International Relations
The monarchies of Europe were the foundation of the age. "Never since the days of the ancien régime of pre-revolutionary France had monarchy seemed so firmly entrenched. Instead of diminishing in number, royal thrones had multiplied, and the second half of the 19th and the early years of the 20th centuries had seen the setting up of half a dozen new monarchies, so by the year of Edward VII's death [1910] there were more monarchs in Europe than there had ever been. [T]here were 20 reigning monarchs - with a crowned sovereign in every country except France and Switzerland" (Theo Aronson, BBC.co.uk).
Monarchs of Europe: Family Rule
"Queen Victoria was sometimes called the Grandmamma of Europe, and there was hardly a Continental court that did not boast at least one of her relations. During World War One there were no less than seven of the old Queen's direct descendants, and two more of her Coburg relations, on European thrones." ~Theo Aronson, BBC.co.uk |
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Meanwhile, international treaties and alliances formed the framework of European politics, dividing Europe into two camps known as the Triple Alliance (Central Powers) and the Triple Entente (Allied Powers); smaller treaties also contributed to the political environment, including a Russo-Serbian alliance that would play a prominent role in 1914.
"Prepared as contingency arrangements rather than necessarily being intended for application, the [Triple Alliance and Triple Entente] . . . might have become historical curiosities . . . . But their underlying assumption was that if deterrence failed it would be perfectly appropriate to use them. And in fact between 1905 and 1914 the bases of deterrence crumbled as the two great alliances moved closer to military equality while armaments competition between them intensified and political antagonism - fuelled through a succession of diplomatic crises round the Mediterranean and in the Balkans - mounted. Although neither side saw war as inevitable, both were increasingly willing to contemplate it. By 1914 Austria-Hungary felt encircled and endangered in south-eastern Europe and Germany felt similarly about the European balance as a whole. Regional conflict and general European tension came to a head together" (Stevenson 8-9).
The combined influence of the Triple Alliance, Triple Entente, Russo-Serbian agreement and Austro-Serbian tensions dominated an increasingly antipathetic political climate. "Between the years 1907 and 1914 there was an increasing crystallization of opposition between the two groups into which the six Great Powers of Europe had now become divided" (Fay, 1: 223).
Walter Rappolt, citizen of Hamburg, Germany during 1914
Map of the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente: Nations and Rulers Ultimately Involved in WWI
Cream = Triple Alliance and allies (Central Powers); Blue = Triple Entente and allies (Allied Powers); Click image to enlarge.
Diagram credit: Joanna Hope Toohey
Diagram credit: Joanna Hope Toohey
Political Goals
Britain's Balance of Power
Professors Anthony & Jean McGinnis
"For many of the Powers, . . . a European War might seem to hold out the possibility of achieving various desired advantages: for Serbia, the achievement of national unity for all Serbs; for Austria, the revival of her waning prestige as a Great Power, and the checking of nationalistic tendencies which threatened her very existence; for Russia, the accomplishment of her historic mission of controlling Constantinople and the Straits; for Germany, new economic advantages and the restoration of the European balance which had changed with the weakening of the Triple Alliance and the tightening of the Triple Entente; for France, the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine and the ending of the German menace; and for England, the destruction of the German naval danger and of Prussian militarism." (Fay, 2: 547)