A Peaceful History of Europe Since 1815

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY HISTORY 9712A Fall 2013

HIS9712A: A Peaceful History of Europe Since 1815

Francine McKenzie Lawson Hall 2233 661-2111 X84732 [email protected] Office Hours: Wednesday 9-11 or by appointment

Sally Marks: ‘Major wars often provide the punctuation marks of history, primarily because they force drastic realignments in the relationships among states.’ (The Illusion of Peace, p. 1)

Geoffrey Blainey: ‘For every thousand pages published on the causes of wars, there is less than one page directly on the causes of peace.’ (The Causes of War, p. 3)

Course Description:

The history of international relations is punctuated by wars; they are typically the bookends that demarcate the end of one era and the start of another - consider the so-called long 19th century: 1815- 1914. Historians devote much attention to the causes and consequences of war. By comparison, periods of ‘peace’ have received scant scholarly attention. It may be that as a non-event, peace is less tangible and therefore less easy to come to terms with. This international history course weaves together international relations, transnational and non-state actors, and ideas about peace over roughly 150 years of European history. It is not primarily a history of pacifism; our working definition of peace is broad and includes the mechanisms which sustained conditions of relative stability in Europe (the Concert of Europe and the EEC), attempts to resurrect peaceful international relations following wars (the Congress of Vienna, the Paris Peace conference of 1919, and the construction of the UN system after World War Two), conceptions of peace (individual, legal, economic, spiritual, geopolitical etc), periods/eras of ‘peace’, as well as the relationship between war and peace. Our overarching goals are to define peace, understand the causes and elements of peace, problematize the relationship war and peace, and consider an alternative periodization and conception of the history of European international relations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Weekly Meetings:

In this is a seminar we will work through key questions, concepts and topics together. Usually you will have to read no more than 200 pages per week: the readings should be done carefully and you should mull them over before coming to class. We will read some works by political scientists (such as Levy, Morgenthau, and Ikenberry): these are all accessible to students of history. Each student will be responsible for leading at least one class discussion. Prepare questions about the most pertinent issues and themes for each week’s topic of discussion: your questions will structure the class. You will not have to summarize the readings.

Readings from monographs are available on short term loan from Weldon library. If the library had an electronic version of a book, I have indicated this with an *. Journal articles are available in electronic form through Weldon. I will upload primary sources to our class website and other readings that do not violate copyright laws.

Our class is scheduled to meet for 3 hours. A three hour slot gives us time to discuss your assignments while they are in progress and then to present and discuss your final papers. On weeks where we will not be discussing the assignment, the class will typically end after two hours.

Supplementary Readings:

If you are not confident that you have a good overview of the history of European international relations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the following texts will orient you quickly:

Norman Rich, Great Power Diplomacy 1814-1914 (McGraw Hill, 1992)

James Joll, Europe Since 1870: An International History (Penguin, 1990)

Roy Bridge and Roger Bullen, The Great Powers and the European States System, 1814-1914, 2nd edition (Longman & Pearson, 2005)

Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (Knopf, 1999)

Mark Mazower, Governing the World: The History of an Idea (Penguin 2012)

Harold James, Europe Reborn: A History (Longman, 2003)

P. M. H. Bell, Twentieth Century Europe: Unity and Division (Hodder Arnold, 2006)

Useful Sources and Links on Peace History:

Yale Law School: The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy http://avalon.law.yale.edu/

Nobel Organization: http://www.nobelprize.org/

Peace Palace, The Hague http://www.vredespaleis.nl/index.php?tl=1

Nigel Young, ed. The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace (2010, 4 volumes)

Harold Josephson, et al eds, Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders (1985)

Weekly Meetings:

Sept. 11 Introduction to the class.

Why study the history of peace?

