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Westphalian System and the Concept of (3) Effective government
Nation State (4) The capacity to entire into relations
with other states.
First identification of ‘nation-state’ days
back to the Peace Treaty of Westphalia, signed The convention, and the law at that time,
in 1648, which ended the 30 years of religious viewed states as a kind of legal entity operating
wars in Europe. The concept of Nation-State was and existing under its own authority and power.
and is associated with the rise of the modern Article 3 of this convention provides, “The
Westphalian system of states in the world. This political existence of the state is independent
system is based on the principle of international of recognition by the other states. Even before
law that each state has sovereignty over its recognition, the state has the right to defend its
territory and domestic affairs, to the exclusion integrity and independence, to provide for its
of all external powers, on the principle of non- conservation and prosperity, and consequently
interference in another country’s domestic to organize itself as it sees fit, to legislate upon its
affairs, and that each state no matter how large interests, administer its services, and to define
or small is equal in international law.
the jurisdiction and competence of its courts”.
The narrow definition of nation state Article 6 of the same convention states that, “The
presumes the existence of the “one nation, recognition of a state merely signifies that the
state which recognizes it accepts the personality
one state” model. Consequently, less than 10%
of the other with all the rights and duties
of states in the world meet this criteria today
determined by international law. Recognition is
due to the presence of minorities. According
to a wider working definition, a nation-state unconditional and irrevocable”.
is a type of state that conjoins the political There is a debate taking place in the
entity of a state to the cultural entity of a international legal world over whether or not
nation, from which it aims to derive its political satisfying the Montevideo criteria alone is enough
legitimacy to rule and potentially its status as a to be a state or if recognition is also necessary.
sovereign state. The concept of a nation-state The two main doctrinal views in the present day
can be compared and contrasted with that world for this case are known as the declaratory
of the multinational state, city-state, empire, and constitutive theories of statehood
confederation, and any other state formations; (Davids, 2012)
key distinction being the identification of a
people with a polity in the nation-state. The Declarative theory of statehood,
Statehood defines a state as a person in international law if
it meets the criteria mentioned in the Montevideo
The Statehood plays an important role convention. It however fails to adequately
in the International Law when empowering describe the creation of “States” in international
states with ‘Legal Personality’ which has the practice, as there are entities in the world that
authority to file cases at the International ‘de facto’ satisfy the criteria of the Montevideo
Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court convention but do not benefit from the rights that
of Justice (ICJ) and to be accepted for entering come with such a status due to lack of recognition.
into International agreements. The criteria One example is the nominally Moldovan territory
for the creation of a new state in the legal of ‘Transnistria’. Constitutive theory of statehood,
lens was introduced through the ‘Montevideo defines a state as a person in international law,
Convention on Statehood’ in 1933 and indicates only if, it is recognized as sovereign by other
following requirements for a state. states. This theory also has lapses as it fails to
(1) A permanent population, explain why certain entities that have received
(2) A defined territory, numerous recognitions yet, are not considered
as states and also raises the question of how
Westphalian System and the Concept of (3) Effective government
Nation State (4) The capacity to entire into relations
with other states.
First identification of ‘nation-state’ days
back to the Peace Treaty of Westphalia, signed The convention, and the law at that time,
in 1648, which ended the 30 years of religious viewed states as a kind of legal entity operating
wars in Europe. The concept of Nation-State was and existing under its own authority and power.
and is associated with the rise of the modern Article 3 of this convention provides, “The
Westphalian system of states in the world. This political existence of the state is independent
system is based on the principle of international of recognition by the other states. Even before
law that each state has sovereignty over its recognition, the state has the right to defend its
territory and domestic affairs, to the exclusion integrity and independence, to provide for its
of all external powers, on the principle of non- conservation and prosperity, and consequently
interference in another country’s domestic to organize itself as it sees fit, to legislate upon its
affairs, and that each state no matter how large interests, administer its services, and to define
or small is equal in international law.
the jurisdiction and competence of its courts”.
The narrow definition of nation state Article 6 of the same convention states that, “The
presumes the existence of the “one nation, recognition of a state merely signifies that the
state which recognizes it accepts the personality
one state” model. Consequently, less than 10%
of the other with all the rights and duties
of states in the world meet this criteria today
determined by international law. Recognition is
due to the presence of minorities. According
to a wider working definition, a nation-state unconditional and irrevocable”.
is a type of state that conjoins the political There is a debate taking place in the
entity of a state to the cultural entity of a international legal world over whether or not
nation, from which it aims to derive its political satisfying the Montevideo criteria alone is enough
legitimacy to rule and potentially its status as a to be a state or if recognition is also necessary.
sovereign state. The concept of a nation-state The two main doctrinal views in the present day
can be compared and contrasted with that world for this case are known as the declaratory
of the multinational state, city-state, empire, and constitutive theories of statehood
confederation, and any other state formations; (Davids, 2012)
key distinction being the identification of a
people with a polity in the nation-state. The Declarative theory of statehood,
Statehood defines a state as a person in international law if
it meets the criteria mentioned in the Montevideo
The Statehood plays an important role convention. It however fails to adequately
in the International Law when empowering describe the creation of “States” in international
states with ‘Legal Personality’ which has the practice, as there are entities in the world that
authority to file cases at the International ‘de facto’ satisfy the criteria of the Montevideo
Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court convention but do not benefit from the rights that
of Justice (ICJ) and to be accepted for entering come with such a status due to lack of recognition.
into International agreements. The criteria One example is the nominally Moldovan territory
for the creation of a new state in the legal of ‘Transnistria’. Constitutive theory of statehood,
lens was introduced through the ‘Montevideo defines a state as a person in international law,
Convention on Statehood’ in 1933 and indicates only if, it is recognized as sovereign by other
following requirements for a state. states. This theory also has lapses as it fails to
(1) A permanent population, explain why certain entities that have received
(2) A defined territory, numerous recognitions yet, are not considered
as states and also raises the question of how
