Summary European History PDF

lOMoARcPSD|11463819 European History - summary European History (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 Class 2→ French Revolution ● 1) Context of Rev (1789-1815)...

lOMoARcPSD|11463819 European History - summary European History (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 Class 2→ French Revolution ● 1) Context of Rev (1789-1815) ○ England: Glorious Rev 1688-1689 ■ Abdication of Catholic king, replaced by Protestant king bc of fighting among religious groups– big change! ■ Breach w/tradition of “divine right to rule” ● If a catholic king could be replaced, then no kingship/monarchy could be unconditional (monarchy/king doesn’t come from deity but comes from the people instead) ○ American Rev 1775-1783 ■ USA free from Britain– showed B isn’t all powerful, right to freedom + self determination ■ Rights of representation for the people + revolt against “unjust” rule ● → Two large preceding revolutions w/big impact around the world (spread through media, embassies, common people) ● Locke: Two Treatises of Government 1689 ○ 2 Main Ideas: ■ No government can be justified by one’s appeal to the divine right of King’s (no monarchy through divine rule: gets power from the people) ■ Legitimate governments need to be founded on the consent of the governed (people need to agree to be governed/their gov) ○ Social contract theorist→ justification for the “state” ■ State of Nature: rational man (people are rational, we can find ways to live together and form gov– we don’t need some supreme power to do this, can work together to elect representatives) ■ Civil gov founded on popular sovereignty: representation that comes directly from the people/popular vote (bottom up) ● France Context ● 1) Economics– financially bankrupt ○ Louis 14th (Sun King, power from God, the center of the world that everything else revolves around, center of universe, natural) mass spending = Palace of Versailles ○ French campaign in support of USA Revolution (bc France wanted to weaken/oppose England: expensive) ○ 7 Year War (Eng/Fr) = loss of many colonies (NA, Louisiana, Caribbean, trading posts in India…) ○ Poor harvest, famine, already harsh taxes (to finance wars) + income inequalities Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● 2) Politics– struggle w/”parlements” ■ Provincial parlements VS Louis 16th ○ Parlements = provincial courts who held the right to appeal to the king’s decisions (despite his supreme authority) but these courts acted a bit like checks + balances ○ Louis 16th inherited (from sun king) the struggle w/the parlements/provincial courts who disagreed w/his decisions + laws ■ “Parlements” = source of resistance against absolutists rule = provincial courts of appeal (judiciary power, the only ones who could challenge the King’s decisions/divine power through appeals) ● Jacques Necker = controller-general of Finance (finance minister) to deal w/economic hardship + help king regain control over economic situation ■ Publicly published what the king was spending money on ■ People were ANGRY bc they saw how lavishly/expensively the elite were living (king was angry too!) ○ Necker = critical of tax exemptions for nobility + clergy ○ He was in favor of borrowing money abroad instead of increasing taxes on (already high and overdone) taxes on the common people ■ Louis 16th didn’t like this bc it would indebt him to other countries/he would have to give up some of his power (king fires Necker) ● Gamble of Louis 16th: 1787-1788 ● → the king proposes a “land tax” on all land-holders (including the nobility) ○ The nobility did NOT want this because they didn’t want to pay taxes/weren’t used to paying taxes (normally the burden of the commoners) ○ = Assembly of Notables rejects the King’s proposal ○ → King Louis 16th tries to bypass their rejection by calling for a meeting of the Estates-General ● Ancien Regime in France (king has divine right to rule) ■ Demographic growth: in 1780 population has increased by 5-8 million (more people to feed/manage, more lands to arrange) ■ Agricultural nation: 80% of population lives in the countryside, only 8 cities, Paris = 650,000+ people, rural + agricultural population ■ Non-Industrialized: agriculture was 75% of all production, low productivity w/old methods, small estates passed down through inheritance laws, farming failed to keep up w/population growth, large-scale farming was only present around Paris ■ Geography: jigsaw of land bc of inheritance laws, 1664: Saint-Domingue , 1770: Corsica Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ Famine: poor harvests in 1780’s, 88 harsh winter followed by floods, food shortages in cities, ban on food exports, rising bread prices (bread is an essential part of food for poor people but is now VERY expensive for daily unskilled workers) ● Ancien Regime Politics: King ruled w/Divine Right ○ There were some restrictions on the king’s power through moral + divine laws, customs, principles of administration ○ King’s council = decision making, consultation (yes-men: basically just agreed w/him) ■ Parlements = “Droit de remontrance: : power to appeal to royal edicts ● 15th C + = right to elect 3 deputies per town (type of representation: a noble, a church persona, a burgess) ● 13 parlements from v uneven districts ● Paris Parlement = only court that was somewhat critical of the King ○ Parlements = a growing challenge to the King’s divine rights SO the King’s start doing stuff to go against that challenge ■ 1667: Louis 14th weakens the right to appeal: later bans all “unrespectful appeals: gets rid of any method for people to go against him/his decisions ■ 1766: Louis 15th “flagellation” (power is mine alone & through only my authority that the law is enforced, public order comes from ME) speech in Paris Parliament: ● Reminds the parliaments of his divine right to rule! ● Reduces practice to a 1 time appeal + only short delay of royal edicts (no actual veto) ■ 1771: “Coup de Majeste” = reform of justice system, strictly defined system of appeals ○ Louis 16th: restores the right to appeal in a quest for popularity, but rising use of those appeals against his edicts challenges his authority ● Absolutist Rule = No constitution ○ The king had the right to govern by god ○ Precise codes + rules varied across regional courts (legal pluralism) but no legal uniformity across France ● Customary laws + written laws implemented differently in each part of the country ■ Intendancy System ● Great centralization of power through a system of provincial intendants (not hereditary!) appointed by the King Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● These people had supervision + enforcement of the King’s will ● Power over policing, financing, justice (like the 3 branches) ● French: 3 Estates ● 1) Prayer: Catholic Clergy ○ All property (5-10%) of the land was owned by the clergy + thus tax exempted ○ Moral authority, told common people what to do/believe ● 2) Military: Nobility ○ Total monopoly over higher administrative, military functions, higher church offices… ■ Very connected to structures of power ■ Owned 25% of the land ○ Exempt