INR 2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Great Power, Maginot Line, Otto Von Bismarck
Document Summary
Began with european history"s overlapping lines of authority. Europe had to be redrawn literally and conceptually - lasting legacy for today. Ended with peace of westphalia that established basic principles. Creates idea of nation-state: a place and people united by language, culture, etc. Big changes that didn"t necessarily lead to stability. Weakening of empires and growth of new powerful states. All of this war cost a lot - especially france. Rulers of smaller political units, such as city-states, counties, or duchies, often owed allegiance to the rulers of larger principalities or kingdoms and were granted title over their lands in exchange for promises of money or military service. The 1648 treaty that ended the thirty years" war and marked the beginning of the modern international system by legitimizing the state as the ultimate sovereign authority over people and geographic territory. Exclusive political authority over a defined territory and the people within it.
