TABLES AND FIGURES ix
PREFACE xi
PART ONE: REVOLUTIONS IN SOVEREIGNTY 1
ONE Introduction: Revolutions in Sovereignty 3
TWO The Constitution of International Society 11
THREE A Brief History of Constitutions of International
Society in the West 28
FOUR How Revolutions in Ideas Bring Revolutions in Sovereignty 46
PART TWO: THE FOUNDING OF THE SOVEREIGN STATES SYSTEM AT WESTPHALIA 73
FIVE Westphalia as Origin 75
SIX The Origin of Westphalia 97
SEVEN The Power of Protestant Propositions 123
PART THREE: THE REVOLUTION OF COLONIAL INDEPENDENCE: THE GLOBAL EXPANSION OF WESTPHALIA 151
EIGHT Ideas and the End of Empire 153
NINE The End of the British Empire: Cashing Out the Promise of Self-Government 168
TEN Revolutionary Ideas in the British Colonies 190
ELEVEN Britain's Burden of Empire 203
TWELVE The Fall of Greater France 220
PART FOUR: THE REVOLUTIONS CONSIDERED TOGETHER 251
THIRTEEN Conclusion: Two Revolutions, One Movement 253
NOTES 263
BIBLIOGRAPHY 309
INDEX 331

How did the world come to be organized into sovereign states? Daniel Philpott argues that two historical revolutions in ideas are responsible. First, the Protestant Reformation ended medieval Christendom and brought a system of sovereign states in Europe, culminating at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Second, ideas of equality and colonial nationalism brought a sweeping end to colonial empires around 1960, spreading the sovereign states system to the rest of the globe. In both cases, revolutions in ideas about legitimate political authority profoundly altered the "constitution" that establishes basic authority in the international system.
Ideas exercised influence first by shaping popular identities, then by exercising social power upon the elites who could bring about new international constitutions. Swaths of early modern Europeans, for instance, arrived at Protestant beliefs, then fought against the temporal powers of the Church on behalf of the sovereignty of secular princes, who could overthrow the formidable remains of a unified medieval Christendom. In the second revolution, colonial nationalists, domestic opponents of empire, and rival superpowers pressured European cabinets to relinquish their colonies in the name of equality and nationalism, resulting in a global system of sovereign states. Bringing new theoretical and historical depth to the study of international relations, Philpott demonstrates that while shifts in military, economic, and other forms of material power cannot be overlooked, only ideas can explain how the world came to be organized into a system of sovereign states.

Daniel Philpott is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has published on such topics as self-determination, sovereignty, and ethics and international relations.