Summary History of International Relations
Chapter 1: great powers rivalry and the World War
After the Congress of Vienna, there was a hundred year peace based on Great Power
management of international politics and moderation in the pursuit of self-interest. The
peace was only broken in 1853-1856 (Crimean war) and in 1859-1871 (Italian and German
unifications).
The Great Powers before WW I were the UK, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
Power was determined by multiple factors:
Size of population
Territory
Finance
Industrial output
Diplomacy: while most countries only exchanged ministers with each other, the
Great Powers exchanged ambassadors
Power is heavily subjected to perceptions. It is not something one possesses, but a
relationship: A exercises power over B when A gets B to do something it would not
otherwise do.
Another reason why it’s misleading to focus only on the hard components of power is that
the instruments of power in one context do not necessarily work in another (example: UK
had a hard time defeating the poorly equipped Boers during the Second Boer war).
Concert of Europe = a system of collective Great Power supremacy and security designed to
contain international violence and to prevent another hegemonic threat
The Great Powers agreed to maintain the balance of power because:
A breach would provoke a self-defeating backlash
Adherence meant security, status and control
A major change by 1900 was the rapid pace of modernization: political, social and economic
life moved from the control of the elite to become subject to wider influences from the
people
Long-term causes of WW I included:
The rigid system of alliances (Triple Agreement between Italy, Germany and Austria-
Hungary, Entente Cordiale between UK, France and Russia)
The arms races (naval arms race between UK and Germany)
The war plans that created the illusion that a swift victory would be possible
(Schlieffen-plan: to prevent a war on two fronts with France and Russia, Germany
would have to defeat France quickly. Because the Franco-German border was heavily
fortified, Germany planned to move through Belgium and capture Paris ‘in three
weeks’. Then, Germany could focus all its attention on Russia)
Chapter 1: great powers rivalry and the World War
After the Congress of Vienna, there was a hundred year peace based on Great Power
management of international politics and moderation in the pursuit of self-interest. The
peace was only broken in 1853-1856 (Crimean war) and in 1859-1871 (Italian and German
unifications).
The Great Powers before WW I were the UK, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
Power was determined by multiple factors:
Size of population
Territory
Finance
Industrial output
Diplomacy: while most countries only exchanged ministers with each other, the
Great Powers exchanged ambassadors
Power is heavily subjected to perceptions. It is not something one possesses, but a
relationship: A exercises power over B when A gets B to do something it would not
otherwise do.
Another reason why it’s misleading to focus only on the hard components of power is that
the instruments of power in one context do not necessarily work in another (example: UK
had a hard time defeating the poorly equipped Boers during the Second Boer war).
Concert of Europe = a system of collective Great Power supremacy and security designed to
contain international violence and to prevent another hegemonic threat
The Great Powers agreed to maintain the balance of power because:
A breach would provoke a self-defeating backlash
Adherence meant security, status and control
A major change by 1900 was the rapid pace of modernization: political, social and economic
life moved from the control of the elite to become subject to wider influences from the
people
Long-term causes of WW I included:
The rigid system of alliances (Triple Agreement between Italy, Germany and Austria-
Hungary, Entente Cordiale between UK, France and Russia)
The arms races (naval arms race between UK and Germany)
The war plans that created the illusion that a swift victory would be possible
(Schlieffen-plan: to prevent a war on two fronts with France and Russia, Germany
would have to defeat France quickly. Because the Franco-German border was heavily
fortified, Germany planned to move through Belgium and capture Paris ‘in three
weeks’. Then, Germany could focus all its attention on Russia)
