IMPORTANT TERMS

Balance of Power - The European geopolitical system that was based on the assumption that nations are inherently expansionist, and which maintained peace by pitting various camps or alliances of equal power against each other, thereby minimizing one nation's ability to conquer and disrupt the peace; this system originated after the defeat of Napoleon and continued throughout the nineteenth century in Europe and succeeded at promoting peace; the balance of power collapsed in 1914 because of the arms race, the expectation of a short and localized war, and a shift in the criteria of power

Scramble for Africa - 1875-1912; the term used to describe Europe's rush to colonize and divide up the African continent in the latter part of the nineteenth century; this coincided with imperialism throughout Asia; Germany was a late arrival to the imperial game and was handed a poor lot of colonies.

Three Emperors' League - 1873; an alliance coordinated by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck between the three most conservative powers in Europe--Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The governments pledged to consult each other on matters of mutual interest and guaranteed each other that if one went to war with a nation in western Europe, the other two would remain neutral; showed Bismarck's plan to eliminate the threat of a two-front war for Germany; also suggests the prevalence of the balance of power.

Pan-Slavism - The notion that all Slavic peoples, centered in eastern Europe and Russia, maintain some kind of cultural, ethnic, and political connection; was a very popular guiding principal among the Russian ruling elite in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; this promoted Russia's continued support for Serbian nationalism.

Congress of Berlin - 1878; the peace conference concluding the First Balkan Crisis, in which Russia supported the nationalist revolt of Bosnia-Herzegovina against the Ottoman Empire; Bosnia and Herzegovina were turned over to Austria-Hungary and Russia pledged to abandon its support of Serbian nationalism--all in the name of the balance of power.

Dual Alliance - 1879; With Russia out of the Three Emperors' League because Moscow felt betrayed by Germany at the Congress of Berlin, Bismarck reasserted the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary in this alliance

Triple Alliance - 1882; the alliance as it stood after Italy was asked to join; this maintained the balance of power in Europe in the face of the Triple Entente.

Triple Entente - 1907; informal alliance between France, Russia, and Great Britain; France and Russia had maintained an alliance 1895 and Great Britain joined in reaction to ominous developments, especially the Triple Alliance, on the Continent.

Schlieffen Plan - A German war plan developed in 1905. Created in response to the likely event of war with Russia, the Schlieffen Plan posited French support for Russia, and called on Germany to launch a devastating and fast-paced attack on France, based on the assumption that France, with miles of railroad and a large army, could mobilize and attack within days. Germany felt it had to eliminate France quickly or face a two-front war. Since Russia lacked a modern transportation system, its slow mobilization would allow Germany to apply a mere defensive force in the east until it defeated France in the west. As dictated by the plan, once France was out of the picture, Germany could devote all its military might to defeat the Russian bear.