...Coercive Diplomacy: Otto von Bismarck and the Unification of Germany by Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth R. Kassner United States Marine Corps United States Army War College Class of 2012 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: A Approved for Public Release Distribution is Unlimited This manuscript is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Strategic Studies Degree. The views expressed in this student academic research paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Army War College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information...
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...Two definitions of nationalism: Bender’s Notes: A powerful unifying force drawing together people who share common bonds such as language, culture, religion and heritage. Also a divisive force in large empires where culturally distinct people may seek to create their own independent states. Patriotic feelings, an extreme form of this, especially marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries. advocacy of political independence for a particular country. A deep devotion to one’s nation A unifying force within a country However, it can also cause intense competition among nations, with each seeking to overpower the other. Book definition: The belief that people’s greatest loyalty should not be to a king or an empire but to a...
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...Throughout the nineteenth century three political ideals began influencing states and their citizens like no other ideals had done before. These ideals were liberalism, socialism and, the most important, nationalism. Each one possessed its own uniqueness which inspired mass followings of people that would last thoroughly into the twentieth century. Each one also proved to form a catalyst for the modernisation of many European countries. However, in comparison, none of these ideals had the impact that the nationalistic approach had. This is due to many reasons which ranged from the fact that not everyone was affected by socialism or that ninety percent of people in eighteenth century Europe lived in a ‘nationstate’ which acted as a breeding ground for nationalism growth. A nationstate is a bordered country with its own culture and, the main component of a nation, language. Once politically tapped, this shared heritage and collective ideas could easily take the form of nationalism and depending on the capability of the leadership in control the approach could take many different directions, the most wellknown being: ‘Pride Nationalism’ which originated from France or ‘Blood and Soil Nationalism’ from Germany. One of the greatest accomplishment of nationalism was its ascension to the dominant doctrine of ordinary people’s lives at the expense of religion whose power had become a tattered shadow of previous centuries. However, that is not to say that, once in power...
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...Running head: America and the Great War America and the Great War – The Back Story Don Folk DeVry University Abstract World War I began in central Europe in June 1914. A great many factors, over the course of forty years, contributed to the start of this War, including nationalism, imperialism, militarism, as well as territorial and economic conflicts amongst various European powers. The culminating factor was the assassination of the Archduke of Austria Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie, at the hands of Gavrilo Princip, a Serb. Princip became a member of Major Tankosic's Black Hand partisan academy in 1912, but health issues kept him off-duty until June 28, 1914, when he assassinated Archduke Ferdinand (Brigham, 2010). America and the Great War – The Back Story Introduction World War I, the largest war to that date, was fought all around the world and left consequences that are still felt today. Communism was born when Russia fell, Central Europe fractured into a group of disparate nations, the fall of the Ottoman Empire gave rise to the Arab nations, and Nazi Germany was born of the ashes of the defeat of Germany (Askeda, 2011). The Rise of Pan-Slavism in Eastern Europe There was great tension between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in the early twentieth century, due in large part to the Pan-Slavic movement in Eastern Europe, which would ultimately lead to World War I. Prior to acquiring national identities after World War I, most central European...
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...The Balkans is a strategically important region of South Eastern Europe. It has been a source of conflict for hundreds of years because of its’ critical geopolitical significance. Not only it serves as a gateway between Europe and the Near East but is also a melting pot of different cultures; a place where East meets the West. In the period preceding the First World War, this region was undergoing dramatic changes that eventually went on to impact not just the rest of Europe but the entire world. These developments manifested in the form of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Nationalism in the region. The political landscape was further transformed through Austria’s attempts to secure its imperial integrity and Russia’s evolving ideology of Pan-Slavism and territorial expansion. These developing trends threatened the sustainability of the centuries-old ‘Balance of Power’ in Europe and caused extreme tension and stress in the Balkan region. War seemed inevitable and only a ‘spark’ was required to set off the fuse.1 The dreaded stimulus was soon provided through the assassination of the Austrian Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife Sophie at Sarajevo in June 1914. The casus belli that the assassination presented Austria was too good to be missed. The prospects of an all-out war also aligned with Germans desire for establishing their military supremacy in the region. Hence they became actively engaged in the ensuing July Crisis and staunchly supported Austria....
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...Alliance System and New Imperialism Paper Agron Ujkaj, Ebony Jackson, De ‘Anna Lanier, Simone Haney, Melvin McClain HIS/114 June 18, 2012 Darrett Pullins Alliance System and New Imperialism Paper The British Empire was the most extensive empire in World History and for a substantial time was the most global power. Balance of power theory is the idea that national security is enhanced when military capabilities are distributed so that no state is strong enough to dominate all others (Waltz, 1979). Balancing is defined as allying with others against the prevailing threats against one another. This paper will focus on the Britain Empire and will include the following: Britain empire and the alliances to which the empire belonged, the concerns for security, strength and wealth that led the empire to enter the alliances, how other empires' expansionism fuelled a race for empire, major imperialist activities of Britain empire during the 19th century, concerns for security, strength and wealth led Britain empire to seek to expand colonial holdings and how Britain empire's alliances and imperial ambitions led to its involvement in World War I. The Major imperialist activities in Britain during the 19th century The new imperial movement came into play when Britain sought to take over nonindustrial regions and territories to increase their presence and control that countries resource. Though Britain was small, the British were known for their ability to grow and colonize all...
