2 Origin and growth

The modern system is usually traced to the peace settlements of the seventeenth century, which replaced a hierarchy of religious authority with a society of sovereign states. From there: the Congress of Vienna regulated diplomacy and rivers; the Hague conferences of 1899 and 1907 produced the laws of war; the League of Nations attempted collective security; and after 1945 the United Nations Charter prohibited the use of force and created a standing court.