We need a new world order of obligation to other nations

A country’s right to autonomy can no longer define international relations, because what happens there affects everyone else, says Richard N Haass.

For four centuries, since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years’ War in Europe, the concept of sovereignty — the right of countries to autonomy — has formed the core of the international order.

And for good reason: As we have seen in century after century, a world in which borders are forcibly violated is a world of instability and conflict.