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...intertwined factors, such as the conflicts and hostility of the four decades leading up to the war. Moreover, Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism played major roles in the conflict. All of these factors where established in many of Europe's 'Great Powers' which consisted of; Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. Many of the reasons as to why war broke out were built up over years and even decades thus, were long term causes. However, a handful of events occurred over a few months and years prior to the event, consequently were short term causes. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife, acted as a trigger that ultimately led to war breaking out. As a result of this T.F. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The assassination gave Austria-Hungary the ideal excuse to declare war against Serbia. An ultimatum was issued to Serbia stating that it must agree to all the terms described in the ultimatum in order to avoid war. Austria-Hungary gave Serbia 48 hours to reply and clearly stated that all the terms must be met and complied with. Serbia agreed to all terms except one. WW1 had many countries involved but not all of them entered at the same time. There were three sides to choose from at the beginning of WW1. One option was the Central Powers which included; Germany and Austria-Hungary, and were later joined by Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, who were neutral at first then joined at a later date. There were The...
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...mobilized in one of the most biggest wars in history. Over 9 million opponents and seven million civilians died for that reason of the warfare, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and the tactical stalemate brought about with the aid of trench struggle, a grueling form of battle in which the defender held the expertise. It used to be one of the deadliest conflicts in historical past, and prepared the ground for important political alterations, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The struggle drew in the entire world's fiscal quality powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies versus the crucial Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy was once a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it didn't become a member of the valuable Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive, against the terms of the alliance. These alliances were reorganised and multiplied as extra countries entered the war: Italy, Japan and the united states joined the Allies, even as the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the central Powers. The set off for the war used to be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by using Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June...
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...Germany officially the (Federal Republic of Germany) Is a federal parliamentary republic in western-central Europe. It includes 16 constituent states and covers an area of 357,021 square kilometers (137,847 sq mi) with a largely temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Berlin. With 81 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state in the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular migration destination in the world. Various Germanic tribes have occupied northern Germany since classical antiquity. Germany(Flag) A region named Germania was documented before 100 CE. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. The rise of Pan-Germanys inside the German Confederation resulted in the states in 1871 into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic. The establishment of the Third Reich in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After 1945, Germany split into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a great power and has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the fifth-largest by PPP. As a global...
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...How the European Alliance Helped Cause World War 1 Historians have spent many years analyzing the origins of World War 1. Many factors are considered by historians when asked this question; nationalism, imperialism, militarism, etc. However all of these factors are influenced and tied together by the alliance system in place at the time tensions in the Balkans erupted. In this time period the Ottoman Empire had lost much of its control and power in the corridor to Europe. Many of the leading nations of Europe sought to emplace their influence in this region to serve as an economical attributor to its powerbase. With land being the primary means of travel between the East and West, having control of the corridor would be extremely favorable for any leading power to impose taxes, control the flow of goods, and serve as a barrier against future invaders. Before 1914 the five Great Powers; Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia controlled Europe. In order to avoid conflict early on, the major powers went through great lengths to maintain a balance of power constructed from a complex network of political and military alliances throughout the continent. Germany was the chief orchestrator of these alliances when is first made a secret alliance with Austria-Hungary in 1879 (Duffy, "The Causes of World War One"). Three years later Italy joined this “Dual Alliance” to form the Triple Alliance because it was annoyed with France for stopping its plans to colonize...
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...1815-Napoleon’s empire ended, and nationalism began its rise. Rising nationalism would eventually be a leading cause of World War I. 11. In the 17th century, witchcraft hysteria took hold in England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, New England, and various other countries. Many people, mainly old women, were accused of witchcraft with no evidence. In the 1950s, many American people were accused of being communist sympathizers with no evidence. These events mirrored the witchcraft hysteria. 12. In 1648, the Thirty Year’s War ended. The Peace of Westphalia was created, allowing all German states to determine their own religion. 13. In 1699, the Treaty of Karlowitz was created. Austria took control of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia. The empire never became centralized due to all of the national groups. Austrian nationalism was a driving force behind World War I. 14. 1697-1698-Peter the Great of Russia visits the west, and decides to ‘westernize’ Russia. Although he brought many great things to Russia, the forceful way with which he introduced these western ideas made many people distrustful of Western civilization. This distrust would never go away, and would fuel...
