In a chapter, “The Issue of non-interference”, in his book “Southeast Asia in Search of an ASEAN community“, Rodolfo Severino, a former secretary general of ASEAN, asserts that that this concept has its underpinnings in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia which put an end to the eighty years of war between the Dutch and the Spanish. He writes…
“What is more significant for the future of international relations and thus, of mankind is that it conferred sovereignty on the nations of Europe over their respective territories, largely freeing them from the Holy Roman Empire…..It also guaranteed in much of the continent religious liberty and tolerance at least for the three major branches of Christianity – the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran and the Calvinist.”
This short passage, taken I must emphasize in its own context, made me reflect on how ironic it is that after some 300 years, the European nations have sought to come together again under the European Union, allowing interferences in many areas that were once considered sovereign issues. By and large this can be seen as matured response to the realization that people everywhere are independent on each other, and such effects cannot be insulated by national boundaries. Environmental issues probably provides the most fertile ground for examples of such interdependence.
Will the history of mankind continue to feature phases or integration and splintering in whatever form, or are the current moves towards integration a permanent feature of the world going forwards? Will national boundaries that divide people be replaced by other divisive concepts…wealth status, religion, political social ideologies?
As I read more of the book which in many parts dwelt on the diversity of the ASEAN region, I began to fell more strongly that the issue of non-interference should not merely merely focused on sovereignty issues but more on those of multiculturalism and tolerance for the diverse values systems and beliefs. The principles of non-interference should like the Westphalia Treaty guarantee religious liberty and tolerance for different value systems.
Emphasis of sovereignty issues may be appropriate with the presumption that there will be in every democratic nation a majority of people that share common values and beliefs.
Globalization, the free movement of people and the increasing demassification of citizens to smaller interest groups may well challenge this in the future. Just as there exist the Global Economic Governance Organizations like the IMF, World Bank, WTO etc, social and religious groups may increasingly forge stronger links with fellow members around the world.
Indeed national governments will have in future to give more credence to the views and principles of global organization whether they be business transnationals, social and religious orders, standards bodies, or governance organizations.