Sept. 18 Defining Peace

 Jack S. Levy, ‘The Causes of War and the Conditions of Peace’ in Annual Review of Political Science, 1998:1, 139-65.  Holger Nehring and Helge Pharo, ‘Introduction: A Peaceful Europe? Negotiating Peace in the Twentieth Century’, Contemporary European History (2008), 17, 277-299  Georges-Henri Soutou, ‘Was There a European Order in the Twentieth Century? From the Concert of Europe to the End of the Cold War’, Contemporary European History, 9, 3 (2000), 329-353.  Michael Howard, The Invention of Peace, Introduction, pp. 1-6 and chap. III: Peoples and Nations 1789-1918  Jay Winter, Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the Twentieth Century, Epilogue: An Alternative History of the Twentieth Century, pp. 2-4-209  John Gittings, The Glorious Art of Peace: From the Iliad to Iraq, chap. 1, pp. 15-38

Is peace different from stability?

Sept. 25 Peacemaking at Vienna 1814-1815

 G. John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order after Major Wars, chap. 4: pp. 80-116  Paul Schroeder, The Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848*, chap. 12, pp. 517-582  Paul Schroeder, ‘Did the Concert of Europe rest on a balance of power?’, American Historical Review, vol. 97, (3) June 1992: 683-706  Adam Zamoyski, Rites of Peace: the Fall of Napoleon and the Concert of Europe, chaps. 32-34, pp. 515-569  Alexander I and the Holy Alliance, 26 Sept. 1815

How did the peacemakers conceive of a peaceful European order? What did this reveal about their understanding of the overall workings of international relations? What role did leaders (ie ‘great men’) play in devising peace?

Oct. 2 Rethinking the Long and Peaceful Nineteenth Century: Why is the Crimean War Forgotten?

 Norman Rich, Why the Crimean War? A Cautionary Tale, chap. 1, pp. 1-17; chap 4, pp. 60-66  Paul Schroeder, Austria, Great Britain and the Crimean War: The Destruction of the Concert of Europe, chap. xvi, pp. 392-427  Orlando Figes, The Crimean War: A History, chaps 5, pp. 130-164; chap. 10, pp. 324-372; and chap. 11, pp. 373-410

Was there a Concert of Europe? What were the main characteristics of European international relations? How did the Crimean war affect the European order?

Assignment: Discuss preliminary research on biographical study.

Oct. 9 The Peace Movement and Champions of Peace in mid-19th Century Europe

 Mark Mazower, Governing the World: The History of an Idea, chaps 1-4, pp. 13-115  John Gittings, The Glorious Art of Peace, chap. 5, pp. 123-149  David Nicholls, ‘Richard Cobden and the International Peace Congress Movement, 1848-1853’, Journal of British Studies, October 1991, no. 4: 351- 76.  Martin Geyer, ‘One Language for the World: The Metric System, International Coinage, Cold Standard, and the Rise of Internationalism, 1850-1900’ in Martin H. Geyer and Johannes Paulmann, eds, The Mechanics of Internationalism: culture, society, and politics from the 1840s to the First World War, pp. 55-92

Note: We will also read speeches by Richard Cobden and Victor Hugo at the 1849 peace congress. These will be uploaded

How would free trade promote peace? Were the advocates of peace utopian?

Assignment: Discuss preliminary research on biographical study.

Oct. 16 Pax Britannica

 Ali Parchami, Hegemonic Peace and Empire: the Pax Romana, Britannica and Americana, chaps 3 – 6, pp. 61-164  Paul Young, Globalization and the Great Exhibition: the Victorian New World Order, chap. 4, pp. 145-197  Hans J. Morgenthau, ‘The Balance of Power’, in Williams, Goldstein and

Shafritz, eds, Classic Readings of International Relations, pp. 203-206  David Reynolds, Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the Twentieth Century, (2001 edition), chap. 1, pp. 36-61.

Did Britain keep the peace and for whom?

Assignment: The biographical study is due in class. Present the main findings of your analysis.

Oct. 23 Discourse of War and Peace during La Belle Epoque (1890-1914)

 Michael Howard, Studies in War and Peace, chap. 6, pp. 99-109  Jay Winter, Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the twentieth century, chap. 1, pp. 11-47  Akira Iriye, Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World*, chap 1, pp. 9-36 (concentrate on pp. 9- 19)  Akira Iriye, Cultural Internationalism and World Order, chap 1, pp. 13-50  Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August, chaps. 1-5, pp. 1-68.  Madeleine Herren, ‘Governmental Internationalism and the Beginning of a New World Order in the Late Nineteenth Century’ in Geyer and Paulmann eds, The Mechanics of Internationalism: culture, society, and politics from the 1840s to the First World War, pp. 121-144  Christiane Eisenberg, ‘The Rise of Internationalism in Sport’, in Geyer and Paulmann eds, The Mechanics of Internationalism: culture, society, and politics from the 1840s to the First World War, pp. 375-403.