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...AP EUROPEAN HISTORY NOTES- Filled with silliness and inside jokes, enjoy at your leisure :) If something is in [] brackets, it is only written in there for our pleasure, ignore it if you are looking for actual information. Key: • 7: The Renaissance and Reformation- 1350-1600 UMSUniversal o Georgio Vasari- Rinascita=rebirth (like Renaissance) painter/architect Male Suffrage o Individualism: People sought to receive personal credit for achievements, unlike medieval ideal of “all glory goes to god” Names Ideas o Renaissance: Began in Italian city-states, a cause de invention of the printing press, laid way for Protestant Reformation Events Books/Texts Italy: City states, under HRE (Holy Roman Empire) o For alliances: old nobility vs. wealthy merchants FIGHT P-Prussia Popolo: third class, “the people”, wanted own share of wealth/power R-Russia A-Austria Ciompi Revolts: 1378 Florence, Popolo were revolting [eew], brief period of control over government B-Britain Milan taken over by signor (which is a tyrant) • o Under control of the Condottiero (mercenary) Sforza- Significant because after this, a few wealthy families dominated Venice (e.g. Medici) Humanism: Francesco Petrarch (Sonnets), came up with term “Dark Ages”, began to study classical world of rhetoric and literature Cicero: Important Roman, provided account of collapse of Roman Republic [like Edward Gibbon], invented Ciceronian style: Latin style of writing...
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...17th century to the end of the Second World War. The following aspects of political history of five selected countries - France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain- are covered : early kingdoms, unification, nationalism movements, political philosophies, conferences, alliance systems and conflicts which had an impact on Europe during the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries.Topics such as the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Concert of Europe, and the two world wars will also be discussed. Special emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the rise of liberalism and nationalism, the industrial revolution, and the emergence of modern political systems in Europe. Contents Introduction Chapter 1 Political history of France : Chapter 2 Political history of Germany: Chapter 3 Political history of Great Britain: Chapter 4 Political history of Italy: Chapter 5 Political history of Spain: Introduction In studying political history of European states, we put a focus on the beginning of the 18th century as a starting point in the rise of major European powers in the face of waning non-Western empires, which led to the consequent politicization of the region as a whole, raising the stakes in the division and distribution of resources, areas of influence and geostrategic waterways. During the 18th century, Europe has seen the rise of despotic monarchies in some of the European...
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...Higher Level History Notes 19th Century Russia The Russian people are descendants of the ‘Rus’ who are thought to be a mixture of Scandinavian and Slavic origin and settled in that region out of ± 800 AD Byzantine Empire A major legacy of the Byzantine Empire for the Russians was the eastern orthodox or Greek Orthodox Church With the decline of Byzantium came a wave of conquest from the East, the Mongols until the 15th century (Tatars). To a large extent, the Mongols allowed Russians to maintain their way of life: - Slavic based languages including writing system (Cyrillic) - Orthodox religion The Russians adopted much from Asian culture and this led western Europeans to think less of the Russians Geographically Russia was isolated from the rest of Europe: - Entirely land locked (mostly) - Huge Plains of Eastern Europe prevented overland travel During these early years there were a series of muscovite princes based in Moscow and called themselves Tsars. By the 17th century the Romanov family became the ruling dynasty: - Alexander I (1801-1825) - Nicholas I (1825-1855) - Alexander II (1855-1881) - Alexander III (1881-1894) - Nicholas II (1894-1917) Under the rule of Peter the Great (1689-1728) Russia grew greatly in size and entered the European World www.ibscrewed.org The Russia of 1800 was one of the greatest autocracies in Europe where: - The Tsar’s rule was absolute - There was a small...
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...Chapter I The Problem and Its Background Introduction 333 years of Spanish Colonization. 42 years of New Worlds Domination. Almost 3 years of fear made by the Samurai’s aggression. These are mighty periods that strengthen the pillars for the creations a mighty Malayan Empire in the Pacific. Inhabited by different races, a melting pot, Philippines rise from the dust of a monumental failure to a proud-gallant nation. For almost half a century of foreign domination, half century of foreign exploitation, Philippines became a ripe fruit on the Asian Tree. A proud valiant archipelago of grandiose and influences, Philippines became a melting pot, a land where too many different races took part for the development of the land. Strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, Philippines is a stepping stone. Different foreigners will be first to land in the Filipino soil before passing other Asian Countries. Geographically located in the tropic, Philippines is vested by different natural resources. Philippines, a pebble on the shoe of other Great Asian Agricultural Countries, is also a great trading empire; not only in the Asian Trade but also with the International Trade. Known as a nation rich in Tropical Fruits, Philippines showcased her greatness in International Trade as she become leading Banana and Mango exporter in Asia. Also a renowned Rice Bowl of South East Asia, Philippines sheltered the development of world-class agricultural researches that would benefit not only the...
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