Why Was There No Major War between European Powers in the 19th Century - Literature review Example

Why was there no major war between European powers in the first half of the nineteenth century? Lecturer: Introduction The 19th century Europe witnessed development of international great powers with the European experiencing a period of profound destabilization during the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. At the end of the destabilization came the Vienna congress that tried to stabilize Europe as never seen before with programs that were successful in managing crisis and diverting the threat of war. The lack of major wars was propelled by conflict resolution achieved through diplomacy, alliance systems and ideals regarding the balance of power. Warfare as a result of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars became a different thing because wars were now fought in the name of a nation and its people. Although in the 19th century Europe fought wars outside Europe, colonial conflicts increased among the European powers; nevertheless, the conflicts acted as safety valves that deflated conflict away from the continent. The French system adopted by napoleon got transmitted to most of the continent during the first half of the nineteenth century resulting in transnational cooperation between national police forces ensuring Europe-wide surveillance of political revolution as well as dissident movements. Moreover, the British civil society at the time was the most developed and served as an inspiration for many continental Europeans. As well, the British parliamentary system was esteemed by rebels across continental Europe as a model to follow, a model accepted even by individuals who wanted to modify it (Berger, 2006). The first half of 19th century is considered to be the most peaceful periods since the agreement passed by Congress of Vienna ensured that major powers played their role without any one claiming dominion over the other powers. During the 19th century, Europe considered itself the origin of civilization and its major European powers remained the most powerful across the globe. Following the defeat of Napoleon and after the Vienna Congress, the great powers regulated affairs within Europe by organizing grand European conferences in order to settle certain concerns (Horspool, Humphreys & Padfield, 2012). The period between 1870 and 1914 is well known for the negotiations of European alliance relations and secret treaties. The alliance, which was an agreement between Germany and Austria-Hungary through which the nations agreed to help one another when attacked by Russia or any nation backed by Russia. The alliances acknowledged that in case any state in the treaty was attached by a nation not backed by Russia, the other states were to remain at least neutral. In 1881, a secret ministerial declaration ensured that the alliance remained valid even with the upcoming triple agreement. The triple alliance was a secret agreement linking Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia with the primary concern being the status of Balkan Peninsula. Later on, the treaty was extended by a different secret treaty between Germany and Russia. In 1882, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy signed the initial treaty of Triple Alliance that allowed two signatories of the treaty to help any member in case the member was attacked by two or more great powers that were not members of the treaty. In an attempt to balance the Triple alliance, France and Russia formed an alliance that allowed retaliation by both nations if any nation was attacked by Germany or Austria-Hungary. Moreover, even though Italy was a member to the Triple alliance, the nation negotiated secret treaties with Britain and France. The complex web of alliances in the 19th century Europe is difficult to comprehend except within the context of dominant understanding of maintaining peace, which was the doctrine regarded in the balance of power. This doctrine ensured that no one nation was allowed to dominate over others and in case this was a possibility, the threatened nations combined to counterbalance the prevailing power. The balance of power principle underpinned the ad hoc system held by the main European powers in the period between 1815 and 1854. Restoration and conservation of European balance power by the Vienna congress meant that all powers had similar rights to exist and no one could exercise universal dominion. The congress in Vienna allowed intervention in case anyone nation harboured designs with far-reaching scope in order to prevent the universal threat. Hence, the alliances within Europe were largely a reactionary grouping of states that sought to suppress revolution while maintaining the status quo in the continent. The phenomenon can be considered as forerunner attempts of preventing war through collective arrangements that were formally developed (Scott, Billingsley & Michaelsen, 2010). The British efforts to maintain geopolitical balance within the European powers helped in ensuring that a major war never occurred in the continent for century. The Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century altered not only the way wars were to be fought but also the way in which peace was to be sought. The congress of Vienna in 1815 sought to put in place a mechanism aimed at preventing a country like France from seeking to dominate the continent in an agreement referred to as the concert of Europe. The agreement reached in the congress of Vienna allowed the major European powers to pledge cooperation in maintaining peace and stability. The congress of Vienna ensured that France was encircled by impartial buffer states that strongly opposed any likely French hostility. The Kingdom of Netherlands was a strong buffer against the French expansion and aggression; moreover, other states in the immediate region surrounding France came under the control of major powers for the same reason. The basis for the agreement was an understanding the inability of Austria, Germany, Britain and Russia to create an alliance against napoleon, although this allowed him to succeed politically and militarily. To prevent war the four nations agreed to work in ensuring that the status quo in European international politics. This was illustrated by the understanding of the major powers that peace can be preserved through active collaboration together with the traditional balance of power. Following the agreement, the era became one of the most peaceful in Europe’s history apart from the Crimean war of 1854 and Franco-Prussian war of 1870 all of which occurred during the second half of the century (Danieri, 2012). The great powers normally settled their differences in a peaceful manner through the congress system adopted at the Vienna congress in 1815. The Vienna settlement was therefore considered a depressingly repressive collective system of security through maintaining balance of power in the region exhausted by armed conflict as well as social economic upheavals (Stapleton, 2008). 