Balance of Power and Forms of Rulers in the 18th Century - Assignment Example

Balance of Power and Forms of Rulers in the 18th Century Introduction The use of power in the 18th century was used through various governments to interchange different concepts and to rule over a specific region. The power which was used was essential to the overall functions of society, specifically because it provided resources and insight to those that were in a given area. The 18th century structure of politics, economy and society were essential in the movement toward modernism, specifically because of the balance of power which was used. The political structures that created the balance were no longer valid during this time and pushed forward the need to re-create the concept of power and the affiliation with other systems within society. Working toward nation building and the ability to negotiate tensions and conflicts, while establishing new regimes of power were some of the ways in which the political system began to alter during this time, which was followed by economic and social alterations. Defining the Balance of Power The powers which were defined in the 18th century were a combination of defining the needs within a given society and following this with strategy that was a part of the political concepts. The balance which was required was based on the building of an administrative state which would provide a sense of stability in the positioning of the country. The balance of power was one which designated different economic, social and political regimes into different areas of a given country and strategically placed individuals to have leadership over a given area. This was opposed to the monopoly which had been established before, where one governing body would have leadership over an entire sovereignty. The balance of power which was created was then defined by law, organizations and systems which were accepted within the state and at an international level (Bernholz, 639: 2003). The establishment of the balance of power in the 18th century was important in leading to modern policies and a change in regimes specifically because it altered the governance that was within the land. To balance the powers in different countries, there was the requirement to create political and economic practices which would guide the republic of the country. The main change which had to be created was an alteration from the government to governance. The government was one which defined the monopoly and complete rule over a land. Governance; however, was based on the ability to create laws, regulations and systems which allowed the political and economic powers to be distributed equally over a given area. It was the legal development of the political and economic realm, as well as the logic and practices which were followed within the institutions that helped to re-divide the power and distinguish other aspects of the country. The balance then developed into infra-national rules in substitution for the existence of the nation – state (Boucher, 523: 2005). Political Balance of Power The first concept which began to apply with the balance of power was from the changes in the political realm. Making of laws, dividing of powers and the need to distribute different roles and functions among those in society were the primary components that were associated with the political regime and the way in which the country functioned. The power which was defined was based on redefining the political influences. The current system was based on a hierarchy of royal powers which created the overall ruler ship over a land. However, from 1688-89, the Glorious Revolution occurred. Places such as England and Western Europe were forced to change according to this revolution. The outcome leading into the 18th century was one which changed the political placement and divided the powers into one based on judicial independence. The judiciary independence was then able to take individuals into the court and provide statements based on laws over whether regulations and policies were violated in the land or not. Before, this was based strictly on the decisions within the government powers, whereas the turning points of the 18th century led to government laws and policies which guided the power in the land (Klerman, Mahoney, 2: 2004). Another aspect which began to change in terms of political behavior was based on the hierarchical structure that was a part of different areas. In 1648, the international system and structure was based on a set of state like units which were ruled through sovereignty. Hierarchical sub-systems were developed under the sovereignty to maintain a specific region and to develop the leadership of a given area. After 1648, the sovereignty was forced to change because of the alterations in the land and the demands which were associated with society. The international system was specifically affected by changing from sovereignty to a hierarchical structure. The relations were based on distributions of power through the hierarchical make-up of a land, as well as an identity – formation process that gave an individual a certain amount of power over a given region. The 18th century was able to redefine powers specifically by the establishment and creation of this hierarchy as well as what was expected from the policies and legalities which were required among those that were in the system (Hobson, Sharman, 63: 2005). Within the hierarchical structure established in the 1700s, there was an establishment of the judicial system and hierarchical structure which then led to the policies and regulations that were implemented at an international level. While there was an established sovereignty and nation – state power, these fell under a hierarchy of leadership over a specific land. The international system combined with this, specifically by creating a sense of value over the relationships in different regions and areas. The main concept was to establish socio – political relationships that could be established among various countries. To continue to create this establishment, regulations were placed in different countries while public law became divided first by the nation – state, then was developed for international needs. The 18th century was able to see a rise in the development of lands and stopped the amounts of violence and war between countries, specifically through the establishment of treaties and the different governance and policies which began to replace the political realm (Adanir, 395: 2005). As can be seen, the balance of power which was established