German Perceptions of the Triple Entente after 1911: Their Mounting Apprehensions Reconsidered
After 1911, Germany felt increasingly threatened by the Triple Entente. Secret intelligence from the Russian embassy in London revealed a growing cohesion among the Triple Entente partners: Britain, Russia, and France. In particular, Berlin feared the success of Raymond Poincare of France, first as premier and then later as President, as he worked to convert the entente with London into an alliance and to reinforce alliance ties with Russia. In the summer of 1914 came the murders at Sarajevo of Habsburg Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. When Vienna decided to punish Serbia, Berlin agreed to support them in the belief that Russia would not back Serbia. But even if Russia did support Serbia, better a war now than later. Rather than be intimidated, Russia took escalatory actions of its own to help Serbia and their French ally. The First World War was the result.
STRUCTURE MATTER S: HOW ORGANIZATIONAL CHARA CTERISTICS AFFECT MILITARY EFFORTS
OF DISSERTATION STRUCTURE MATTERS: HOW ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AFFECT MILITARY EFFORTS Military organizations develop a unique set of practices and procedures in response to their particular political, economic, and social circumstances. The characteristics of these organizations shape standardized behaviors, methods of training personnel, and the degree of stratification within their bureaucratic hierarchies. This study examines how organizational characteristics influence battlefield effectiveness, patterns of alliance formation, and the security of United Nations peacekeepers. Chapter 2 evaluates how differences in personnel sophistication and bureaucratic stratification influence battlefield efficacy. A military may devote substantial resources to develop war plans and procure advanced technology, but these assets are of limited consequence in the absence of personnel and a bureaucratic configuration capable of translating political aims into military actions. Using battle-level data from the First World War, I find that military organizations with stratified bureaucratic hierarchies and relatively sophisticated personnel are significantly more effective on the battlefield. Chapter 3 examines how characteristics of military organizations influence the likelihood of alliance formation. Previous literature argues that a cooperative relationship is essential for an alliance to form, but allied states must also coordinate military activities in order to operate as a cohesive unit. Recognizing the extensive interplay between cooperation and coordination, I contend that alliances form when states share common interests and have military organizations capable of coordinating actions. Through an analysis of alliance formation from 1816-2007, I find that states with similar military organizations are significantly more likely to create security alliances. Chapter 4 investigates how organizational traits of United Nations peacekeeping coalitions influence the frequency and magnitude of deliberate attacks on peacekeepers. Peacekeeping missions occur in unstable conflict environments, so effective collaboration among peacekeepers is critical to achieve mandated objectives and protect UN personnel drawn from harm. Operating as a cohesive unit presents a considerable challenge for peacekeeping forces because they are ad hoc coalitions of contingents from a variety of organizational cultures and professional backgrounds. Using annual data of UN peacekeeping operations from 1990-2013, I find that peacekeeping coalitions sharing similar organizational structures suffer fatalities at a significantly lower rate and magnitude.
The Oxford history of the twentieth century
1. The Dawn of the Century 2. Communications, Disease, and Demography 3. Understanding the Universe 4. The Expansion of Knowledge 5. The Growth of a World Economy 6. The Growth of a Global Culture 7. The Visual Arts 8. European Empires and Emerging Nationalism 9. Europe in the Age of Two World Wars 10. The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union 11. The United States 1900-1945 12. East Asia and the Emergence of Japan 13. The Confrontation of the Superpowers 14. The United States since 1945 15. The Soviet Union and Beyond 16. The Remaking of Europe 17. East Asia 18. China 19. South-East Asia 20. South Asia 21. North Africa and the Middle East 22. Africa 23. Latin America 24. The Old Commonwealth: The First Four Dominions 25. Towards an International Community? The United Nations and International Law 26. The Close of the Century 27. Towards the Twenty-first Century: New Problems, New Opportunities Chronology Further Reading Index