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8 ] The Great Transformation
fused and crowded quarter centuries of European history"*—peace
was less safely established, as the ebbing strength of reaction met the
growing strength of industrialism. In the quarter century following
the Franco-Prussian War we find the revived peace interest repre-
sented by that new powerful entity, the Concert of Europe.
Interests, however, like intents, remain platonic unless they are
translated into politics by the means of some social instrumentality.
Superficially, such a vehicle of realization was lacking; both the Holy
Alliance and the Concert of Europe were, ultimately, mere groupings
of independent sovereign states, and thus subject to the balance of
power and its mechanism of war. How then was peace maintained?
True, any balance-of-power system will tend to prevent such wars
as spring from one nation's failure to foresee the realignment of
Powers which will result from its attempt to alter the status quo. Fa-
mous instances were Bismarck's calling off of the Press campaign
against France, in 1875, on Russian and British intervention (Austria's
aid to France was taken for granted). This time the Concert of Europe
worked against Germany, who found herself isolated. In 1877-78 Ger-
many was unable to prevent a Russo-Turkish War, but succeeded in lo-
calizing it by backing up England's jealousy of a Russian move toward
the Dardanelles; Germany and England supported Turkey against
Russia—thus saving the peace. At the Congress of Berlin a long-term
plan for the liquidation of the European possessions of the Ottoman
Empire was launched; this resulted in averting wars between the Great
Powers in spite of all subsequent changes in the status quo, as the par-
ties concerned could be practically certain in advance of the forces
they would have to meet in battle. Peace in these instances was a wel-
come by-product of the balance-of-power system.
Also, wars were sometimes avoided by deliberately removing their
causes, if the fate of small Powers only was involved. Small nations
were checked and prevented from disturbing the status quo in any way
which might precipitate war. The Dutch invasion of Belgium in 1831
eventually led to the neutralization of that country. In 1855 Norway
was neutralized. In 1867 Luxembourg was sold by Holland to France;
Germany protested and Luxembourg was neutralized. In 1856 the in-
tegrity of the Ottoman Empire was declared essential to the equilib-
rium of Europe, and the Concert of Europe endeavored to maintain
* Sontag, R. J.,
European Diplomatic History, 1871-1932,1933.