from most taxes!!! Paid some but only a little, insignificant ■ Provide security, fight wars in France/for french interests, protect borders ● 3) Work: Commoners ■ Everyday people who do the work to keep the country running (servants, craftspeople, teachers, cooks, drivers) ■ Made up biggest portion of the population ○ Big diversity within the workers: the capitalist bourgeoisie VS the skilled workers/craftsmen : different socio-economic classes within the workers ○ 80% of the overall French population = Farmers! ○ Tax duties were paid by the workers to maintain the state (but often the bourgeoisie had exemptions to these taxes, so poorest people paid them!) ● 3 Estates – different from Class System ■ Rigid Socio-economic and political structures BUT! ○ Estates are not the same thing as socio-economic groups ■ Some bourgeoisie were richer than some nobility in 2nd estate ■ Some nobles in 2nd estate were also capitalists in 3rd estate (traders, commerce) ● → bc there was crossover among estates it’s not a class system ○ Opportunities for social mobility ● You could move among estates! ■ Nobility titles could be purchase ■ Nobles of the robe (functionaries) VS nobles of the sword (traditional, hereditary, nobility) ■ When bourgeois acquired enough $$$, they would often leave the commerce trade to buy land + a hereditary office to qualify for noble status ● Inter-marriage between classes happened Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● Not a fixed/closed system~ ○ Gray area between bourgeois + aristocracy ■ → bourgeois lacked a shared class consciousness: wanted to become nobles and join the higher classes instead of overthrowing them ● Estates-General: legislative body ● → legislative/consultative assembly of the three estates together ○ = advisory body to the King ○ Presented petitions (cahiers) from the 3 estates (especially about money policies) ■ Late 15th C: elective character (third estate/commoners) was incompatible w/the divine right of kings ○ Met not very often and only at the King’s intuitive/request ■ 1614 = last meeting … then in 1789 ● 1789: Estates-General Meeting ● → first meeting of the EG since 1614 and provides opportunities for: ○ Widespread political participation! ○ All male taxpayers over 25 years are invited to elect their deputies (3) ○ Representation: deputies present cahiers de doleances (lists of grievances) ● → majority of the people are in favor of the King/his decisions ○ BUT debate quickly turns to the organization of the estates-general (role of representation and rules of meeting) + the source of sovereign power ■ First baby steps to creating legal order/ procedures/ loose constitution where people can invoke their personal rights ● Sovereignty from “above”: King’s divine right to rule ● Sovereignty from “below”: from the people ● Discussion on fair representation in Estates-General: ○ 1) Parliament of Paris decision: same organization + proceedings as in 1614, vote by estate (not by numbers!)-- so clergy and nobility will vote together against workers ■ One vote from the clergy, one vote from the nobility, one vote from the workers: 1 vote per estate BUT clergy + nobility often vote together bc of their shared interests so against workers (2 to 1 vote system) ○ 2) “Doubling of third estate” as a counterbalance ■ 3rd estate = 80% of overall population ■ 3rd estate = 610 deputies (workers) ■ 2nd estate = 291 (nobility) ■ 1st estate = 303 (clergy) Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● → more fair!/representative ○ 3) Continued critique of/Third Estate ■ Workers were not happy (bc of 2 to 1 voting, no substantial changes made) ○ After this critique the first & second estates wanted to convene in three separate meetings: we all meet and elect on our own = “vote by estate” ○ BUT even in this way the third estate will still be the weakest → doesn’t accept “vote by estate” wants instead a “people’s assembly” where everyone all gathers + votes together (collective deliberation) ● Tennis Court Oath (1789) ● The 3rd estate declares itself the Nationalist Assembly of People (1789) ● → third estate members constitute themselves as a legitimate authority equal to that of the King ○ Want a new constitution and a new parliament, a new order ○ Directly demand to end the absolutist rule ○ They are there by the will of the people + will leave tennis court only by force ■ Regime change/overthrow!!! ○ 1 week later = huge support for Nationalist Assembly across France ■ → the royal party gives in :) ■ July 1987 = reform as the National Constituent Assembly ● Storm Bastille (July 14, 1789) ■ Spread from the elites to the masses ■ Bastille = prison holding political prisoners who had opposed the King (stronghold/symbol of the symbol of the king) ● Political unrest: troops stationed outside Versailles (after Bastille storming) ○ Mobs, riots, support of French Guard ○ Rise of republican + anti-royal sentiment ○ Peasant Revolt (bc of inequality!) ● August 4: National Assembly = “abolition of feudalism” (give people the right to their property, end of servitude) ● August 26: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen ○ Equality before the law (no one has right to divine power/rule) ○ Freedom from imprisonment for no reason ○ Financial equality (shared equally based on ability to pay (taxes, wealthy pay more)) ○ Freedom of thought, opinion, religion (will lead to separation of church & state) ● People = the source of sovereignty Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Enfranchisement of “active citizens” (15% of population, people can now take a role in government and making decisions) ○ King’s powers are reduced to a veto over legislation that can suspend but not fully overturn laws :) ● Women’s March on Versailles (Oct 5, 1789) ● Marketplace riots over the price + scarcity of bread ■ Increase of prices on bread, riots in markets (workers/consumers) in anger over prices ○ Women joined by constitutional reformers: all frustrated w/King’s refusal to accept the early reforms (to his power/laws) ○ They March to Versailles assisted by the French Guard: invade the palace & King is forced to return to Paris from Versailles ■ Symbolic meaning that the power and the wealth of the king is not actually super strong: he’s just a normal person ● Weakened position of the King! ○ King accepts the August decrees & declaration of the rights of man + and the citizen ○ Break up “monarchist” & “anti-royalist” revolutionaries→ someone is trying to fill the vacuum of power, still struggles between different groups, monarchists refuse to join the National Assembly in Paris ■ There isn’t a unity around this issue, everyone has their own interests and wants to get power for themselves ■ Groups who fought together against King now fight each other as both trying to get power 2) Three Phases of Revolution ● The Moderate Stage (1789-1792) ● 1791: Constitution of France (king = “King of the French” and representative of the French citizens instead of King of France, the people are the ones who own France) ● 1791: first gathering of the National Assembly ● Main impact → begin to restructure relations between