The Great Powers and the European States System,1814-1914

by Roy Bridge, Roger Bullen

This book illuminates, in the form of a clear, well-paced and student-friendly analytical narrative, the functioning of the European states system in its heyday, the crucial century between the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 and the outbreak of the First World War just one hundred years later. In this substantially revised and expanded version of the text, the author has included the results of the latest research, a body of additional information and a number of carefully designed maps that will make the subject even more accessible to readers.

Genres: History, Politics, European History

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bridge and Bullen presents an excellent overview of the European states system of the ‘Long Nineteenth Century.’ Although short at only 336 pages, this book is highly detailed and not for the faint of heart. Someone with an interest in this time period or need for a general resource will find this book very useful and informative. Although readable, general readers or someone without an interest in the time period may have trouble getting through it due to its immense detail. Names of leaders, foreign ministers, untranslated French phrases and treaties zip by only to be referenced later. The book is good for an overview of the evolution, successes, failures, and decline of the concert system, the isolation of France after the Napoleonic Wars, the creation of Italy and Germany, and the ever troubling eastern question and many attempts by the great powers - particularly Russia - to gain influence over the declining Ottoman state. The section leading to the outbreak of World War I would be of particular interest to someone interested in looking into the causes of the decline of the concert system as it details the effects of the Balkan Wars on the great powers.

This book is an excellent resource for someone interested in the great power system and European diplomacy during the nineteenth century.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

En fantastisk genomgång av reaktionerna på Napoleon, hur dessa övergick i ett samarbete mot radikalism och nationalism, till hur man fångade nationalismen för politisk nytta, till hur den i sin tur drev Europa till dess största katastrof till dess och sedan dess; till 1a världskriget.

Boken lyckas med en av de viktigaste balansakter som en bra historisk genomgång måste lyckas med: den ger lika stort utrymme och förklaringstyngd åt personligheter som åt rörelser och allmänna tolkningar av situationer och intressen. Därmed försvinner inte historiens förklaringsvärden och inte heller dess begriplighet. Detta är naturligtvis en tacksamt väldokumenterad period att på det sättet genomlysa, men det hindrar inte att boken gör det på ett gott sätt.

Jag rekommenderar den för historienördar.

[Kiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good