Paul Sargent Makes History
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3.4 Maintaining International Stability

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Key Concept

European states struggled to maintain international stability in an age of nationalism and revolutions.

Concept Overview

Following a quarter-century of revolutionary upheaval and war spurred by Napoleon’s imperial ambitions, the Great Powers met in Vienna in 1814–1815 to re-establish a workable balance of power and suppress liberal and nationalist movements for change. Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich led the way in creating an informal security arrangement to resolve international disputes and stem revolution through common action among the Great Powers. Nonetheless, revolutions aimed at liberalization of the political system and national self-determination defined the period from 1815 to 1848.

The revolutions that swept Europe in 1848 were triggered by poor economic conditions, frustration at the slow pace of political change, and unfulfilled nationalist aspirations. At first, revolutionary forces succeeded in establishing regimes dedicated to change or to gaining independence from great-power domination. However, conservative forces, which still controlled the military and bureaucracy, reasserted control. Although the revolutions of 1848 were, as George Macaulay Trevelyan quipped, a “turning point at which modern history failed to turn,” they set the stage for a subsequent sea change in European diplomacy. A new breed of conservative leader, exemplified by Napoleon III of France, co-opted nationalism as a top-down force for the advancement of state power and authoritarian rule in the name of “the people.” Further, the Crimean War (1853–1856), prompted by the decline of the Ottoman Empire, shattered the Concert of Europe established in 1815 and opened the door for the unifications of Italy and Germany. Using the methods of Realpolitik, Cavour in Italy and Bismarck in Germany succeeded in unifying their nations after centuries of disunity. Their policies of war, diplomatic intrigue, and, in Bismarck’s instance, manipulation of democratic mechanisms created states with the potential for upsetting the balance of power, particularly in the case of Germany.

Following the Crimean War, Russia undertook a series of internal reforms aimed at achieving industrial modernization. The reforms succeeded in establishing an industrial economy and emboldened Russia’s aspirations in the Balkans. They also led to an active revolutionary movement, which employed political violence and assassinations and was one of the driving forces behind the 1905 Russian Revolution. 
After the new German Emperor Wilhelm II dismissed Chancellor Bismarck in 1890, Germany’s diplomatic approach altered significantly, leading to a shift in the alliance system and increased tensions in European diplomacy. Imperial antagonisms, growing nationalism, militarism, and other factors resulted in the development of a rigid system of alliances. The Great Powers militarized their societies and built up army and naval forces to unprecedented levels (fed by industrial and technological advances), while at the same time developing elaborate plans for the next war.

The long-anticipated war finally came in the summer of 1914. The assassination
of the heir to the Austrian throne in Sarajevo forced the political leaders of the
Great Powers, locked in the rigid structure of the Triple Entente versus the Triple Alliance, to implement war plans that virtually required the escalation of hostilities. The ensuing Great War revealed the flaws in the diplomatic order established after the unifications of Germany and Italy, but more importantly, it produced an even more challenging diplomatic situation than that faced by the diplomats in 1814–1815.
*Language on this page is provided by the College Board.

Sub-Concept 1

The Concert of Europe (or Congress System) sought to maintain the status quo through collective action and adherence to conservatism.

Sub-Concept 2

The breakdown of the Concert of Europe opened the door for movements of national unification in Italy and Germany as well as liberal reforms elsewhere.

Sub-Concept 3

The unification of Italy and Germany transformed the European balance of power and led efforts to construct a new diplomatic order.


Reading Assignments

Pages below are from Jackson Spielvogel's Western Civilization, Updated 9th AP Edition
Reading assignment 1:
  • Conservative Domination: The Concert of Europe - pages 627-631
  • Restoration in France - page 631
  • Intervention in the Italian States and Spain - pages 631-632
Reading assignment 2:
  • Repression in Central Europe - page 632
  • Russia: Autocracy of the Tsars - pages 633-634
  • Another French Revolution - pages 638-639
  • Revolutionary Outbursts in Belgium, Poland, and Italy - page 639
  • Reform in Great Britain - pages 639-641
Reading assignment 3:
  • The Revolutions of 1848 - pages 641-646
Reading assignment 4:
  • The France of Napoleon III - pages 658-662
Reading assignment 5:
  • The Austrian Empire: Toward a Dual Monarchy - pages 670-671
  • Austria-Hungary - pages 719-720
  • Austria-Hungary: The Problem of the Nationalities - page 742
Reading assignment 6:
  • Imperial Russia - pages 671-673
  • Russia - page 720
  • Industrialization and Revolution in Imperial Russia - pages 742-743
Reading assignment 7:
  • The Unification of Italy - pages 663-665
Reading assignment 8:
  • The Unification of Germany - pages 665-669
Reading assignment 9:
  • Great Britain: The Victorian Age - pages 673-675
  • Western Europe: The Growth of Political Democracy - pages 716-717
  • The Transformation of Liberalism: Great Britain and Italy - pages 739-741
  • France: Travails of the Third Republic - page 741
Reading assignment 10:
  • Germany - pages 717-719
  • Growing Tensions in Germany - page 741
Reading assignment 11:
  • International Rivalries and the Coming of War - pages 755-757

Interesting Articles

  • Nation-building: The foundation of Belgium
  • A new Crimean War? Vladimir Putin, Peter the Great & the quest for a warm-water port
  • How did Bismarck do it?
  • The Paris Attacks and France's Republican Tradition

Primary Sources

  • Louis-Napoleon, Proclamation to the People - page 659
  • Bismarck, Speech to the Prussian Reichstag - page 659
  • Bismarck, Speech to the German Reichstag - page 659
  • Tsar Alexander II's Emancipation Decree - page 672

Paul Sargent Makes History

  • Home
  • My YouTube Channel
  • AP European History
    • Historical Reasoning Skills
    • Thematic Learning Objectives >
      • Interaction of Europe and the World
      • Poverty and Prosperity
      • Objective Knowledge and Subjective Visions
      • States and Other Institutions of Power
      • Individual and Society
      • National and European Identity
    • Concept Outline
    • Period 1: 1450-1648
    • Period 2: 1648-1815
    • Period 3: 1815-1914
    • Period 4: 1914-Present
    • Exam Review Resources
  • AP Government
    • Concept Outline
    • Constitutional Underpinnings
    • Political Beliefs and Behaviors
    • Linkage Institutions
    • Institutions of Government
    • Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
    • Exam Review
  • Government and Economics
    • Foundations of Government
    • The Constitution
    • Executive Branch
    • The Judicial Branch
    • Voting and Elections
  • My Blog