Introduction and Overview

Abstract

In 1648, after decades of internecine war, the powers of Europe sought to bring an end to the violence that had ravaged their kingdoms. This moment in the history of international relations has come to be known as the Peace of Westphalia, and it is here that we find the intellectual foundations for the modern conception of sovereignty. Much has changed, however, since Westphalia with some of the most dramatic changes occurring during the latter half of the twentieth and opening decades of the twenty-first centuries. New moral and practical challenges faced by the international community have emerged because of the growing interdependence that has accompanied these changes.Westphalian sovereignty seems ill-suited for such a pervasively interdependent world. This apparent conflict between respect for sovereignty and the moral and practical demand that the new challenges facing the international community be addressed has caused many to question the continued relevance of sovereignty. Somewhat surprisingly, given the significance of sovereignty to contemporary international law and relations, there has been scant rigorous philosophical inquiry focused on sovereignty itself. This book is, in part, an effort to fill this gap. This chapter provides insights into, and an overview of, the argument to follow.