was based on the redevelopment and organization of different lands. The political changes began with a new structure in each state, specifically which was designated by a hierarchy of powers established over one region. The hierarchy was expected to follow legal processes and laws which were developed to create the checks and balances of leaders that were in the land, while establishing a system of social justice for those that were in the area. The balance of power then continued with the nation – state, specifically which continued with the hierarchy and which functioned with agreed terms between different political leaders. The balance of power at this level was to establish peace between nations. The 18th century turn of events that led to the new ideas of governance then turned to the international systems that could continue to balance the powers and create relationships with ruling nation – states, specifically because governance was the main attribute of each region (Buchan, 1: 2005). The distribution of power and the shaping of international order through governance were furthered with concepts of unequal powers that were in different nation – states. To establish a different sense of balance, hegemony was created as a model between nations. International law and politics began to emerge at this time, specifically because of relationships and affiliations that were associated with the different regions. As the international relationships continued through political, economic and social realms, there was also a pressure for the nation – state to not try to hold a sense of political power over one region. The international relations theory is one which based the hierarchical structure on creating legitimate ways to secure positions while ensuring that all legal relations were legitimate and were able to establish relationships between nation – states (Krisch, 369: 2005). Economic Regulations The institutional changes that developed the nation – state, hierarchical structure and overall development of the countries then led into economic regulations which were a component of the changes. Europe began to change the regulations in terms of economics, specifically to define and monitor the trades and agreements which were taking place in terms of resources. The initial political institutions, which were defined before the 1500s, had established monarchies which developed closed systems in terms of economy. However, this slowly began to change with the opening of different regions for trade. The Atlantic Trade was a main proponent in this, which created international trade between Europe, Africa and Asia. When this changed, merchants immediately began to force alterations over the monarchy to open the economy, specifically with fair trade agreements, property rights and the value of trade that was noted (Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson, 546: 2005). The economic alterations then led into a sense of legal regulations which allowed for fair trade and further balanced the powers in a given region. The open trade system which began to be established in the early 18th century became debatable because of the establishment of the sovereign inequality. The different nation – states were known to have different structures of power and leadership which were over a specific land. However, the opening of economic trade altered this power in which the governance was forced to change. The legalities and regulations were not only based on the leadership of the sovereignty. To work with other nations from different lands, fair agreements, regulations and the ability to maintain relationships between others in various countries were required. More important, there was the need to define the international inequalities which were playing a role in the economic development and to begin to alter the structure which was used. The governance which resulted from the economic powers was based on balances which were used to establish relationships with other nations, specifically because of the trade and economic exchange which was taking place (Donnelly, 139: 2006). Other components of economics also began to force the country into a sense of governance throughout different states. Economic growth not only continued with the trade agreements which were made but were also associated with forced governance because of the rise in production and the consumption of natural resources. As capital, resources and human labor were required in different areas, was also the need to establish economic systems which could balance the powers and ensure equal value among those that were in a specific nation. The economic growth forced a different structure within society, specifically because of the need to monitor the economic growth that was developing into international trade. More important, the use of different resources for human and resource capital had to be more efficient in use as the trade began to increase between different nations. The international system which was used was first to define the fair trade. This was followed by the establishment of different types of capital to ensure that the work was completed efficiently and that each individual received fair value within the nation and state. Each of these changes began to regulate powers and pushed the economy into developing fair governance and agreements for resources and human capital (Ayres, Warr, 181: 2005). The main component which was associated with the economics of the time and the balance of power was based on creating measures for different groups of individuals who were beginning to stimulate and lead toward growth of the economy. The first component of this was to lessen the urban control over trading and manufacturing, which instantly allowed individuals to produce more within the economy and to begin trading internationally. This was followed by regulations which were designed to protect peasants and others within the land, specifically so the human capital could be used correctly and lead to an increase in growth among the land. The measures which were established were based on fair powers, agreements and regulations which were checked through the government. Those who were providing resources and which were stimulating the economy were able to receive more assistance. The development of the system in the 18th century was developed with the change from old regime aristocrats and colonial elites that were designated to change the level of economic development within a given region (Janssens, Casalilla, 5: 2005). Building International Sustainability