Tags
American Democracy, American GOP, American Reactionary Putsch, Medieval v. Modern, Meme Mike Johnson, modern democracy, Peace of Westphalia, political absolutism, political modernity, political power, Power of Kings, Traitorous GOP
Suzie Qz posted this on X today as appropriate to Trump’s #RevoltingGOP and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s role in the reactionary subversion of America’s guiding principles and values:
The response that came to me yielded two additional:
If you would be passionate about the survival of American democracy, be at least curious about the Thirty Years War and the Peace of Westphalia that served to end it while also revolutionizing European diplomacy, redefining the assumptive principles of sovereignty, and forever modifying relationships between powers and the management of their affairs beneath an umbrella greater than themselves. This one treaty would then set a part of the stage for America’s own revolutionary departure from the power known to kings.
Before the Westphalia settlement, there was no recognizable diplomatic profession. Spies, irregular envoys, and heralds citing scripture or handing out ringing declamations were the usual route that princes chose to alert one another to the start of war. After Westphalia, the diplomatic craft was practiced by a kind of well-born guild, with members who were adept at melding reason, precedent, and law with quiet allusion to the implication of armed compunction.
Nathan, James A. Soldiers, Statecraft, and history: Coercive Diplomacy and International Order. 1 ed. Westport CT: Praeger Publishers, 2002 — cited: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=the_histories–Patton, Steven. “The Peace of Westphalia and its Affects on International Relations, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy.” The Histories 10:1 (91-99), 2019.
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