Did people want to avoid war? Was there a global/ European community or a sense of internationalism before 1914?

Oct. 30 Conscientious Objectors and Critics of War

 Adam Hochschild, To End All Wars: a story of loyalty and rebellion, 1914- 1918, chap. 5, pp. 54-64; chap. 7, pp. 79-97, chaps. 13, pp. 177-199; chap. 15, pp. 215-237.  Will Elsworth-Jones, We will not fight: the untold story of the First World War’s Conscientious Objectors, chaps 6-7, pp. 66-91 and chaps 11-12, pp. 131-166  Lois Bibbings, Telling Tales about Men: conceptions of conscientious objectors to military service during the First World War, prologue pp. 27-49, chap 1, pp. 50-88 and chap 5, pp. 165-194

What principles informed the positions of conscientious objectors? What does their treatment reveal about societies and governments at war?

Nov. 6 Paris Peace Conference

 William Keylor, ‘Versailles and International Diplomacy’ in Manfred F. Boemeke, Gerald D. Feldman, and Elisabeth Glaser, The Treaty of Versailles: A Reassessment after 75 Years, pp. 469-506

 Erez Manela, Part I: The Emergence of a Wilsonian Moment, pp. 15-53 in The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism  Margaret Macmillan, Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, Parts I & II, pp. 11-107, Part IV, pp. 167-214  V.I. Lenin, ‘Report on Peace Delivered at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviet Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies’, 26 Nov. 1917  Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, Delivered in Joint Session, 8 Jan. 1918

How were peace and security connected? How were Lenin and Wilson’s conceptions of peace received in Paris?

Nov. 13 The Illusion of Peace or Internationalism Ascendant?

 Sally Marks, The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe, 1918- 1933, 2nd edition, chap. 3, pp. 63-82 and chap. 4, pp. 83-115  P.M. H. Bell, The Origins of the Second World War in Europe, chap. 3 &4, pp. 34-54. (2007 edition)  Glenda Sluga, Internationalism in the Age of Nationalism, Imagine Geneva, between the wars, pp. 45-78  Daniel Gorman, ‘Ecumenical Internationalism: Willoughby Dickinson, the League of Nations and the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches’, Journal of Contemporary History, 2010, 45:51, 51-73  Susan Pedersen, ‘Back to the League of Nations’, American Historical Review, October 2007, Vol. 112, 4, 1091-1117.

Was the period 1919-1939 an interlude between two wars? Was the League of Nations a failure? What was internationalism?

Assignment: Discuss periodization papers.

Nov. 20 Revisiting Appeasement: the Low, Dishonest Decade?

 Sidney Aster, Appeasement and All Souls: A Portrait with Documents, chap 3, pp. 139-190  Bruce Strang, The Spirit of Ulysses? Ideology and British Appeasement Diplomacy & Statecraft, 2008 (19): 481-526  Paul Kennedy and Talbot Imlay, ‘Appeasement’ in Gordon Martel, ed., The Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered: A.J.P. Taylor and the Historians*, pp. 116-134  Peter Neville, Hitler and Appeasement: the British attempt to prevent the Second World War, chap. 2, pp. 5-16, chap. 4, pp. 31-47, chap. 9, pp. 135-153  Daniel Hucker, Public Opinion and the end of appeasement in Britain and France (2011), Introduction, pp. 1-22, chap. 6, pp. 193-228  The 1935 peace ballot

Was appeasement a policy rooted in a desire for peace or a fear of war?

Assignment: Discuss periodization papers.