the Church and the State (begin to separate spheres of power, what each can do) move away from absolutist power ○ Sale of Church Lands: to pay off state debt + government officials ■ Members of the assembly & administration are payed in paper bills (assignants) to be used in public auctions ■ To help recovery from impoverished period bc clergy did NOT need all that land! ○ Limitation of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ A civil constitution for clergy members put into place in 1790 = clergy will be paid by state salaries (clergy in administrative order of the state) ● The clergy doesn’t have absolute power and is now regulated by the state ■ Oath of Loyalty = to the Civil Constitution = recognition of a civil moral authority over God ● Leads to tensions with Roman Catholic Church ● Growing Conflict Among Revolutionaries! ○ Girondins (from Gironde) : moderate political group ■ Middle class representatives = greater ties to the provinces + city centers ■ In favor of security, stabilization, economic liberalism (NOT revolution!) ● In favor of a popular vote (referendum) to overturn legislation ○ Montagnards (mountain): radical political group ■ Middle class representatives of Parisian constituencies: close relations to the Parisian movement ■ In favor of maximum prices (food/rent) ■ In favor of continued socio-economic or political reform, success really depended on sans-culottes ● AGAINST popular vote (bc it would favor the interests of the rural population instead of themselves) ○ Not happy with the new system, wanted to overturn it :) ● Conflict intensifies: growing fear of counter-revolution ○ Political refugees mobilize the support of friendly royal families (austria, prussia) + the Pope ○ 1791: “Flight to Varennes” : King Louis 16th makes a failed attempt to flee from France ● Radicalization ○ April 20 1792: declaration of war from France on Austria + Prussia ○ August 1792: Paris Commune ○ People storm Versailles & imprison the royal family ○ Prisoners (suspected of treason in palace) are murdered ○ Call for early elections (restructures) and a new republican constitution ● Creation of the Republic (S-D 1792) ○ Louis 16th is tried for treason and executed Jan 1793 ● The Radical Stage (1793-1794) ● 1793= France is in military conflict w/all of its neighbors Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ France wants to expand→ other European countries are scared of this and thus growing support for war against France, other countries form coalitions to fight the French ■ Fear of regicide in other countries ■ France has annexed + started to occupy other areas in Europe ■ France had invested lots of $$$ in military→ 450,000 standing men in the army (huge!) ● Tensions between groups culminate in Reign of Terror ○ Girondis purged from Convention/gov = expulsed or prosecuted ○ Kill Marie Antoinette & all royalists ● Implement popular demands ○ Price control on goods + rents (set maximum price limits) ○ Mass conscription: creation of revolutionary armies (to stop counter-revolution) ○ Robespierre = radical, one of the people in charge of reign of terror, he thought terror was necessary for order ● The Directory Stage (1795-1799) ○ Coup: Thermidorian reaction ■ Robespierre was denounced as a tyrant and killed! (kill power vacuum) ■ White Terror: massacre of supporters of Robespierre ■ Return of 71 surviving Girondins, strengthened their movement ● Shift towards moderate republicanism ● “La politique de bascule” → to retain legitimacy, a constant balance ○ Principles of popular sovereignty ■ VS ○ Control of the masses ● Institutional Design for Stabilization ○ Voter requirements that restrict who can vote/# of people who can vote ■ 2 legislative councils! ● Council of 500 & Council of Ancients → w/veto power ○ New legislative terms of 3 years now; each year ⅓ of the parliamentary seats are up for election ■ “The Directory” → 5 member executive body, serve for 5 years, replaced every year ● Separation of powers: Directory has no say in legislation, highly dependent on parliament for budgets ○ 1799: Coup de Brumaire Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ Ineffective, corrupt government ■ Strengthening of executive branch! ■ Government of 3 counsels (Napoleon!) ● The Age of Napoleon (1800-1815) ■ Victorious general/fighter, lots of hope in him ● First Consulate (1799-1805) ● Plebiscitary dictatorship = universal male suffrage but had a limited impact due to indirect voting ■ → let everyone vote but the French were voting into 4 different scales of election: your elected reps elect other people, so your initial vote kindof lost in translation, little democratic weight) ○ Control of executive over the Legislative chambers: appointed Senators, repressed opposition, legislation was initiated by the Consulate ○ Expansion + growing centralization of public administration ○ Control over workers; workers’ passport/employment record (to contro) ○ Public education (literacy, control over future political elites) ● From 1805-1815 → Napoleon appointed (by referendum) as hereditary Emperor ● 1802 Treaty of Amiens: brought peace but Napoleon failed to meet the criteria of the peace treaty (withdrawal from territories beyond the Alpine + Rhine frontiers) ○ → led to Napoleonic wars (1802-1814) ■ Coalition of allied forces against France to stop them (enemy of my enemy is my friend) ● 1812 Invasion of Russia – failed bc of winter, 175,000 soldiers died ● Cost: 7 million people died in Napoleonic wars :( 3) Legacy of French Revolution! ○ From ancient regime absolute monarchy → Napleonic empire/dictatorship ● Economics ○ Private land ownership was restructured by the the sale of the Church lands ○ 10% of land came to new owners: but the bourgeoisie profited the most (not the commoners!) ○ Nobility still owned 20% of the land ■ Liberalization of the market : guilds abolished, more people could participate in selling, customs done away with ○ BUT: French economy was mainly still pre-industrial, most of the people were still tied to cultural land/rural areas, farming: revolutionary wars slowed down industrialization Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 Politics ● 1) Popular Sovereignty ○ No more divine rule: now reason + justification for those in power ○ Government was now on a permanent quest for legitimacy (from the people) ■ Power of the government comes from below ● 2) Creation of Public Sphere ○ Public education + growing literacy levels, creation of political organizations + clubs, rise of the press ○ Enlightenment ideals: liberty, equality, are circulated to broader common audiences ■ Political mobilization of the working class population!!! ● 3) Secularization: process of separation church + state ○ Give Church autonomy in religious matters but has loyalty to the State in worldly matters (oath of clergy) ○ Limitation of Church’s worldly powers through State salaries/subsidy ● 4) Nationalism ○ Needed symbols of identification to bind French people together ■ La Marseillaise ■ Tricolor flag ■ Louis XIV renamed as “King of the French” ● 5) Inequality ○ Disenfranchisement of the poorest people (paying