Beyond Westphalia
Why should the prince decide "whose religion"?
I was planning to share this piece yesterday, written by my friend Paul Seaton for Law & Liberty. (And yes, edited by me.) Its subject matter is of great relevance to Christendom Reborn as the attentive reader will easily see. But I spent the day with my kids instead, which isn’t really a bad thing, but I’m now going to post it anyway with just a quote and a recommendation to read:
The Treaty of Westphalia is rightly said to have inaugurated a new international order in Europe, precisely with its legitimatization of absolute territorial sovereignty, expanding upon the principle of cuius regio, eius religio—that is, the modern state system. And Will Morrisey, in his Regime Change: What It Is, Why It Matters, argued that fledgling America sought to escape the Westphalian conception with a new understanding of liberal republican government. While such claims are not the full story of the modern State, they provide precious contexts and pointers. They point us to things we may take for granted and thus fail to appreciate or even consider. What exactly is this strange beast, this new form of political authority?
Read the piece to get more. Planning to post my America 250 essay later today.