THE TRIUMPH OF NATIONALISM
A key word of the French Revolution
“What is a nation? A body of associates living
under a common law and represented by the
same legislature”
1789: a National Assembly
“The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in
the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any
authority which does not proceed directly from the
nation”
The nation = a social contract
freely embraced by the citizens
Romanticism: intellectual movement of the late
18th century focusing on emotions
A nation = the fruit of nature
The Franco-German conflict and the question of
Alsace-Lorraine
Self-determination vs. national
identity through language
What is a nation? (1882)
NO nation without national
consciousness
New technologies (printing
press/the railroad) +
EDUCATION
Wars: “Us” vs. “Them”
The unification of Germany (1871)
A “German National Myth” rediscovered in the
18th century and boosted by the French
Revolution & the Napoleonic Wars
Main element of unity = hatred for the French
The dream of a Greater Germany
The unification of Germany
under Prussia’s leadership
“Not through speeches and
majority decisions will the
great questions of the day be
decided but by iron and
blood“
The concept of Realpolitik (diplomacy based on power)
Austria dominates the German Confederation until 1859
Austria denied membership
Dialogue
“Iron and Blood”
Napoleon III supportive of the German national
movement
A German Confederation in the South and one in
the North
Bismarck: France to be compensated if she
remains neutral (Austria = next target)
Germany and Italy = a military alliance
A decisive Prussian victory
Free movement of the citizens
within the territory of the
Confederation (1867)
A common postal system
(1867/1868)
common passports (1867)
The taking over of the
Prussian military laws (1867)
To avoid humiliating Austria
Bismarck: France = an obstacle to the
incorporation of Southern German states to the
German Confederation
Napoleon III aware of the danger but fails to
reform the French military
A Franco-Austrian rapprochement?
1868: Queen Isabella of Spain overthrown
1870: the throne of Spain offered to a German
prince
Unacceptable to France
The Ems dispatch
France diplomatically
isolated
A defensive strategy
Poor logistics
Lack of conscription
The collapse of the Second Empire
The Third Republic
The Treaty of Frankfurt (May 1871): the loss of
Alsace-Lorraine + heavy reparations
German unification is now complete
‘We do not want to place anyone
into the shadow, but we also
claim our place in the sun’
1897
Social Darwinism: the survival of
the fittest
Prince von Bulow
The notion that the German race is
superior
A state must expand to survive
To unify German-speaking peoples of Europe
German spheres of influence outside of Europe +
colonies
No more than 20,000 members
Perception: Germany = a threat
The notion war was inevitable widespread in Germany
Two wars in the Balkans (1912-1913)
Confrontation between Germanic peoples and Slavs
inevitable
The Russian “menace”
War is a ‘biological necessity’
Germany must strike the
first blow: France must be
completely crushed
General von Bernhardi
The French motto:
avoid war if possible
but remain firm
Revenge over the loss
of Alsace-Lorraine =
a MYTH
Raymond Poincaré
The cornerstone of French foreign policy
The gradual retreat of Ottoman power in South-Eastern Europe
Sharing the spoils
complicated: a
complex
repartition of
populations
The seeds of a
second conflict
The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1908)
The Great Illusion by Norman Angell (1910):
economic interdependence of nations = war is
unprofitable
A 20th century war would
be on such a scale to
make war ‘unthinkable’
A major cultural change: the perception of an
irresistible march towards globalization
500+ international organizations (1912)
A common goal: to forge a project for the
future/to build a new society
INTERNATIONALISM vs. NATIONALISM
“The worker has no country”
A common enemy: capitalism
The Battle of Solferino (1859)
Henri Dunant
A peace conference for
the limitation of
armaments
Safeguarding the
human rights of
individuals involved
in armed conflicts
Nicolas II
The peaceful resolution of international conflicts
Laws and customs for the conduct of war on land
The extension of the Geneva Convention of 1864 to
naval warfare
“Hostilities [between nations] must not commence
without previous and explicit warning”
“The territory of a neutral power is inviolable.”
The use of floating mines was forbidden
The rise of nationalism in Europe =
increased tensions
The spark: the assassination at Sarajevo