taxes) ■ Women finally granted important civil rights! ■ Women had the right to inherit now, but under Napoleon patriarchal authority was restored and women weren’t allowed to organize/have cubs ○ Olympe De Gouges: “Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen” 1791 ● 6) Inequality Race/ethnicity ● Enlightenment ideals (equality, rights) VS racism ● Slavery was restored under Napoleon: trying to restart colonial commerce ○ Ex: Haitian Slave Revolution (1791-1802) – wanted to be counted as French citizens with full rights (French basically said they were animals, NO) Class 3→ Conservatice Backlashes ● 1) Explaining French Rev ○ Big famine, disproportionate tax reform, influence of ideas about popular sovereignty + right to organize, need to delegate powers (king), regulating a form of decision making in the form of an assembly, fall of ancien regime system: culminated in collapse of monarchy Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ Political process but much more social results + implications of French Rev ● 1) Marxist interpretation→ class competition (bourgeoisie against nobility) ● 2) The victory of the Enlightenment→ popular sovereignty, reason + rights ● 3) Linking social and ideational theories→ changing income and wealth patterns and strategies/rates of upward mobility: reshape dominant beliefs about power + governance/who gets to rule Marxist Interpretation of FR ● Main Idea: FR was a class struggle (like any revolution) of a class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the nobility ○ The industrial proletariat (working class) were pushing the bourgeoisie to more “left wing positions” ■ There is a continuous + defining characteristics of these social struggles and social structure which is the conflict based group ■ The system of production affects societal structure + dominant beliefs/ideologies ○ A constant struggle/conflict between classes and class systems = this conflict is essential to change + revolution ○ The conflict is a result of class consciousness (bc people know about the differences between the wealthy/poor and the powerful/powerless) which is a catalyst for evolution! ○ Bourgeoisie dominance = a capitalist society, plurality of conflicts replaced now by a duality struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat ● BUT invalidated by historical evidence: ● 1) False distinction between the “feudal aristocracy” and the “capitalist bourgeoisie” and forgetting that there could be overlap ■ The Feudal system is already very weak in France!! ○ SO many noble privileges that the aristocracy, feudal bourgeoisie had were weakened (noble titles for sale by getting land/office) ● → SO not really separate economic classes, more of an overlap ○ Bourgeois were “budding capitalists”; they were more traders, land owners, public officials (also took part in the economy!) ○ Aristocracy invested heavily in trade + proto-industry ■ Revolution slowed down the process of industrialization (older methods) ● 2) Bourgeois lacked class consciousness ○ Bc of provinces and regional ties from the ancien regime, the people were prevented from forming a generalized/uniform class conscious: instead there was lot of variance across local cultures Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ Different laws, different values, no uniform structure of organization to help class consciousness develop/spread ■ Bourgeoisie more closely related to the nobles back then ○ SO class consciousness (bc lacking uniformity in ideas, norms, values) was actually NOT a catalyst for FR ● 3) Bourgeoisie didn’t actually really have revolutionary aspirations ● Rather they wanted to become like the nobility: buy noble titles or by climbing social ladder another way ■ Didn’t necessarily want to end the social hierarchy: they were in a pretty good position compared to the workers ○ Wanted to maintain the estates-system to allow them to show their upward social mobility + individual progress (preserve rank and order) Revolution as Victory of Enlightenment Ideas ● E= popular sovereignty, individual freedom + rights, freedom of speech, progress, reason ● Furet: FR was much more a conflict over the meaning + application of norms and ideas, about the new social contract and new forms of organization ■ Explains the radicalism of the 2nd stage though the idea of popular sovereignty ○ “Popular will” presumes a uniformity: cast suspicion,distrust on all potential differences/dissent/anyone who disagrees ○ Impact of Rousseau, Social Contract ■ The general will = “one and indivisible” has to be created ■ The general will = has to be executed not represented ● If we get rid of anyone who disagrees/dissents then we will have a general will of everyone left who agrees :) ● Baker: Inventing the FR ● Late 18th C: three competing discourses/discussions that led to FR ● Justice: social contract (constitution) as a form of protection against state domination(through taxes) or arbitrary(divine power) rule ● Equality: reasons/account giving by the gov (gov challenging divine right to rule ● Popular will: the people (not God) as the source of legitimate rule :) ○ Reign of Terror → a result of the rise of the “popular will” ideal in summer of 1789 ■ Revolutionaries were the ones who executed/understood the popular will + communicated it to the higher classes/the king ■ Dissent could’t be tolerated bc it would expose the fragility of the power base + undermine “popular” will Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● BUT: there’s little scholarly consensus on the Enlightenment being directly connected to revolution, and explanations instead highlight the autonomy of the ideas and leave out their social origins ○ Toynbee: skeptic, “new wine in old bottles” ■ Revolutionaries found a new source of legitimate authority (God now replaced by “the people”) ■ But there weren’t very many changes made to the estates-based system and the entrenched structures of oppression in that system (lower classes still lower classes) ● Instead just a slight readjustment of 3 levels of french society Linking social/Ideational theories on FR Causes (late 90s) ● 1) Focus on the interaction between political + social history ○ Rise of a mercantile class from 16th C+ ■ Changing economic relations and powers ■ Upward social mobility! ○ Accompanied by the spread of bourgeois beliefs: meritocracy! ■ Merit-based society (no longer hereditary system! Now work for the life you have) ■ reason/account giving from gov (no longer divine right to rule!) ● 2) Spread of meritocratic ideals helped facilitate the uptake of Enlightenment ideas (ex: popular sovereignty) 2) A Conservative Backlash to FR ● Continental Europe after FR: ● Regicide + replacement of monarchies by a republic in lots of countries ● Terror, prosecution, bloodshed ● Napoleonic Wars (1802-1815) → mass armies so mass casualties ■ Lots of changes from NW, killing of French monarchy, overthrow ancien regime = sends a powerful signal to other European royals, lots of conflict + bloodshed, unrest, European idea to renegotiate certain aspects of social contract in lots of countries: FR important for world + similar countries (Prussia, Germany, UK) ● Edmund Burke: for slow + steady change ■ Irish born, UK liberal, promoted US freedom + hated slavery ○ Predicted the radicalization of the reovultion and the “reign of terror” under Robespierre ● → would have preferred slower and less violent steady change Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● ● ● ● ○ Foundational contribution to European conservative thought/outlook on revolutions ○ “Change in order to preserve” 1) French Revolution = too radical divorce from its own past ○ English tradition of “constitutional monarchy” is the result of its own history; can’t simply be imported (works in UK but not in colonies bc diff history!) 