How far can the Alliance System Be Considered a Factor of the First World War?
How far can the Alliance System Be Considered a Factor of the First World War? The Prussian victory over France in1870, and the creation of the German Empire, led to a dramatic shift in the European balance of power, and to an international system in which Germany, (by now the strongest military power on the Continent and one with large and expanding industrial resources,) necessarily played a leading role. It was up to Bismarck to invent a type of foreign policy. His name has now been associated with a style of diplomacy, which is dishonest, known as "Realpolitik". It was through this kind of diplomacy, which resulted in various treaties being drawn up. The reason for this was that Bismarck intrigued, bluffed and frightened other ambassadors and foreign ministers into doing his will. For example, in 1887, a "reinsurance" treaty was drawn up between Russia and Germany, as Bismarck had read the Austrian Ambassador the exact text from the German-Austrian treaty. This treaty insured Russia's neutrality in a Franco-German war, without committing Germany to anything specific in return. Throughout the years of 1879 to 1907, a total number of nine treaties were formed. These are important factors in the outbreak of the first world war, as they lulled each nation into a false sense of security, as they believed with their "friends" behind them, a loss was not possible. As a
How and why did the Alliance System contribute to the outbreak of the First World War?
. How and why did the Alliance System contribute to the outbreak of the First World War? In 1873, Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany started a series of alliances with other countries to isolate France, and to prevent her from taking revenge against Germany after her loss in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. The Alliance System played an important role in leading to the First World War mainly because it divided the European powers into two rival military camps, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente by 1907. The rivalry between the two camps brought about the First World War. Also, the alliance system turned simple quarrels into complicated conflicts, thus leading directly to the outbreak of the First World War. Firstly, after the setting up of the Alliance System, there wasn't a country that could manoeuvre / mediate, because the European Powers had either joined the Triple Alliance or the Triple Entente. Secondly, most of the details of the alliances were kept secret. For example, the Dual Alliance was formed secretly as German was not willing to antagonize Russia. As a result, mutual suspicions and fears among the powers were deepened and the powers watched others more suspiciously. Tension between the two military camps was further increased. Thirdly, because of the assurance provided by the alliance system, the European powers believe that their allies would
(2) Why and how did the alliance system lead to the outbreak of War
(2) Why and how did the alliance system lead to the outbreak of War? Firstly, the fact that the alliances were always made on a war-footing and the powers were divided into sides nurtured a sense of competition and heightened the war tension and led to an arm race between European powers. For example, after the formation of the Triple Entente, Germany competed with Brit in building dreadnoughts. Thus all European powers were ready for war in 1914. Secondly, as most details of the alliances were kept secret, mutual suspicions and fears deepened and the powers watched each other's moved suspiciously. This suspicion prevented their diplomats from devising a suitable solution to many of the crisis preceding to war. Thirdly, since the European powers had made alliances with one another, any quarrel between countries within the two camps would easily involve all other countries of the camp. e.g. Serb vs Austria - to WWI. Fourthly, the powers became less willing to settle disputes by peaceful means as they believed their allies would give them military support. e.g. Blank Check - to war Fifthly, the alliances were originally strictly defensive but by 1910, many alliances had changed their nature. The Austro-German alliance became an aggressive alliance after the Bosnian crisis in 1909, the Germany promised to give military aid to Austria-Hungary, if she invaded Serbia and
What motivates a firm to seek an alliance? What are the costs associated with alliance? Discuss using at least one example.
In response to the question: What motivates a firm to seek an alliance? What are the costs associated with alliance? Discuss using at least one example. Introduction: Alliances are a strategic tool that, illustrating it on a chart that matches formalization with the degree of commitment, is located between spot sales and vertical integration (Grant, 2002). There are however other, less popular options businesses can take such as implicit contracts. Alliances cover the majority of the firm relationships that lie between the two poles such as informal supplier and customer relationships, vertical partnerships, joint ventures, technology- sharing arrangements, joint research and development, shared manufacturing and joint marketing and distribution arrangements (Grant, 2002). As early as the 1960´s researchers from the Harvard Multinational Enterprise project observed international joint research alliances (Lunden and Hagedoorn, 2001). The number of new alliances has grown by 20 percent every year over the last two decades (Ernst, 2002). They have clearly developed into one of the most commonly employed strategic option employed by managers at the beginning of the 21st century rivalling mergers and acquisitions. In order to analyse what motivates firms to seek an alliance we will examine the different forms of alliance and how they can be used to achieve competitive
How far did the alliance system between the great powers contribute to the onset of WWI
How far did the alliance system between the great powers contribute to the onset of WWI? Bismarck, the German Chancellor from 1871 to 1890, started the alliance system. After the Franco-Prussian war, Bismarck held that Germany was a "satisfied state" which should give up ideas of further conquest. Thus Bismarck organized a system of alliances designed to maintain Germany's hegemony on the European continent. France was determined to challenge the hegemony of Germany because France had been defeated by Germany in 1871 and had been forced to cede two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) to Germany. Bismarck tried to be friends with Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain in order to isolate France. The partners of Bismarck were Kaiser William I and mcap Alexander II of Russia and Emperor Francis Joseph. They agreed on three rules: to maintain the existing territorial arrangements in Europe: to resist the spread of revolutionary movements and to consult one another if any international difficulties arose. For Bismarck it was hard to keep Austria and Russia in the same camp, because they had rivalry over the Balkan Peninsula, they both wanted to dominant the Balkans. After the League of the three emperors, Bismarck made a dual alliance with Austria-Hungary. They promised to support each other militarily until the end of the war if attacked by Russia or by Russia and other power and they agreed
