Western Civilization II / Unit 14 WC2 1301 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Great Powers: A Fragile Balance and Forty Years Without a War
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The idea
A great power had a mass army, an industrial base and an empire, and each feared one power dominating. The balance was fragile, not a guarantee. No power sought war in nineteen fourteen; all risked it. None had fought a European war in over forty years.
In practice
The Crimean and unification wars, the only models.
Where people slip
The anchor's framing: rivalry the chief cause.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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