Nov. 27 Building the World Anew: National Security, Human Security and the UN System

 Mark Mazower, ‘The Strange Triumph of Human Rights’, The Historical Journal, 2004 (47): 379-398  David Mackenzie, A World Beyond Borders: An Introduction to the History of International Organizations, chap. 1, pp. 1-7 and chap. 3, pp. 33-55.  Stephen C. Schlesinger, Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations: A Story of Superpowers, Secret Agents, Wartime Allies and Enemies and their Quest for a Peaceful World, chap. 8, pp. 127-142; chap. 10, pp. 159-174; and chap. 14, pp. 227-243.  Amy L. S. Staples, ‘To Win the Peace: The Food and Agriculture Organization, Sir John Boyd Orr, and the World Food Board Proposals’, Peace & Change, 28 (4), 2003: 495-523.  Glenda Sluga, ‘UNESCO and the (One) World of Julian Huxley’, Journal of World History, Vol. 21, No. 2: 393-418

How have human rights influenced conceptions of peace? Did national security and human security work in tandem? Could European peace be separated from global peace?

Assignment: The periodization paper is due in class.

Dec. 4 Europe Integration

 Tony Judt, Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945, chap. 1, pp. 1-40 chap. II, pp. 41-62, chap. III, pp. 63-99  Desmond Dinan, Europe Recast: a History of European Union, chaps 1 & 2, pp. 13-82  Jean Monnet, Memoirs, chap. 12, pp. 288-317  Robert Marjolin, Architect of European Unity: Memoirs 1911-1986, Part 3: 1. Meditation of a Nightmare, pp. 143-158; 6. Europe Reborn, pp. 221-235  Walter Lipgens, ed., Documents on the History of European Integration, review of select documents  2012 Nobel Peace prize speech of EU at: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2012/presentation- speech.html

Was peace the main objective behind integration?

Assignments:

(i) Two research and writing assignments:

1. Biographical study: Choose a prominent public figure from the 19th or 20th centuries and explain their conceptions of peace. Below is a list of some people you might consider writing about. You can also choose someone who is not on the list. Note that while women are often marginal figures in international history accounts, they have long been active in matters related to peace. Fifteen women have received the Nobel Peace prize. (8-10 pages)

Joseph Sturge Aristide Briand Frederic Bastiat Charles Pecqueur Richard Cobden George Bernard Shaw Victor Hugo Ludwig van Beethoven Neville Chamberlain

Leo Tolstoi Jean Jaurès Auguste Schou

John Bright Bertha von Suttner Pierre de Courbetin Rosa Luxembourg Eugenie Niboyet Frederika Bremer Bertrand Russell Maria Montessori Sigmund Freud Vera Brittain Emily Hobhouse Henri Dunant Keir Hardie John M. Keynes Alexander I

We will discuss your preliminary research in class on 2 and 9 October and you will present your overall findings on 16 October. The paper is due in class on 16 October.

2. Periodizing peace: Define a chronological period in European history between 1815 and 1960. The period can be very short – such as the months during which the negotiations of a peace treaty were held – an intermediate length (say 10-25 years) or as long as a century. Justify your periodization in terms of writing peace history. Why might the period be considered peaceful? What does it contribute to our understanding of the causes and conditions of peace? The purpose of the assignment is to think about the ways in which standard periodization affects the questions we ask and the dominant understandings in European history. The long nineteenth century (1815-1914), the interwar years, and the postwar era typically define the chronology of European history. This chronology underscores the significance of wars. For example, if we accept the 1920s and 1930s as the interwar period, the developments toward stability and cooperation are presumed to be a false start or the period is written off as an interlude between two wrenching wars. Within such a periodization, the questions we ask tend towards explaining the failure to prevent war or maintain peace rather than examining, for instance, the growth of NGOs, the significance of international cooperation, or the impact of the technical organizations of the League of Nations. (15-20 pages)

We will discuss your research and preliminary ideas on 13 and 20 November. Your paper is due in class on 27 November 2013.

(ii) Take-home exam: You will receive the exam in class on 4 December. It will be due at 12pm sharp on 11 December. We will discuss the exam in class.

(iii) Participation: Students are expected to participate actively, thoughtfully, and spiritedly every week. You will lead at least one class.

Grade breakdown:

First paper: 15%

Second paper: 30%

Take-home exam: 35%

Participation: 20%

Statement on Academic Offences:

Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholastic_discipline_grad.pdf "

All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism-detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com).

If I call in a student to discuss an essay, you will be expected to bring all of your research notes and all preliminary drafts of your paper.