Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy (Chapter 3) - Summary

FROM UNIVERSALITY TO EQUILIBRIUM Richelieu, William of Orange, and Pitt HENRY KISSINGER, DIPLOMACY - CHAPTER III European balance of power system emerged in the 17th Century from the final collapse of the medieval aspiration to universally. The Roman Empire and the Catholic Church understood Europe as heaven: there is only one God, so there has to be only one Emperor to rule in the secular world, and one Pope over the Universal Church. Therefore, during the medieval period, the Holy Roman Emperor never achieved a degree of central control, and the Empire had separated control of the church from control of the government. Western Europe was fractionated into a patchwork of duchies, counties, cities and bishoprics, enhancing the authority of several feudal rulers. However the Habsburg dynasty changed the political system. Emperor Charles V revived the imperial authority to a point that raised the prospect of a Central European empire (Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Eastern France, Belgium and the Netherlands), avoiding the balance of power in Europe. Emperors wanted to be seen as the agents of God, and the Papacy entered into a decadent age. RICHELIEU Once the concept of unity was collapsed, several emerging states appeared, and needed some principles to justify their heresy and to regulate their relations. Thus they found the concepts of raison d'état (national interest) and balance of power. French rulers saw the decline of the Holy Roman Empire (and its disintegration) and understood it as an opportunity to enhance France's security and expansion. Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu, had a key role in the development of France while he was its Prime Minister from 1624 to 1642. He was the father of the modern system and used the concept of raison d'état to justify the French policies of expansionism in Europe. Richelieu came into office when the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (Catholic) was attempting to stamp out Protestantism and establish imperial control over the princes of Central Europe. This process of Counter-Reformation, later called Thirty Years' War, divided Europe into two armed camps, the Protestant and the Catholics. When the War ended in 1648, Richelieu (who died in 1642) had already drafted a principle of raison d'état onto French policy, a principle the other states adopted and followed. For him, Habsburg attempt to re-establish the Catholic religion in the Center of Europe was not seen as a religious act, but as a maneuver of Austria to achieve dominance in Central Europe and reduce France's power. France was surrounded by Habsburg lands (Spain in the South, Austria in the East, the Italian city-states, Lyon and Savoy regions, Spanish Netherlands in the North...), and if Northern Germany fell also under the Hapsburg rule, France would become perilously weak in relation to the Holy Roman Empire. Haasburg domains in 1700 branch (Spanthi France Chardise Holy Roman Empire Bicherela Poland Transyvania Hungary Ottoman Empire Canile Austria became the most powerful region in Europe with the Habsburg control of the Holy Roman Empire under the Catholic control of the Emperor Ferdinand II, who had never heard about the concept of raison d'état. The Emperor was unable to deal and agree with the neighbor regions, the Protestant Scandinavia and the Muslim Ottoman Empire. For Ferdinand II, religion was considered to be the most important issue in his administration, and the national interests were not as important. On the other hand, Richelieu understood religion as something secondary in relation with the national interests. Even he was also religious, he understood his duties as a minister in a secular term; but Ferdinand would not subordinate his religious vocation to his political needs. Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution in 1555, which restored to Catholics all land confiscated by the Protestants since 1552. Moreover, Richelieu wanted to exploit Ferdinand's religious fervor in his service of French national ends, thus he supported and subsidized Protestant German and Scandinavian princes, such as Gustavus Adolphus, the "Lion of the North", to fight against Austria. Richelieu's main objective was to end with the encirclement of France, to exhaust the Habsburgs and to prevent the emergence of a major power in borders with France, and he had no problem to deal with other religions or creating a war in order to face Ferdinand II and defeat him. However, he had no interest in compromise until the French King had become as powerful as the Habsburg Emperor, and preferably stronger. The success of the reason d'état over religion was clear. In theory, the balance of power should be quite calculable, but in practice it proved extremely difficult to work out. Richelieu's defenders turned the arguments of their critics against them: Daniel de Priezac: "Richelieu was committing mortal sin by pursuing policies which seemed to favor the spread of heresy (herejía)." He stated that France was one of the most Catholic countries, so while serving to the interest of France, he was serving the interest of religion and the Catholic Church. He said that Richelieu was "seeking peace by means of war" Mathieu de Morgues: he accused Richelieu of manipulation religion "as Machiavelli did to the ancient Romans" in order not to the wealth of France but his personal will. He saw Richelieu as a manipulation that used religion to justify his acts and policies. "France became the dominant country in Europe and vastly expanded its territory. In the century following the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, ending the Thirty Years' War, the doctrine of the raison d'état grew into the guiding principle of European diplomacy." The initial phase of the Thirty Years' War was seen as the Habsburg attempt to unify Germany, but Richelieu thwarted (frustrar) the Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire was divided among more than 300 sovereign small states. Germany developed no national policy and calcified into provincialism until its unification done by Bismarck. For Richelieu, the principle of raison d'état had no build-in limitations. "How far would one go before the interests of state were deemed satisfied? How many wars were needed to achieve security?" Richelieu had bequeathed (legar) to the French King a strong state surrounded by a broken Germany and a decadent Spain. Nevertheless, Louis XIV did not see peace and security in Europe, but a possible expansion of France. As a response, an anti-French coalition appeared, even France was considered the most influential country in Europe 200 years after Richelieu's death, and is still considered a major factor of international politics. FROM HEGEMONY TO THE BALANCE OF POWER "In the world inaugurated by Richelieu, states were no longer restrained by the pretense of a moral code. [...] The stronger would seek to dominance, and the weaker would resist by forming coalitions to augment their individual strengths." The concept of balance of power was a tool to limit conflicts between nations, but not to solve them. Europe had to face several succession wars (in Spain, Austria, Poland...), and the states of Europe were constantly under wars in order to establish and implement any general notion of international order. The power position of several European states changed. Spain and Sweden were not considered as the strong states that used to be, and Russia (that had been absent in the Peace of Westphalia) and Prussia (which had no power) started to emerge as major powers. The Thirty Years' War led to a vacuum in Central Europe, and all states that surrounded the former Holy Roman Empire wanted to expand their borders and obtain more territories, such as Russia and Prussia did. PRUSSIA: Frederick the Great of Prussia understood international relations as a game of chess, so he expanded the border of Prussia to conquer Silesia. Prussia had the support of Great Britain and Hanover, while Russia had the support of Austria, France, Saxony and Sweden. WILLIAM OF ORANGE England was the only country in Europe whose raison d'état did not demanded for expansionist policies in Europe. A balance of power gradually emerged shifting coalitions under the British leadership (during the administration of William of Orange or William III as the King) against the French attempts to dominate Europe. The British-led coalition against the French hegemony was similar to Richelieu's policies to reduce the Habsburg power. England's Glorious Revolution of 1688 forced an immediate confrontation with Louis XIV of France (so-called the Sun King), when the English King James II was overthrown and replaced by William of Orange, from the Netherlands. Louis XIV wanted to conquer the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium) and to annex the territories to France, thus an anti-French coalition had to be born to restore the European balance of power and ensure the independence of both the Netherlands and England, which were in danger because of France expansionism. Sweden, Spain, Savoy, Austria, Saxony, the Dutch Republic and England formed the Great Alliance to counterbalance the French hegemony. As a result, France would remain as the strongest state in Europe, but would not become dominant.