dramatic changes under way, what explains the absence of major war? At least three
factors discouraged war.
First, Eu rope’s po liti cal elites were united in their fear of revolution among the
masses. In fact, at the Congress of Vienna, the Austrian diplomat Count Klemens von
Metternich (1773–1859), architect of the Concert of Eu rope, believed that returning
to the age of absolutism was the best way to manage Eu rope. Elites envisioned grand
alliances that would bring Eu ro pean leaders together to fight revolution by the lower
classes. During the first half of the century, these alliances were not successful. In the
1830s, Britain and France sided together against the three eastern powers (Prus sia,
Rus sia, and Austria). In 1848, all five powers faced demands for reform from the masses.
But during the second half of the century, Eu ro pean leaders acted in concert, ensuring
that mass revolutions did not spread from state to state. In 1870, in the turmoil fol-
lowing France’s defeat in the Franco- Prussian War, the leader Napoleon III was iso-
lated quickly for fear of a revolution that never occurred. Fear of revolt from below
thus united Eu ro pean leaders, making interstate war less likely.
Second, two of the major conflicts of interest confronting the core Eu ro pean states
took place within, rather than between, culturally close territories: the unifications of
Germany and Italy. Both German and Italian unification had power ful proponents
and opponents among the Eu ro pean powers. For example, Britain supported Italian
unification, making pos si ble Italy’s annexation of Naples and Sicily. Austria, on the
other hand, was preoccupied with the increasing strength of Prus sia and thus did not
actively oppose what may well have been against its national interest— the creation of
two sizable neighbors out of myriad in de pen dent units. German unification was accept-
able to Rus sia, as long as Rus sian interests in Poland were respected. German unifica-
tion also got support from Britain’s dominant middle class, which viewed a stronger
Germany as a potential counterbalance to France. Thus, because the energies and
resources of German and Italian peoples were concentrated on the strug gle to form
single contiguous territorial states, and because the precise impact of the newly uni-
fied states on the Eu ro pean balance of power was unknown, a wider war was averted.
The third factor in supporting peace in Eu rope was the complex and crucial phe-
nomenon of imperialism- colonialism.Imperialism and Colonialism in the Eu ro pean
System before 1870
The discovery of the “new” world—as Eu ro pe ans after 1492 called it— led to rapidly
expanding communication between the Amer i cas and Eu rope. The same blue-water
navigation technology also made contact with Asia less costly and more frequent. The
first to arrive in the new world were explorers seeking discovery, riches, and personal30 CHAPTER Two ■ Historical context of international relationsESSIR7_CH02_020_069_11P.indd 30 6/14/16 10:01 AM