2) Rights aren’t “universal” but actually originate from a particular context as the result of a particular history ○ “Rights of men” VS “rights of Englishmen” 3) Society = a historical edifice, not actually the product of human design ○ Resists Enlightenment optimism ○ Resists the belief that man/society can be “perfected” 4) Rights need to be balanced w/duties ○ Man is imperfectly rational + moral (passions, emotions, dependency) ○ Natural aristocracy→ to have the ability to place very needed constraints on the masses ■ Gov needs to police the passions/emotions of the people ● 2) Conservatism! ● → not reactionary (doesn’t want to reinstall AR, instead “change to preserve”) ○ “Change to Preserve” ■ Embrace modern elements to restore/stabilize (traditional) power and keep that traditional power ■ Modern bureaucracy + administrative centralization to maintain traditional power ● Public office = a way to appease the revolutionaries ● Centralization = gives heightened control + censorship Congress of Vienna (1815) ● Peace treaty: right after N wars ● France + Great Victors (Prussia, Russia, Austria, Britain) ● Delegations from Sweden, Spain, Portugal also present ○ 2 Main Goals: ■ 1)Restore international peace! ● Create a new balance/order among great European powers to prevent war ■ 2) Restore domestic stability ● Instrumentalism of monarchy dynasties (important!) ● Divine right to rule + family ties across Europe = mutual support Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Inter country/kingdom marriage to help restore domestic stability ● → France wasn’t really punished for Napoleonic wars/didn’t have big repercussions ○ In every peace agreement the losing side (France) generally comes out okay: generous territory restored ● Control of French power ○ Territory = reduced to 1792 size ○ 2 buffer states created! ■ Kingdom of netherlands (+Belgium) ■ Kingdom of Piedmont + Sardinia (Nice, Savoie, Genua) ● France → a reduced but still MAJOR European power! ○ Other countries were scared France would seek revenge ■ France had a huge army ○ If France broke up into multiple countries it could lead to the possibility of one country strengthening so much that it would in turn then become a threat Liberal Challenges (1830 Revolutions) ○ Context to the July revolutions in France ○ King Charles X→ restoration of the House of Bourbon to French throne ● March 1830 = parliament does “no confidence vote” against King + his Ministers ○ Charles X dissolves the Parliament, delays elections: even though the elections eventually confirm the opposition of the people to his rule ● July Ordinances: King reclaims his “divine right to rule” ■ Suspension of freedom of press, newly elected Chamber is dissolved, deputies can no longer make amendments to the Kings’ laws, commercial middle class are excluded from future elections ● Backsliding to old monarchy regime ○ → Protests, armed confrontations, police raids on press offices (bc French used to certain rights + freedoms now so they’re v angry! Decide to revolt!) ○ Charles X abdicated <3 (bc afraid of guillotine) ● Result of July Revolution→ people are scared there will be a renewed age of terrier under a Republic ○ SO they form a constitutional monarchy under Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orleans ■ Recognition of “popular sovereignty” ● Bourbon white flag replaced by people’s flag (tricolor) ■ “King of the French” = no law powers, limited executive authority ● Democratization!! ○ Chamber of Peers (Senate) → no longer hereditary positions but now a nominated house!!! Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Up to 200,000 men could vote by 1848 BUT still mostly wealthy men :( (who can prove they have a job and have been paying taxes) ■ Doubling of franchise for both! ● 1830 = Europe split ○ Conservative states ■ Russia, Habsburg empire, most of Germany, Italy ■ Poles revolt against Russian tsar, ruthless suppression ○ Liberal + constitutional states ■ Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, BE, Swiss cantons ■ Portugal = constitutional monarchy ■ Reactionary rev against Ferdinand VII in Spain ■ Belgian Rev = independence from Kingdom of Netherlands Radicalization ● 1830’s = a breach w/conservative order… but most revolutionaries were still liberals who were committed to constitutional reform +, like conservatives, the revolutionaries were anxious about the danger of social unrest (which could lead to losing some part of their power) ○ Urban works & peasants were still mostly disposed + disenfranchised (living bad lives) ● “Hungry Forties” (1845-1848) ○ Agricultural disaster!! ○ Irish potato blight ○ Big population growth (= starvation) migrated to US so as not to starve lmao ● “The Social Question” ○ Poor were living in extremely bad + awful conditions!!! ● BUT Poverty was still thought of as a sign of individual flaws + lack of morals ○ It’s people own fault that their poor bc they’re just not working hard enough ○ If the aristocracy can climb the social ladder you should be able to work harder + do it too ■ Alcoholism, vandalism, prostitution = immoral CAUSES of poverty instead of consequences (bruh) ● Policies reflected this bad attitude: ○ Able-bodied work forces should be discouraged from being idle ■ → set up public works for the unemployed in France ○ Nobles obliged: they start to do charity work (but without much structure or actual support for the poor) ● Endings of July Monarchy ● 1840s: social crisis & chronic political instability Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Agricultural + industrial crisis: workers’ rising up in demonstrations in Lyon, Paris ○ Multiple attempts to kill King Louis Phillipe ○ King refuses to do any social reform or any expansion of voting rights: he restricts political freedom ○ 1848: Workers revolution ■ End of French experiment w/constitutional monarchy ■ Return of the Republic ■ Universal male suffrage (all!!!) 1848 Revolutions (on exam) ● → the year of the revolution ● A series of political upheavals throughout Europe: ○ Widespread revolutionary wave ○ Led by ad-hoc coalitions of middle class people and workers ● Success: ○ Serfdom is ended in Austria + Hungary ○ End of absolute monarchy in Denmark ○ Universal male suffrage in France ● GB/Russia not affected: ○ Russia = absolute rule still, lack of public sphere (freedom of press), difficulty communicating across the country, not really affected by the springs, really massive country ○ GB = more about slow and steady change, powers of the king renegotiated much earlier than rest of Europe, different socio-political structure, some economic recovery so not as much need for revolutions ● The 1848 revolutions were really only successful in France (bc brought lots of changes) ● BUT also brought a lot of polarization + conflict among the revolutionaries ■ Disagreement! ● Liberals (democratique) → pro constitutional reforms, in favor of universal male suffrage, in favor of political and civil rights, primarily interested in economic freedom ■ The middle class aligned themselves w/the liberals in 1848! ● Radicals (democratique +social) → greater democratization and fundamental social reform, equality ○ Growing Alignment: ■ Conservatives fueled anxiety towards “workers militancy” → led to a dependence of the liberals on forces + popular support from the conservatives Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ Roll back of political liberties→ restrictions of press, forced closing of newspapers, repression of political clubs ● 1848 Rev/Springs Impact: ● → while it was a victory for conservative power, crucial steps in the process of democratization were made ● 1) a consolidation of the role of parliaments ○ Few liberal constitutions introduced in 1848 survived ○ Some formerly absolutist monarchies kept a form of parliamentary gov (Piedmont + Prussia) ● 2) Equality = abolition of serfdom in central E ● 3) Increased levels of political participation ○ Political parties, ideological families foundation ● 4) Gradual extension of the right to vote ○ France = reintroduction of universal male suffrage ○ Mid 19th C = gradual integration of the middle class, workers + peasants into the electoral system Class 4→ Peace & War ● Democratization Second Half of 19th C ● 1830s: Liberal Revolutions ● → revs were pushing for more guarantees of individual freedom (for bourgeoisie) ○ Only for middle class / bourgeoisie in several places around Europe ■ Wanted more individual rights + freedoms + liberties brought up in Enlightenment ○ Constitution as a means for limiting the state's power = a way to protect individual citizens against state domination/arbitrary use of power ● 1848: Working Class Revolutions ● → they were pushing for socio–economic reform and equal political rights ○ Wanted to be included in decision making, right to be represented in gov ○ Suffrage as a means of tax reform, worker-friendly legislation, socio-economic redistribution and welfare ■ Social and economic freedoms associated w/Suffrage: wanted suffrage to be extended to more than just those who paid taxes/owned land ■ ⇒ universal male suffrage (1 man = 1 vote) but if you have a job/good education you could always double your vote/have extra votes which gives you extra votes ⇒ this is in favor of conservative views/conservatives! ● But those who hold rights/power/can already vote do NOT want to include more people in voting bc they like the way things are/continuing to be in power: why would they extend suffrage to others? Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 Two Hypotheses ● 1) “The Revolutionary Threat” Hypothesis ● Argument: extension of suffrage results from a crisis → elite calculation → the loss of income that suffrage extension would entail is estimated to be less severe than the loss of income resulting from a revolution ○ Easier to grant certain voting rights to pacify certain groups in society (lose some but would lose even more in a revolution) ■ Ex: early british income inequality = 1832 Reform Act ■ BUT the countries where there’s a bigger gap between rich and poor were actually MOST resistant to granting suffrage because then the rich/those in power would lose even MORE: elites resistant to this ● 2) The “Political Competition” Hypothesis ● The threat of revolution is actually just 1 of the driving factors of Democratization ● Importance of the elite competition against variety of decision making powers of the Parliament ○ aristocracy = want weak parliaments so they could control still informal decision making ○ middle class = want a strong parliament to get control of decision making ○ Lower class = want suffrage + strong Parliament ■ ⇒ this means that the aristocracy can weaken bourgeoisie powers by extending suffrage (this will weaken the position of the middle class in Parliament!) ■ The elites can weaken worker representatives by adopting social reforms/ also restricting political freedoms ○ Survival ■ Countries tried to delay universal male suffrage as much as possible ■ When parliament is weak the aristocrats may consider introducing suffrage to discourage middle class people from trying to extend Parliament’s powers ■ Result of universal male suffrage = middle class becomes a minority in Parliament & then realizes it wouldn’t even help to try and extend the powers of Parliament (bc they won’t have power either way) ● Suffrage Extension: Germany ○ In 1871 Germany has the most progressive franchise law ○ By 1879 the Parliament (Reichstag) is pretty weak ● → Bismarck assumed that universal male suffrage would strengthen the conservative voice (aka pro Bismarck) of the countryside (thought the working class would vote his way) Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ■ : granted universal male suffrage and the socialist party ends up growing instead haha ■ Form of electoral authoritarianism (only gave voting rights to increase his own power) ● Suffrage extension → new electorate of the working class → increase in worker representatives in Parliament → growing Parliamentary pressures/cries for social reform! ○ Elitists = wanted to weaken the electoral base of worker representatives to go against this ■ They imposed heavy restrictions on political rights/freedoms ■ The state led social reform and welfare programs (to pacify and have control still) ● Ex: Napoleon III did large public works (first employment programs) ● Ex: Bismarck right to retirement + sickness insurance (first real welfare state) ○ Pittaluga = shows how elites can use the multiple dimensions of democracy (voting rights, parliamentary autonomy, political freedoms) to stay in power ○ Even when suffrage was extended there were still lots of attempts to restrain political freedoms or weaken socialist voter base ● Congress of Vienna Systems of IR (1815-1850s) ● The century of peace ○ La Belle Epoque (named after it was over) ■ Characterized by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, scientific + technological + industrial innovations, social changes, arts were flourishing! ■ 1830s-1914 ○ Century of Peace ■ Before this there was so much war in Europe that it was a way of life ■ Napoleonic warfare, doctrines of “total war” ● BUT 1815-1914: ● Only a couple wars! ● → those wars didn’t last long and had a small impact, involved only a handful of European countries/people ● Those wars were mainly bilateral (only 2 parties involved) or within one country ○ Mainly happened outside of the European continent + colonies (but world def wasn’t at peace) ■ *number of war deaths was SEVEN times less than in 18th C* ● 1815 Congress of Vienna led to general European peace/belle epoque → to restore international peace & to restore domestic stability (worked!) Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● CoV Plus: ○ France wasn’t really severely punished ■ Control of French Power ■ Back to 1792 size ■ Create 2 buffer states ● → nice to France so they wouldn’t retaliate :) ● CoV = Major diplomatic event, tons of people came, dozens of commissions, many celebrations and festivities ● Established a new internal order based on “acting in concert” (working together) ○ Directory of the Great Powers = regular meetings happen that are all about the common European interest, prosperity of all European people and maintaining peace ■ : work together for greater European good (bc they know how bad war is) ○ Treaty of Holy Alliance: Russia + Austria + Prussia ■ → bc the church was still part of politics ● Vienna: IR System Ramifications ● 1) Recognition of international boundaries + state sovereignty ○ Boundaries (not borders) in 1815 and pledged to work towards multilateral agreements where many countries worked together ○ Before = once a King died all international treaties/agreements had to be renewed with successor, but now a continued system of international rights is established ● 2) Regulated war as instrument for peace ■ No one wants to go to war, too expensive ○ Instead: spheres of influence + extending territorial lands without actually going to war ○ Mutual protection clause (help protect each other against revolution) + also limit their ability to meddle in each other’s affairs/military interventions ● 3) Creation of equally powerful countries ● 4) Compliance ensured by dual hegemony ○ Great Britain = economic, military, colonial dominance, strong navy ○ Russia = tons of land and people, big standing army, balances against British dominance through the Holy Alliance ■ * UNESCO world heritage = a changed approach to war and peace ■ Vienna = military intervention = a way to maintain peace and security (instead of achieving peace through hegemony and dominance) ■ Mutual assistance clause (multi-hegemony) ● Why the Vienna System Worked ● 1) Fear of domestic revolutions: a willingness to work together Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Instead of the traditional rivalries between royal houses, now they were building alliances + marrying + working together ● 2) End of British/French rivalry: full British hegemony ○ Napoleonic wars + defeat of French helped = BR hegemony (plus peace after war) ■ During wars France was always competing with a well established country, but after wars they were a bit weaker and didn’t have as many people to fight with… so Britain won hegemony ○ France’s pop growth stagnated, their size/standing army was weaker ● 3) Some states’ energy went to internal nation-building ○ Didn’t care as much about expanding territory/colonies ○ Instead they were taking care of society, starting ideas and projects, new social and political identities ○ Created stability!! ● 4) Industrialization: new doctrines of imperialism and colonialism ○ Lots of developments/innovation! ○ EU countries could outside their territorial and economic expansion on another continent ○ NO point invading another EU country for resources when they can just start a colony somewhere else; easier and cheaper Break Down of European Concert ● Main Causes ● → The Vienna system was basically built on a negative concept of international relations ● Defensive System = aimed at preventing dominance from one state over others (instead of actually understanding merits of multilateralism) ○ War was a way to get peace BUT still wars fought to expand land/territory were considered inevitable (stupid) ○ During 19th C there was a constant military race to keep up with processes of industrialization/development : also idea that every country needed a powerful standing army (to look powerful) ■ 1900s+ = speed of militarization doubled bc of industrialization ■ Neighbors started to get worried so they also built up their own militaries… basically everyone in a race to have the biggest armed forces ○ 1870s Great Depression → weakened economies & industries, heightened colonial rivalries (imbalances in wealth and who had the most colonies, new source of fighting and antagonism) ○ Congress of Vienna = was about managing conflict rather than actually resolving it Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● 40 Year’s Peace: Relative territorial stability ● European powers were divided over the Troppau “mutual support” protocol of Congress of Vienna ● → made sure there would be no revolutions/no major movements by outside country to threaten the stability of a country ■ BUT people scared this would violate sovereignty (lead to meddling) ○ Holy Alliance = in favor of “mutual support” as a way to protect monarchy regimes ○ France + BR = against, scared it would be used as an excuse to lead to meddling in internal affairs of other countries ● Seeds of Nationalism (stemming from Vienna, peace) ● Vienna Congress ignored nationalist sentiments + reduced Poland, Italy, German to instruments for retaining status quo ○ Break up of Poland (partially annexed by Russia) ○ Austria = tolerance towards early cultural/linguistic movements, seeds of later nationalist movements ○ Italy = foreign rule (Austria) + weak German federation ■ → there was NO international body to which people could turn to to revise boundaries ● Final Pushes of Breakdown ● 1) The weakening of the Ottoman Empire ● 2) The Unification of the Italian and German states : Rise of Germany as a super-power ● 1) Weakening of Ottoman Empire ● = “sick man of Europe” ○ Poor economy, lessening political control over their territory, losing territory ● Ottoman empire ⇒ multinational empire organized according to “millet system” ● Each confessional community ruled over itself based on its own laws (yay!) ○ Orthodox Christians had some autonomy (though still legally subject to common laws/legal laws of the Muslims who were the main inhabitants of the empire) ■ Lots of different people/religions so competing powers = wealthy landlords (ayans) VS bandit warlords ○ Empire increasingly lost its control over Eastern Europe/the Balkans: ● → Great European powers were scared that Russia would seize this opportunity to enlarge its territory and expand in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea ● How the Empire Weakened ● 1) The Greek war of independence (1821-1830) ○ The Sultan depended on support from Ali Pasha (ruler) for regional control Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ 1822 Ali Pasha died: there was now a power vacuum, which was filled by Greek warlords who are all fighting for power (guerilla warfare) ■ Situation is super out of hand ○ The Sultan called for help from Mehmet Ali, Pasha of Egypt ● 2) The conflict is now international ○ Russia = the protector of the Orthodox people in the Balkans, much more present in the conflict bc of those Orthodox in empire, other powers were scared of Russia’s expansionist aspirations and having their countries invaded ○ Pro-Greek public opinion in Europe (Bc Greece = birthplace of democracy/nice