Early State Societies & Westphalia

• Early state societies were composed of nomadic, hunter-gatherer groups
• These groups were typically no larger than extended family networks
• Permanent settlements laid the groundwork for civilization's development
• Empires rose and played a role in the rise of Western Civilization and the concept of the Polis

Political Entities Before the 17th Century

• Political entities were defined by the power of ruling elites and/or religion before the 17th century
• Territory was divided into shifting and ambiguous units, such as city-states, duchies, and principalities
• There weren't independent countries with demarcated, recognized boundaries

Treaty/Peace of Westphalia (1648)

• The Peace/Treaty of Westphalia codified the concept of the sovereign nation-state, ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648
• The Peace of Westphalia established two key principles regarding state relations: sovereignty (internal and external) and collective security

Balance of Power in the 18th Century

• International and domestic 18th-century politics was characterized by social stratification, having a gap between rulers and subjects
• Warfare during this time was limited, fought with limited means and objectives
• France aimed to dominate but the Balance of Power (BOP) system counteracted French expansion

Imperialism and Colonialism

• Rulers expanded to acquire resources in Europe or overseas through imperialism and colonialism
• Great Britain and France were the main competitors for colonial dominance during the 18th and 19th centuries after the decline of the Spanish and Protuguese

End of the Ancien Régime

• The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a pivotal period in European history, characterized by the replacement of the absolute monarchy with republicanism
• The Revolution was caused by a debilitating debt accumulated during the American War of Independence
• France was proclaimed a republic in 1792
• Two political ideologies that inspired the Revolution were liberalism and nationalism

Concert of Europe

• The Concert of Europe aimed to maintain the peace settlement of the Congress of Vienna, which followed the defeat of Napoleonic France
• The leading European nations of Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia aimed to prevent revolutions and restore Europe to its pre-French Revolution monarchial status quo
• Disharmony in the Concert arose from the clash between collective security and the self-interests of the great powers
• Political ambitions motivated each of the five great powers, which undermined ideological consistency

Balance of Power: Napoleonic Era

• Napoleon's defeat in 1815 was followed by the Concert of Europe
• The Concert aimed to maintain peace and prevent revolutions
• The leading nations were Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia
• Disharmony arose from clashes between collective security and the self-interests of great powers

19th-Century Developments

• No major war occurred for the remainder of the 19th century
• Violence within states over nationalism and liberalism led to the fragmentation of empires
• The Industrial Revolution drove globalization
• New technology and economic factors pushed for globalization and the search for colonies
• Bismark helped unify Germany in 1871 and nationalism spread

World War I

• World War I had six main causes: German expansion, the rigid alliance system, shifts in the economic strength of major powers, nationalism challenging empires (especially in the Balkans), colonial rivalries, and the cult of the offensive

Wilson's 14th Point Speech

• The speech identified the causes and reasons for the US entry into World War 1
• It proposed possible solutions to prevent future wars

Treaty of Versailles

• The Treaty of Versailles marked the end of World War I, imposed responsibility and war reparations on Germany
• Germany's naval forces were confiscated
• Rhineland was demilitarized
• Dealt with war crimes
• It established the League of Nations

World War II: Causes

• World War II had these 5 causes: German, Italian, and Japanese expansionism, fascism, shifts in economic strength of major powers, and the Treaty of Versailles terms that were too harsh

The Cold War

• The Cold War was a struggle between conflicting universal values
• The Western Bloc supported free market economies and multi-party democracy
• The Eastern Bloc believed in single party statism and command administrative economy
• It was a power struggle among major states after WWII
• The USSR and USA were divided by great power competition and ideological differences
• By the 1950s, it created a bipolar power structure enforced with nuclear weapons
• Western nations wanted liberated Eastern European states with democracy and capitalism
• A democratic system and capitalist economy were viewed civilized and less violent than nationalism
• Josef Stalin and Russia sought control to protect their borders, due to the invasions by Germany

The Containment Policy

• The US began to implement the Containment Policy in 1947
• The policy was attributed to State Department official and past Ambassador to Moscow George Kennan
• The policy focused on the Soviet's intentions and what the US should do

National Security Council Memorandum No. 68

• Kennan's successor Paul Nitze saw the USSR as a military threat rather than a political challenge
• Nitze created the National Security Council Memorandum No. 68
• It called for political, economic, and psychological warfare by the West against the Soviets, and a strong military system to counter the USSR

End of the Cold War

• Perestroika and glasnost
• The Containment Policy factored into the end

This lesson covers early state societies, their composition, and the shift from nomadic groups to permanent settlements. It also discusses the political entities before the 17th century and the significance of the Peace/Treaty of Westphalia in establishing the concept of the sovereign nation-state.