1830 revolt toppled Charles X who was the last bourbon to rule France because he was replaced with King Louis Philippe of Orleans dynasty and although the Philippe was considered a liberal monarch, Europe accepted the legitimacy. Besides, secession of Belgium from the kingdom of Netherlands in 1830s almost resulted in international war; however, the British diplomacy as well as the show of force secured the international recognition of the independence of Belgium. Revolutions in 1848 influenced major powers apart from Britain and Russia and largely unsuccessful apart from in France where the monarch was replaced by Louis Bonaparte who was a nephew of napoleon I. Tsar was ready to honour terms of the quadruple alliance signed in 1815 that allowed war in an attempt to prevent any Bonaparte from rising to the French throne; however, British diplomacy maintained the peace when the nation pledged to respect the frontiers created in 1815 (Addington, 1994). To prevent revolution in Europe, legitimate rulers were restored and the congress system contained France after the Napoleonic wars; even though, not harshly punished. The Vienna settlement was efficient following the Napoleon wars since it succeeded in averting wars in Europe until the 1854. The congress system remained a way of maintaining peace in the region by combined influences of the major powers in Europe. The quadruple alliance formed by Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia agreed on marinating peace in the region even though the main powers had differing objectives; for instance, Austria and Russia preferred intervention in case of revolutions while Britain never wanted to be involved in internal disputes. The Congress of Vienna was essential in preventing revolutions because revolution within one nation in the continent meant war in others and the nations were tired of decades of war. Therefore, the Vienna congress aimed at peace the values associated with peace and repression of France as well as the balance of power. The first half of the 19th century after the fall of napoleon appears to be the golden in western civilization because it was the most peaceful since the acknowledgement of modern state. The relative peace in this period was partly because of the treaties in 1815 that generated and restored balance of power that appeared to be the main diplomatic problems in the 18th century. The treaties allowed the major powers to have regular conferences and although the conferences could not inhibit great powers from defying others, there was no major war for 40 years (Ropp & Roland, 2000). The order made by the congress of Vienna is exemplified by the surprising stability that ensured that no major confrontation between the main powers in the continent emerged in the first half of the 19th century. During the first half of the century unlike in the past century, no European power openly declared superiority over the other powers because the Napoleonic conquests made European states aware of the significance of sovereignty. The treaty that led to the quadruple alliance recognized that Europe was made up of independent states with equal rights and status. During the congress in Vienna, the main powers in the continent came up with complex diplomatic protocols agreed by all states regardless of the actual power to be equal even though there was precedence of seniority. Therefore, within the European powers their architecture of governments and institutions in the first half of the 19 century were often prestigious but when compared to other periods, the powers were proportional and functional. With regard to equal dignity among the great powers in Europe, the French punishment was moderated in order to create a base for a stable peace because the other powers in Europe had to take the chance to secure peace that was strongly needed at the time. The peaceful evolution in identities within the great powers is as a result of their inclusion in the Vienna congress that came up with ways of ensuring a peaceful Europe. The successful Vienna settlement suggest that major powers are capable of forging durable cooperation and offer themselves significant measure of collective security. For more than three decades, there was no war pitting great powers against each other apart from the Crimean war and after its completion, war in the rest of the century was rare in the continent. The record is unique since there were fewer conflicts compared to the 18th century which as a classical point of the balance of power (Downs, 1994). Conclusion The Congress of Vienna was essential not only in ending the war in Europe but also solidifying the peace in order to sort out the prevailing diplomatic problems within the main powers Europe. The agreement ultimate effect was the pressure on major powers against expanding their military operation; moreover, the agreement was essential in making sure that wars were difficult to begin. The congress in Vienna integrated the aspects of maintaining peace within the European states system and the region to the main powers. The quadruple alliance ensured that the main powers in Europe accepted each other without anyone power claiming dominion over other major powers, which contributed to the decades of peace in Europe during the first half of the 19th century. The fear of revolution that was capable of spreading to other states in the continent ensured that major powers in region accepted leaders in the various nations. The treaties and complex alliances in Europe ensured that the main powers were peaceful in their engagements propelled by the agreement offered by the congress in Vienna. Apart from the treaties and agreements, the British diplomacy played a key role in ensuring that great powers never went to war against each other. References Addington, L. H. (1994). The patterns of war since the eighteenth century. Bloomington, Indiana University Press. Berger, S. (2006). A companion to nineteenth-century Europe, 1789-1914. Malden, MA, Blackwell Pub. Danieri, P. J. (2012). International politics: power and purpose in global affairs. Boston, MA, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Downs, G. W. (1994). Collective security beyond the cold war. Ann Arbor, Univ. of Michigan Press. Horspool, M., Humphreys, M., & Padfield, N. (2012). European Union law. Oxford [etc.], Oxford University Press. Ropp, T., & Roland, A. (2000). War in the modern world. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press. Scott, S. V., Billingsley, A., & Michaelsen, C. (2010). International law and the use of force a documentary and reference guide. Westport, CT, Praeger Security International. Stapleton, F.G., 2008, MAKING SENSE OF 19TH CENTURY NATIONALISM, History Review, 61, pp. 41-45. Read More