The Treaty of Westphalia, Versailles and Peace and Amity - Literature review Example

International Law and Security al affiliation International Law and Security Summary Of treaties Treaty of Westphalia The Treaty of Westphalia was signed on the 24th of 1648 to end a thirty year long war in the Westphalia region in West Germany. The war was one of the most devastating wars in Europe. It was a series of connected wars that started in 1618. The war which was mostly fought in the German territory resulted in the land being left reduced to desolation. In December 1844 a convention was opened in Osnabruck and Münster with the aim of ending the war. Approximately one hundred and sixty four countries represented by one hundred and ninety-four plenipotentiaries were involved in the convention. In the treaty, Ferdinand III was stripped off all the powers he had bestowed on himself in contravention of the Holy Roman Empire constitution. This meant that the choice of religion was left for the rulers of German states. Also, Catholics and Protestants were now recognized as equals and Calvinism was legally recognized. The primary tenants of the treaty include Christians in regions where the faith was not established by the church being allowed to practice their faith. Secondly, the parties involved were to recognize the 1555 peace of Augsburg. It meant that each prince had the freedom to choose the religion of his land. Treaty of Versailles 1919 The Treaty of Versailles was signed in Versailles, France between the Allies and Germany. The treaty came after the end of the First World War and over showed the Russian revolution. The treaty was officially signed on 28th June 1919 after a long time of negotiations and arguments among the representatives of America, France and the Great Britain. They were later came to be known as the big three. In his view, David Lloyd George the Great Britain’s representative, the communist style of leadership in Russia was spreading, and it was paramount to punish Germany in a way that she would prevent communism from spreading into the rest of Europe. However, as a politician he had to appear tough on Germany in order to remain in office. France’s representative Georges Clemenceau, saw that for Germany not to start another war, it had to be brought to its knees. Woodrow Wilson the American representative, was to the opinion that Germany should be punished in a way that Europe will reunite. Wilson wanted America’s input in Europe to be minimized and the country to concentrate on itself. The treaty demanded that Germany should accept the responsibility of starting the First World War and the damages that resulted from it. She therefore ha to pay reparations to the countries affected. It was then that the League of Nations was formed. Treaty of Peace and Amity The United States of America and Japan treaty of peace and amity was signed in 31st March 1854 by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry the U.S representative and Shogunate’s representative Hayashi Fukusai. Treaty required the two countries to maintain peace, the Shimoda and Hakodate sea ports to be opened, and shipwreck crews to offered assistance. When the treaty came into force in 1855, it ended the long running Japan’s policy of seclusion. The United Nation Charter The United Nations Charter was signed in June 26th 1945 in Francisco. It later came into force on 24th October 1945. An important part of the charter is the International Court of Justice. The primary goals of the charter were to maintain world peace, revive faith in human rights, promote equality among men and women and also among big and small countries, and promote social development and improve the standards of living. The charter also aims at establishing a condition where nations would respect treaties signed among them. Treaty of Treaties The Treaty of Treaties also Known as the Treaty of Vienna was signed on May 23rd 1969 and came into force on 27th January 1980. The treaty was formed on the basis of the integral role played by treaties in international relations, and their role as a source of international laws. The primary goal of the treaty was to maintain world peace by ensuring that each nation respects the terms of the treaties signed among them and any disputes arising from them to be resolved through peaceful means. The League of Nations The League of Nations was formed after the end of the First World War. It was to be situated in Geneva, Switzerland because Switzerland was a neutral in the war. If a conflict arose between countries the League of Nations was to act as the mediator and call on the two countries to solve the issue peacefully. On the occasion that one country is found to be the offender verbal sanctions were imposed on it. If the states do not comply with its rule on the matter economic sanctioned are to be issued and on the event they failed to yield the desired effects the league imposes physical sanctions. However, the league had jurisdictions over only the members of the convention Power can be soft or hard. Soft power is defined as the application of cultural and ideological means by a political body like to indirectly influence the practice or behavior of other political organizations. The concept of power is explained as the ability to make others act in accordance with your wishes. Soft power involves convincing others by enticing them with ideologies and culture. According to Nye (2011), soft power is not necessarily influential. The reason is that in some cases, influencing falls under the category of hard power. Nye argues that if an individual is convinced to change his or her opinion without the use of threats or arguments but simply through attraction then soft power is being exercised. According to Researchers, the successful application of soft power is dependent on an individual or a nation’s reputation. On the other hand, hard power is the use of threats, military strength, or economic incentives to convince the other party to behave in a certain way. According to the realist school of thought, power is seen as the possession of physical resource that includes population, natural resource, military strength, territory, and a stable economy (Nye, 2011). Therefore, hard power involves the application of these elements to coerce others. Cultural diplomacy is the exchange of culture, ideas, values, and other aspects of identity to promote social-cultural corporations, enhance relationships, or to advocate national interests. The current crisis and conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a good example of a situation where force was used on the basis of the international law and relations. The crisis involves countries across the European Union and the United States of America. The Ukraine-Russia conflict does not only touch on domestic issues but also numerous international matters that are traced across the entire globe. The center of the whole conflict is Crimea. Russian-supported separatists have