The Balance of Power: The System of International Relations, 1648–1815

415 Pages·1992·40.653 MB·English

by  Evan Luard (auth.)

THE BALANCE OF POWER
Also by Evan Luard
BRITAIN AND CHINA
NATIONALITY AND WEALTH
*CONFLICT AND PEACE IN THE MODERN
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
THE CONTROL OF THE SEABED
*INTERNAT IONAL AGENCIES: The Emerging Framework of
Interdependence
SOCIALISM WITHOUT THE STATE
TYPES OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
*THE UNITED NATIONS: How it Works and What it Does
*THE MANAGEMENT OF THE WORLD ECONOMY
*ECONOMIC RELATIONS AMONG STATES
*INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
*A HISTORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Volume 1: The Years of Western Domination, 1945-1955
Volume 2: The Age of Decolonization, 1955-1965
*THE GLOBALIZATION OF POLITICS
*BASIC TEXTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
*A lso published by Palg rave Macmillan
The Balance of Power
The System of International Relations,
1648-1815
Evan Luard
M
MACMILLAN
© the estate of Evan Luard 1992
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1992 978-0-333-55046-5
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First published 1992
Published by
MACMILLAN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Luard, Evan, 1926-1991
The balance of power: the system of international relations, 1648-1815.
1. Balance of power, history
I. Title
327.11209
ISBN 978-1-349-21929-2 ISBN 978-1-349-21927-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-21927-8
Contents
List of Tables vi
List of Maps vii
Preface ix
Publishers' Note xvi
1 The Idea of the Balance 1
2 The States 30
3 The Shifting Balance 57
4 Sovereignty 100
5 Status 129
6 Succession 149
7 Territory 174
8 Trade 204
9 Colonies 226
10 Alliances 256
11 Institutions 281
12 Rules 305
Conclusions: The Nature of the System 331
Notes 354
Index 384
v
List of Tables
1 Approximate size of armies, 1648-1815 37
2 European wars mainly or partly concerned with
succession, 1648-1815 150
3 Patterns of warfare: traditional antagonists, 1648-1815 197
4 Principal international congresses, 1645-1815 291
vi
List of Maps
1 The duchies of Schleswig and Holstein 119
2 The expansion of France, 1648-1714 178
3 Europe, 1648 182
4 Europe, 1815 183
5 Territorial changes east of the Rhine, 1648-1721 185
6 The growth of Brandenburg-Prussia, 1648-1772 187
VB
Preface
It is not the aim of this work to provide a new history of international
relations during the period it covers. There already exist a number of
excellent diplomatic histories providing accounts, on a chronological
basis, of dealings between European states at this time. The aim of
the present volume (and of the volumes which are planned to follow
it) is to present a more analytical survey of events. While it includes a
brief account of the main developments (Chapter 3), most of the
book is devoted to examining the ideas, the issues and the institutions
which shaped relations among states in this age; and on that basis to
consider the character of the system as a whole.
There are a number of questions which may legitimately be raised
about such an endeavour. The most obvious is: how far are we
justified in presupposing that there existed, whether in this period or
those which followed, anything that can be described as a "system" at
all? Are we not, in making use of that concept, seeking to impose on the
history of the period a logic, a pattern, which may not in fact be justified
by the haphazard and untidy reality of relationships at the time?
This is a pertinent question, to which we shall need to return when
we draw conclusions from our survey. For the moment it may be
sufficient to note that the idea that there existed a "system" of
international relations was undoubtedly current at the time;! and
that, in a more general way, commentators and statesmen of the
period spoke of the existence of a "society", "commonwealth", or
"federation" of states - even that the countries of Europe rep
resented a single "republic", linked together by bonds of close
intercourse and common interest. The fact that such beliefs were held
at all might be regarded as evidence that there existed at least the
preconditions for a "system" at this time.
Beliefs alone, however, are scarcely enough. If a system existed, it
should be demonstrated by actions as well as words: the actions of the
states of which it was constituted. But we still need to know how
these would demonstrate the existence of a system. In other words,
what does the concept of a system imply?
Over the past twenty or thirty years a vast literature has developed
on the subject of "international systems". Many of these works have
been influenced by "systems theory", originally evolved for the
analysis of engineering problems2 but later applied by other writers to
IX
x Preface
social and political systems.3 Such writings often sought to analyse
relations among states in terms of mechanical systems, employing the
terminology appropriate to such systems: inputs, outputs, feedback,
negative feedback, parameter values, operational rules, capability
variables, homeostatic control and so on.4 There were understand
able attractions in this approach. There are undoubtedly inviting
analogies to be drawn between the two kinds of system. But the
approach begged the crucial initial question: does there exist an
international system, and if so what is its nature? It was an initial
assumption that there was an international system resembling a
mechanical system; that relations among states are therefore governed
by predictable forces - based on relative national power and other
factors - in the same way that a piece of machinery may be by
electrical and other impulses. It thus implied that human beings in a
social setting can be expected to act with the reliability and precision
of the parts of a machine. And it correspondingly underplayed the
effect of intangible factors deriving from the complexities of individ
ual decision-making, social relationships and human psychology:
factors which cannot easily be allowed for in such an analysis.
If this therefore is too restrictive and specialised a use of the
concept of system, what better one can be found? What is the
minimum meaning to be attached to the idea?
First, the concept implies that there must be some interconnected
ness between the component parts. An entity which is totally discon
nected cannot be part of a "system". Thus a state which has no
contact whatever with other states cannot be said to belong to a
system of states. This means that one of the matters to be considered
in relation to the international system (in this and in later volumes) is
what form precisely this connectedness takes. Does it require diplo
matic relations, or would military contacts be enough? Is mutual
knowledge sufficient, or is mutual understanding also required? This
may determine the further question: which states belong to the
system; that is, what are its international boundaries? Is it possible
for a state to be (as Turkey might be said to have been during the
period we are concerned with) partly within the system and partly
without? In other words what degree of belongingness is required for
a state to be a member of the system?
Secondly, within a social system there must be not only intercon
nection but communication. Members of a social system are normally
influenced not only by the actions of other members but by their
words. So, in an international system, the conduct of one state can be