ideas) ○ Diplomacy wasn’t functioning bc of the military presence of Mehmet Ali (leader of Egypt) ○ 1827: Battle of Navarino, destruction of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet ■ → really becoming an international conflict with lots of people/countries involved, lots of fighting and death, non-European countries involved, clash of civilizations (empires and Non Christians fighting now too) Crimean War (1853-56) ● → the largest European war since Napoleonic wars and until WWI ● Alliance of Britain + France + Turkey AGAINST Russia ○ 1853: Turkish-Russian war over Romania ○ 1854: France got involved (then Britain too) ○ French/Russian fight over influence: ■ Russia = wanted control over Palestinian territories (for the Holy Church) & Constantinople (birthplace of the Orthodox Christian Church) ■ France = Napoleon III who renewed relations with the pope, challenged Russian rights to protect the Christians in the Ottoman Empire, pushed the Sultan to recognize France as the “sovereign authority” over the Christian population in the Ottoman Empire ● Blunder + Accident ● Russia tried to bully the Ottoman Empire they didn’t expect a strong European reaction /that Europeans would align with the Ottoman Empire ○ France was eager to go to war = they wanted to become a closer ally with Britain ○ Britain was trying to secure it’s imperial power : didn’t give Russia a “get out” with diplomacy (harsh, went to war) ● Outcome of Crimean War = 1856 Treaty of Paris peace treaty ○ Limited allied victory: battle of Sevastopol (Turkey, crucial battle, major loss of UK navy) ○ Russia is forced to accept the integrity of the Ottoman empire AND the neutrality of the Black Sea Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 Impact on “Concert of Europe” ● → balance between Great Powers is permanently broken ● France = gained military esteem and international prestige ● Russia = retreat from the European concert of working together, now convinced Britain is their enemy (bc B didn’t side with Russia in Orthodox subject fight) ● Britain = had major naval loss, decides to now focus on imperial empire (India + Middle East) (gross) ○ Main loser → Austria! (they weren’t hostile but somehow still got pulled into the conflict) ■ They sided with France, then pushed Russia to accept the Paris Treaty peace terms → they consequently lost Russia as an ally (which was their #1 ally to begin with) ■ Germany and Italy unifying will also undermine Austrian power even more ● → all leads to further decay/downfall of the Ottoman Empire (national debts, fights in WWI) 2) Italian + German Unification ● Nationalist rhetoric = a way for ambitious leaders to pursue their expansionist politics, restore previous glorious dynasties and start doing some state dreams (political ambitions to form states) Italian Risorgimento (rising again) ● 2 wars of independence against Austria ● French-Italian secret treaty against Austria = undermined the international legal system established by the Vienna Congress German Unification ● 3 wars of unification: against Denmark, against Austria, against France ○ Results = ■ Demise of Austria’s European leadership ■ Humiliation of France: heavy loss of territory ● → Towards a balancing of antagonisms ● Restoration of European power balance w/the German empire as the dominant power (replacing Austria now) ● Main architect = Otto von Bismarck (1815-1899), came from a wealthy Saxony family ● 1862: appointed by King Wilhelm I as Minister President of Prussia ● 1871-1890: Chancellor of the German Empire ■ Bismarck was a genius politically and with war stuff so he did super well, really convincing Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ● Sep 30 1862: Bismarck gave Iron + Blood speech before Parliament ○ Suggesting that Prussia needs to concentrate and maintain its power for the favorable moment (already passed several times) Prussias boundaries aren’t favorable rn… problems will be resolved w/Iron and blood (aka war!) ● Return of “power politics” on European continent ● Main Goal = Strengthening Prussia’s power NOT German unification ● Von Bismarck → Iron Chancellor ○ He exploited political opportunities, provoked others into war but didn’t actually instigate the war himself ○ Powerful Domestic Rule = pacification ● Needed to make sure that internally things were run carefully and smoothly ■ Universal male suffrage BUT weak parliament (ruled through a powerful bureaucracy) ■ First welfare state in modern world: incorporation of working class ● Bismarck = had a system of balancing + creating antagonisms ● Renewed the politics of secret alliances/under the table stuff/not following the rules ● 1873: small successful League of the 3 Emperors (Prussia, Russia, Austria) ○ → trying to extend Germany’s control over Easter Europe, trying to divide the Balkans between Austria + Russia ○ Wants to be besties w/Britain for their navy ● Creating antagonisms (isolate France!) ● Support French republicanism ( to try and isolate clergy/monarchy regime who are against him) ● Tries to diplomatically isolate France through secret alliances ( manipulate liberal, antibclergy govs of BE, SP, IT) ○ BUT growing trade between France and Russia (need them) ● Secret Reinsurance Treaty w/Russia 1887 ● → to prevent French-Russian circling/attack/cutting off of Germany, both countries would stay neutral towards each other ○ BUT: treaty wasn’t renewed after Bismarck was out of office (1890) + there were attempts to try and minimize Russian influence in the Balkans ● CONCLUSION : 2 systems of International Relations ● CoV: “Acting in Concert” ○ V much changed the conceptions of peace and war ○ Concert- style politics (working together) ensured 40 years of peace and coexistence ○ Main limitation = focused on conflict management instead of conflict prevention ● Bismarck (1871) : Return of Balancing Alliances/Antagonisms Downloaded by Eline Jacobs ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|11463819 ○ Weak IR system: complex web of secret alliances, counter alliances, distrust ○ Power vacuum after Bismark dismissal in 1890 ○ The only credible “manager” of Europe was BR: detached + disinterested ● → Rise of the German empire disturbs the balance of power ○ Brings colonial conflicts back into Europe ○ Threatens British hegemony (navy + economy) Class 5→ Nationalism ● Nationalism = actually a contested concept ○ Present Europe : pejorative connotations: ■ Tendency to contrast “bad” nationalism (as a political thing) vs “benign” nationalism (as a feeling) ■ Nationalism can be associated with superiority, exclusion, racism (social Darwinism) ■ Associated with periods that led to political turmoil/wars/expansion (world wars) gave nationalism a pejorative connotation ■ Nationalism connected with normative projections of some nations being better/more deserving ● Irredentism = a country/policy advocating to reclaim “lost” (former) territory ● Nationalism (ideology) → the belief that the nation (aka a stable community of people, based on a common language/territory/economy/ethnicity or culture), should be the organizational unit of a state and therefore promo