It was the alliance system in Europe that led to the outbreak of war in 1914
It was the alliance system in Europe that led to the outbreak of war in 1914 Introduction In 1914, most of the major powers in the world were European powers. However during that period of time, there were many causes of friction that threatened to upset the peace of Europe. The major causes of friction were colonial rivalry, the arms race and the alliance system. Britain at that time was the richest and most powerful nation on Earth. The British Empire covered about a quarter of the world's population and she was a wealthy trading nation. The British navy was the most powerful in the world and although, the army was small, it was extremely efficient. Germany was politically ambitious and aggressive. They felt that they should have a greater part as a world leader and wanted more colonies, this threatened Britain's position as the largest colonial power. Germany had a large and efficient army and she also had a productive agriculture and her manufacturing industries were second only to the USA. France was an industralised country, but not as much as Germany or Britain. She had a fair amount of colonies in Africa and the Far East. France had a large army and navy however one reason why they were less productive than Germany was because of the lack of natural resources and a smaller population compared to the other great powers at that time. Italy was an under-developed
The Countryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance Aims of the Countryside Alliance The Countryside Alliance has a wide range of aims ranging from promoting sustainable livelihoods, strengthening rural communities and creating the right of the individual to choose his or her own way of life. Its Policies cover the following areas: Food Farming. Rural Services Rural Business Rural Development Environment Tourism As a rural organisation that is deeply concerned for the social and economic state of the countryside, the Countryside Alliance has developed its rural agenda through its strong links with rural people and it campaigns vigorously to make public policy take full account of rural needs. An example of its aims on each of the above Policy areas is shown below: FOOD The Countryside Alliance has an "Honest Food" Campaign which defends and promotes diversity in food production, consumer choice and rural livelihood. FARMING The Countryside Alliance believes in farming reform that removes dependency and creates a new way of doing things rather than simply rebuilding the old. RURAL SERVICES The Countryside Alliance campaigns for rural livelihoods and therefore represents rural people and their need for sufficient public services in rural areas. RURAL BUSINESS The Countryside Alliance believes that small and medium sized businesses must be protected from burdensome-regulation and
Success in the Alliance
Success in the Alliance In 1999, Renault and Nissan built an Alliance following a common strategy and exploiting synergies. Cross company teams were built to support the Alliance in all aspects of the companies business. It was a win-win for both sides. For Nissan, the Alliance helped it avoid bankruptcy and regain profitability as well as receiving from Renault the expertise and experience. And on the other side, Renault was provided with the economies of scale and Nissan's technology, sales experience, and in addition, its distribution in Nissan's territory. This Renault-Nissan Alliance, after 9 years' development, was considered as the most successful alliance in the automotive industry in the world. The success of the Alliance was significantly attributed to the leadership of Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of both companies and his management team. As Carlos always had a big picture over the two companies, he was able to balance the development and benefit for both. Mutual respect was the philosophy for the Alliance to stick to, and it was always kept in the minds of managers when making decisions. Another critical rule was the win-win principle, which was also the reason why the Alliance could remain as any single decision should not been made at the expense of the benefit of the other side. Although Carlos' leadership had proved a new way of companies' cooperation, the
Case Study Star Alliance
) Which developments in the global airline industry made possible the creation of strategic alliances? Airlines started to develop strong strategic alliances right at the same time as the deregulation of the industry was implemented. The European Commission put third Package into effect in 1993. The trend followed the preceding one that occurred several decades ago in the US (signature of the us airline deregulation act in 1978). This meant a total market opening and the dismantling of the protectionist framework operating since the 1940's. Another major reason was the approbation of code sharing agreements by the US DOT, that allowed airlines to expand their route networks and to offer their passenger routes under coordinated times in certain markets. As demand for air travel is inextricably linked to the strength of the economy, global events occurring in the 1990's had a huge impact in airlines' strategies. Perhaps the biggest reason for the airlines getting into alliances was the Gulf War in 1991-1992, where airlines in general saw slump in air traffic and sales. The other one was the economic recession that hit not only Europe, but also the world. People had less money, therefore flew less and seats in the airplanes were empty. The industry recovered very quickly, though, after this and even went to the highest sale in mid 1992. After that traffic went down again and
The emerge of Alliance 90
University of Bucharest Faculty of Political Science English Section The emerge of Alliance 90 / Green Party in Germany Who chooses to vote the Green Parties? - The Typology of the "Green Citizen" Professor coordinator: Camil Parvu Student: Alina Dancu SPE III Green parties have rapidly become a familiar feature of the political landscape, particularly in Europe. The first green parties were formed in Tasmania and New Zealand in 1972, and the Swiss elected the first green to a national assembly in 1979. By the late 1990s, green parties were sufficiently established to have joined national coalition governments in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy, to have elected deputies in server other national parliaments and wide representation in sub-national government.1 In 1999, the first Green European Commissioner was appointed. The greens have clearly made their appearance and their message seems to have sufficient coherence and resonance to exert an electoral call that goes beyond national boarders. How do we account for the rise of green parties? Do they simply reflect a specific public concern about the state of the environment, or is their appearance a need for a new politics? Who are the people that green parties message appeal to? Green parties have achieved their main electoral success in Northern and Western Europe. In four countries, West Germany, Belgium,
