Bull's framing of Westphalia as an anomaly rather than destiny feels spot-on when you look at how sovereignty is actually practiced today. What's interesting is the parallell between medieval merchant guilds and modern tech platforms - both operating across territorial lines with their own governance structures. Ran into this recently when dealing with platform disputes; the state's legal framework felt almost irrelevant compared to the platform's T&Cs. The"overlapping authorities" concept explains why so many governance debates feel incoherent now. We're arguin within a Westphalian mental model while living in a neomedieval reality.
Bull's framing of Westphalia as an anomaly rather than destiny feels spot-on when you look at how sovereignty is actually practiced today. What's interesting is the parallell between medieval merchant guilds and modern tech platforms - both operating across territorial lines with their own governance structures. Ran into this recently when dealing with platform disputes; the state's legal framework felt almost irrelevant compared to the platform's T&Cs. The"overlapping authorities" concept explains why so many governance debates feel incoherent now. We're arguin within a Westphalian mental model while living in a neomedieval reality.
Order was promised for loyalty.
Power dispersed. Allegiance fractured.
We live among many sovereignties.