eu rope in the nineteenth century
Two revolutions ushered in the nineteenth century— the American Revolution (1773–
1785) against British rule and the French Revolution (1789) against absolutist rule. Both
revolutions were the product of Enlightenment thinking as well as social- contract
theory. Enlightenment thinkers saw individuals as rational, capable of understanding
the laws governing them and capable of working to improve their condition in society.
the aftermath of revolution: core Princi ples
Two core princi ples emerged in the aftermath of the American and French revolutions.
The first was that absolutist rule is subject to limits imposed by man. In Two Treatises
of Government, the En glish phi los o pher John Locke (1632–1704) attacked absolute
power and the notion of the divine right of kings. Locke argued that the state is a ben-
eficial institution created by rational men to protect both their natu ral rights (life, liberty,
and property) and their self- interests. Men freely enter into this po liti cal arrangement,
agreeing to establish government to ensure natu ral rights for all. The crux of Locke’s
argument is that po liti cal power ultimately rests with the people, rather than with a
leader or monarch. The monarch derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed.^5
The second core princi ple was nationalism, wherein a people comes to identify with
a common past, language, customs, and territory. Individuals who share such charac-
teristics are motivated to participate actively in the po liti cal pro cess as a nation. For
example, during the French Revolution, a patriotic appeal was made to the French
masses to defend the French nation and its new ideals. This appeal forged an emotional
link between the people and the state, regardless of social class. These two princi ples—
legitimacy and nationalism— arose out of the American and French revolutions to
provide the foundation for politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
the napoleonic Wars
The pol iti cal impact of nationalism in Eu rope was profound. The nineteenth century
opened with war in Eu rope on an unpre ce dented scale. France’s status as a revolution-
ary power made it an enticing target of other Eu ro pean states intent on stamping out
the contagious idea of government by popu lar consent. In addition, France appeared
disor ga nized and weak, stemming from years of internal conflict. As a result, follow-
ing its revolution, France became embroiled in an escalating series of wars with Austria,
Britain, and Prus sia, which culminated in the rise of a “low- born” Corsican artillery
officer named Napoleon Bonaparte to leader of the French military and, eventually, to
the rank of emperor of France.
26 CHAPTER TWo ■ HistoriCal CoNtExt of iNtErNatioNal rElatioNs
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