HIS 309: DIPLOMATIC HISTORY OF EUROPE IN THE 19TH CENTURY

In this course we will study the art and science of diplomacy by concentrating on the dramatic decisions and errors that led the Great Powers to create the Concert of Europe, which shaped European foreign relations throughout most of the nineteenth century, and later abandon it. After a preliminary set of readings on diplomats and their craft, we will turn our attention to four of the most significant foreign policy developments of the nineteenth century: the Congress of Vienna of 1815, the London Conference of 1830 (which addressed the issues at the core of the revolutions of 1830), the Crimean War and the Paris Peace Conference of 1856, and the Berlin Conference of 1878. As we examine how each of these events unfolded, we will concentrate on the decisions made by the governments and their foreign policy experts, as well as the factors that shaped these decisions. In an effort to explore the circumstances and options that faced Great Powers during these tense times, we will conduct role-playing exercises that will enable each member of the class to place themselves in the shoes of the diplomats we will be studying.