The economic base, as well as the re-establishment of the nation state created the need for the developing countries to create a sense of sustainability. As each of the countries continued to grow and create relationships to other countries, other systems were pushed into place. Human and non – human systems were established for political, social and economic growth and sustainability in various regions. The first component of this was to look at the concept of inequality that was within different regions and which was known to lead to instability. It was noted that the inequalities could be changed by different governance, legalities and regulations in the nation – state. As these were solved, sustainability was reached through the government and each of the countries was able to reach consistent growth. Belief systems established from concepts such as manifest destiny and cultural superiority began to disintegrate with the need to create relationships and affiliations with other countries while moving into a sense of economic trade and capital which began to develop the countries in an alternative manner (Goldie, Douglas, Furnass, 167: 2005). The change which was based on the sustainability and the need to change the movement in different countries not only changed with concepts of superiority in culture and economic affiliations. The need to build international sustainability was followed by the several outbreaks of war which emerged, as well as the treaties which were established. These each led into legalities, affiliations and agreements for relationships between nations at the end of the wars. An example of this is one which arose in the middle of the 18th century with the seven year war in Europe. During this time, an establishment of diplomatic strategies, reliance on alliances of other countries and militia development were all created. By the end of this war, there was an understanding that different parts of the nation had to leave the cultural supremacy to establish a balance of power, specifically for the preservation of Europe. The security of a nation and the ability to have sustainability at both a national and international level then began to lead the way in which many approached the establishment of a given land. The main component was to find a way to establish the concept of international affiliations while keeping a specific territorial boundary over the nation state. Using governance and a balance of power from this perspective was then able to create a level of sustainability between cultures and territories (Elden 564: 2007). The component of sustainability at an international level not only came from cultural changes, boundary development and balances of power. There were also social movements which forced the balance of power and which made the relationships more significant during this time. The 18th century in Europe moved through a series of different innovations and social alterations. The Enlightenment and other social stigmas began to arise in different regions. Societies began to focus on manifestos which were designed to show a bourgeois spirit and which were based on knowledge, development of land, sustainability and the preview of industrialization. Each of these developments in society was important not only for the establishment of the different areas in terms of resources. The importance was also directly attributed to the government finding new and more refined ways of balancing powers. The push in society to a bourgeois spirit and the way in which many changed the association with economic and political pressures then forced a sense of governance over the land. Since society began to focus solely on the Enlightenment concepts, the idea of balancing power became one which was defined intellectually and which was widely accepted in different nation states. The legalities that followed this were then able to create a different relationship to the changes that were occurring within society in terms of balancing powers (Beales, 7: 2005). The change in attitude from the Enlightenment and social movements also led to conflicts that forced the balance of power among different regions. The bourgeois attitude which was created was based on the sense of imperialism and nationalism which was established. Those in society who believed in imperialist structures began to move in international areas to change the territory and to take over a designated space. The balance of powers grew internationally specifically because of the change in social affiliations. As those within a given nation – state began to move into different regions and affiliations with other countries were also different regulations that were given to control the movements and to stop the tendencies for cultural supremacy. These were furthered by legalities in different lands which associated with the nation – state relations of other areas, both politically and economically. The balance of power from this viewpoint was based specifically on the need to establish social regulations and peace among countries while expansion was occurring within society (Anderson, Dowd, 934: 2007). Conclusion The different concepts which are associated with the balance of power in the 18th century were developed specifically because of the several shifts which were being made. The first of these were the political affiliations that led the nation – states into a check of governance. The regulations and legalities began to be the main part of the government and altered the structure of most regions. The second component that was a part of this was based on the economic shifts which led into international exchange and relations. This immediately pushed the need to have a balance of powers between different states so the economic agreements could lead to affiliations and sustainability in each region. The concept of sustainability then affected the social aspects of the nation – states, specifically because of the expectations for the government as well as the legalities which provided a balance of power to those that were living in a given region. The rise of the balance of power in the 18th century can then be attributed to the need to have more development and sustainability within society, all which led to a sense of growth among nation – states. References Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, James Robinson. 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(2005). “International Law in Times of Hegemony: Unequal Power and the Shaping of the International Legal Order.” European Journal of International Law 16 (3). Read More