taken control of the region. The Russian Parliament also proposed a referendum that would make the Crimea region part of the Russian territory. The region has a population of approximately two million three hundred thousand people. A majority of this population identify themselves as ethnic Russian (Simons & Westerlund, 2015). To trace the roots of the conflict, one can go back to 2013 when President Yanukovych preferred to forge close ties with Russia as opposed to signing a free trade agreement with the European Union. This sparked demonstrations by the Ukrainian citizens and in response the government adopted the anti-protest laws. The laws were later dubbed dictatorial rules. A day before abandoning his post, President Yanukovych signed an agreement that aimed at solving the civil unrest in the country. France, Germany, and Poland had sent their foreign ministers to witness the signing of this agreement between the president and the opposition. The agreement recommended fresh presidential elections, constitution reforms, and the formation of a government that promoted national unity. At that time, there were already many casualties resulting from clashes between government forces and protesters. After days of deliberations, the Ukrainian parliament resolved that President Yanukovych abandon his post; parliament subsequently took over the presidential authority until the next elections. These events preceded the later unrests in Crimea. Divisions grew among the residents of Crimea with some who considered themselves ethnic Russians wanting the region to be recognized as part of the Russian territory. The other part of the population was against the move and advocated the area remaining to be a part of Ukraine. Pro-Russian protestors demanded the Crimea parliament to conduct a referendum that would rejoin Crimea with Russia. The protests later expanded and evolved into armed confrontations between the Ukrainian government forces and the Pro-Russian protestors who received support from the Russian government. Religion also plays a role in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Because Crimea is situated between the Christians (Catholics) in the west and non-Christians in the east, Russians saw it as the key to the unification of the human race. The Russian president has revived his 19th-century way of thinking. On the other hand, as the conflict continues to develop, the Orthodox Churches in Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a war of words. In 1991, when the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke off from the Russian leadership, tension between the two churches wore off. However, this tension has now escalated with both churches assuming active roles in the Crimea conflict. Additionally, forces within the Ukrainian Orthodox Church expressed their desire to return Ukraine to the Russian control and have created a lot of divisions in the church (Glatz, 2014). It is a fact that a majority of the population living in the contested Crimea region consider that they are Russians by ethnicity and language. The presence of these people in Crimea has played a significant role in pushing for the region’s secession from Ukraine’s authority. There are several political reasons for Russia’s interest in Crimea. First, Crimea is a source of pride for the Russians as it is where their soldiers showed their bravery in the Crimea war. Secondly, the naval base in Sevastopol represents Russia’s only warm water military base. Also, it is the country’s only means of exercising its power over the Mediterranean. Additionally, several allegations suggested that it is through the port that Russia has been supplying Bashar al-Assad with military and humanitarian assistance during the Syrian civil war (Schwartz, 2014). Majority of Russia’s gas pipelines pass through Ukraine to Western Europe. This fact makes Ukraine and Russia relations very crucial. The European Union imports fifty-four percent of its energy. A quarter of this is from Russia’s gas and petroleum. The dependence of European countries on Russias oil and gas is shown in the way they reacted to the annexation of Crimea. The European Union issued sanctions and formed a commission that was to research on how they would reduce their dependency on Russia. Although the conflict between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea has not affected the flow of gas, it resulted in the increase in gas prices across Europe. The gas prices have had a ten percent increase since the beginning of the conflict. It is predicted that Russia will continue to use gas prices as a means of controlling the Ukrainian politics. It also uses it to put its geopolitical attractions in Crimea ahead of the international community’s views and the interactional law (Chow, 2013). Legally, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has found its way into the European Court of Human Rights. Ukraine has presented complaints about the events that took place in the eastern region of its territory and Crimea. The cases are based on the military support that Russia gave separatists and the annexation of Crimea. Ukraine also claimed that Russia violated the European Human Rights Convention by supporting the annexation of Crimea. The Ukrainian government argued that Russia violated this convention by supplying military aid to separatists who exercised torture and violated the rights to life. Due to numerous difficulties in the ruling of such cases, the conflict has yet to find its legal resolution. The conflict has also resulted in threats to territorial security, military security, and economic security of the region. The conflict has threatened the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territories. Russia has clear intentions of make Crimea part of its nation and has offered military equipment and training to separatists in Ukraine. This also represents the threat to Ukraine’s military security. As the separatists receive more military support, they become more powerful in challenging the Ukrainian authority in Crimea. Finally, there are clear economic impacts that have resulted from the conflict. They can be seen through the increase in gas prices across Europe to the economic sanctions imposed by America and the European Union on Russia. References Chow, E. C. (2013). Ukraine and Russian Gas – The Never Ending Crisis. Retrieved from http://csis.org/publication/ukraine-and-russian-gas-never-ending-crisis Glatz, K. (2014). How Russia and Ukraine War is Being Fought in Churches. Retrieved from http://www.worldreligionnews.com/issues/russia-ukraine-conflict-fought-church Nye, J. S. (2011). The Future of Power. New York, U.S: Perseus Books Group. Schwartz, P. N. (2014). Crimeas Strategic Value to Russia. Retrieved from http://csis.org/blog/crimeas-strategic-value-russia Simons, G. & Westerlund, D. (2015). Religion, Politics and Nation-Building in Post-Communist Countries. Surrey, U.K: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Read More