European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1870?

[Access Denied]

our teacher is really bad, so its kind of a self teaching thing, doing notes, but 'European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1870' is quite broad where do we stop??

thank you

[Julie]

Is this just one topic your teacher gave you, just one unit that has sub-topic, a cumulative title for your entire studies,etc.? Can you be more specific about what that title is?

[laryxle]

This is topic 6 for paper 3 isn't it? I did this topic. It's from 1870-1923. If you look up the history syllabus (which is probably somewhere on this site) it has a thing for this option with all the dot points you need to cover. It's stuff life Bismarck's germany, Wilhelm's Germany, causes of WWI, Versailles treaties. So you should stop after the Paris peace conferences (1923 is when the last treaty was signed)

[Julie]

Another name for that topic 6. is: European diplomacy and the First World War 1870-1923

So you basically really need to cover everything in that time period concerning diplomacy.

Here is the syllabus link:

This is what is says about specifically that topic 6. for paper 3. It is your ULTIMATE outline for the topic

6. European diplomacy and the First World War 1870‑1923

This section deals with the longer- and shorter-term origins of the First World War, its course and

consequences. The breakdown of European diplomacy pre‑1914 and the crises produced in international

relations should be examined. It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The

section also investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat plus a study of the economic,

political and territorial effects of the post-war Paris Peace Settlement.

• European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1870
  
• Aims, methods, continuity and change in German foreign policy to 1914; global colonial rivalry
  
• Relative importance of: the Alliance System; decline of the Ottoman Empire; Austria Hungary and
  
• Balkan nationalism; arms race; international and diplomatic crises
  
• Effects on civilian population; impact of war on women socially and politically
  
• Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers (Austria Hungary, Ottoman
  
• Empire and Bulgaria); strategic errors; economic factors; the entry and role of the United States
  
• Post-war peace treaties and their territorial, political and economic effects on Europe: Versailles
  
• (St Germain, Trianon, Neuilly, Sèvres/Lausanne)
  

[Access Denied]

sorry　forgot to include in the original message just need help with what to include in the first dot point on balnce of power

thank you

[Proletariat]

sorry　forgot to include in the original message just need help with what to include in the first dot point on balnce of power

thank you

In one word: Germany. Them uniting kinda screwed up the continent. Look at how Bismarck diplomatically isolated France, and at how politically fragile everything became after his dismissal and the subsequent reign of Wilhelm II: The Crazy One. Key will be the alliance system and how the secret alliances and treaties made everyone intrinsically tied to other people's business. I suppose balance of power would also involve discussions about the economies of the nations, in particular Germany and Britain. I know the last two bits had other bullet points on that list. Whatever. They're important in understanding balance of power.

I dunno. I'm giving general guidelines. Really though, each of those bullet points are related to each other; there's quite a degree of permeability. You can't really understand European diplomacy in the immediate leadup to WWI without understanding Balkan nationalism. Unless I'm misunderstanding you, which is quite possible. My hypothesis is that my brain only has so much capacity, and that I'm freeze-drying my History abilities to make room for all the IA/ToK/Uni crap I'm pushing through.