9 - Beyond Europe

Summary

Beyond Europe, the European imperialist security community proved too divided to act on non-European issues with a unified voice. European self-interest and Iberian resistance stood in the way of an early nineteenth-century plan to include the United States in the European system, and the non-European world was not considered as an equal partner at the negotiating table. From 1830 onwards, France was no longer considered an aggressor or enemy. The network of fortifications was losing its function, and the reputation of Allied solidarity slowly crumbled. The instruments to curb terror had spawned new protests and resistance across Europe. A novel, nationalist and radical rhetoric trumped the emotional vocabulary of ‘balance’, ‘moderation’ and collective security, and Spanish, Portuguese, South American, Belgian and German voices of dissent considered the Allied interventions too exclusive and imperialistic. Allied dictates were ignored, or openly rebelled against with radical counter-violence.