The peace of Westphalia and religion in the context of the evolution of public law in Europe

Abstract

The article describes the consequences of the «post-secular turn» in social sciences, in particular, in the history of law and the theory of international relations as applied to the study of the Congress of Westphalia and the Peace Treaty of 1648. The author shows how new approaches in the international theory (from realism to constructivism and neorealism) contributed to the criticism of the «secular myth of Westphalia». The author considers new perspectives on the religious issue at the Westphalian Peace Congress in terms of the evolution of public law in Europe. Westphalia is seen as a set of religion ideas, which caused a revolution in the concept and practice of sovereignty and Westphalia as the last Christian Peace. The article discusses the role of the legal principles of religious freedom and the confessional truce of the XVII century in the formation of the Westphalian system of security guarantees in Europe. The changes in the role of the Pope in international law during and after the Westphalian negotiations and the consequences of the Treaty for protestant and catholic conditions are indicated. The study reveals how various Christian denominations participated (ideologically and politically) in the Westphalian negotiations, while discussing the «special case» of Orthodoxy, taking into account the diplomatic rapprochement of Moscow, Stockholm and Paris before the Westphalian Peace Congress.