Armed Peace: 1871–1914 (A Global History in Chinese)

The “Armed Peace” is widely regarded by European historians as the “key” to understanding the outbreak of World War I. The Franco-Prussian War defeated France and brought about German unification, so why was France not destroyed? What role did the Concert of Europe play at the Congress of Berlin? Why was the transition of the German Empire from the Bismarck era to the era of Wilhelm II a strategic mistake? Why were Austria-Hungary’s ambitions in the Balkans irreconcilable with the Russian Empire’s Pan-Slavism? Why did the Ottoman Empire lose to the Balkan League in the First Balkan War? How did the unequal division of spoils among the Balkan League’s members trigger the Second Balkan War? How did the Moroccan Crises arise, and how were they resolved? Was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, an official act of the Kingdom of Serbia or the work of private citizens? What exactly happened during the crucial twelve days before the outbreak of World War I? Why did the Concert of Europe and the ambassadors’ conferences fail to prevent the war? This book provides detailed answers.