, each possessing different kinds of authority.
Lack of Norms: There were no established rules or practices to protect these entities from interference by outsiders.
External Imposition: The authority of a powerful kingdom would frequently extend to smaller locales, imposing specific rules and religions upon them.
The Holy Roman Empire:
- This was an agreement among kingdoms in the territories of what are now Germany, France, Italy, and other regions.
- Its goal was to unify Europe under the authority of the Catholic Church.

Conflict Origins: The push for unification by the Holy Roman Empire led to the Thirty Years' War.
Central Issues: The war was fought primarily between Protestants and Catholics.
Core Dispute: The central issue of the conflict was the authority of the Catholic Church versus the local autonomy of various regions.

Signing and Location: The Peace of Westphalia consists of a series of peace treaties signed in October $1648$ .
Geography: The treaties were signed in the northwestern German cities of Osnabr%C3%BCck and M%C3%BCnster, located in the Westphalia region.
Historical Significance: This event marked the end of the Thirty Years' War ( $1618%E2%80%931648$ ) and the birth of independent countries or States as we recognize them today.
New Political Order: It established a foundation based on three pillars:
- Sovereign States: The creation of the modern State system.
- Religious Freedom: Allowing states to determine their own religious practices.
- Balance of Power: A system intended to prevent any single state from dominating others.

Westphalian Sovereignty: The Peace of Westphalia introduced the concept of sovereignty to international law.
Exclusive Authority: States were granted exclusive authority over their own territory and domestic affairs.
Domestic Control: This authority explicitly included the right to choose the state religion.
Non-Interference: Sovereignty dictates that no other State should interfere in the internal affairs of another independent country.

Reading Requirement: Students are required to read pages $1-31$ of the course materials.
Task 1: Answer the Critical Questions found on pages $30-31$ .
Task 2: Provide a written response to the following question: "Which $3$ international events have shaped international relations the most since $1648$ to the present?"
Deadline: The assignment is due exactly $1$ week from today.
Supplemental Resource: A video resource explaining the Peace of Westphalia can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuYby8kLBtw