POLI 244 Chapter Notes - Chapter OUP 250: Otto Von Bismarck, Realpolitik
5 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
Europe from the 16th century until before ww2. In the early 16th century, the reformation disturbed the feudal order in europe. The following clash between the european kings and the pope resulted in the devastating thirty years war from 1618 1648, that was only originally religiously motivated. The war ended with the signing of the peace of westphalia, a treaty that established the principle of sovereignty. The nation-state system did not, however, lead to stability in europe. Holy roman empire and the weakening of the ottoman empire after 1700 meant that new actors, mainly prussia and russia, emerged to challenge austria, which had been the dominant power in the region. And so european countries became less isolated from each other and less isolated from the world through colonialism. In the 18th century, there have always been at least four great powers.
