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The Balance of Power in Europe (often referred to as maintaining the balance of power) is an International Relations concept applied both historically and to the present day situation within the continent of Europe.
Contents |
History
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it became a major facet of English foreign policy to prevent the creation of a singe Universal Monarchy in Europe, which it was believed that Spain or France might attempt to create. In order to maintain the balance of power, the English made alliances with other states such as Portugal, the Ottoman Empire and the Netherlands to counter the perceived threat.
In the late eighteenth century this led to the stately quadrille with a number of the major European powers such as Austria, Prussia, Great Britain and France changing their allies a number of times in order to prevent the hegemony of one particular nation or alliance.
A number of wars have been fought, with the intentions largely of maintaining the balance of power including the War of the Spanish Succession,War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and the Napoleonic Wars.
During the nineteenth century, in an aim to acheive a lasting peace, the Concert of Europe attempted to mantain the balance of power. This policy was largely sucsessful in averting a full-scale European wide war for almost a century, until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.1
In the post Second World War era a balance of power emerged in Europe between the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc which was led by France, the United States and Great Britain.
See also
Bibliography
- Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947. Penguin Books, 2007
- Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat. Penguin Books, 2008.
- Strachan, Hew. The First World War. Simon & Schuster, 2006
References
- ^ Strachan p.4-6
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 4 January 2009, at 11:07.
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