... and economic changes. The relationship between the Great Powers was dynamic, affected by alliances and the ever-present arms race that was undergoing huge expansion within all countries. By the end of the nineteenth century, the political balance of power that had kept Europe at a temperate level of peace since Napoleon's near domination of Europe in 1815, began to unravel. At the centre of this disengagement stood the Great Powers, most notably Great Britain, Germany, Russia and France. The arms race played a key role in linking these countries, as the ever-present threat of a larger and stronger army created tension between the Great Powers. Through most of the nineteenth Century, Great Britain avoided the sort of social upheaval that had plagued the continent for the most part of the century. Many claimed that this was due to Britain's success with the traditional parliamentary democracy. But these were the elites, part ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now