For although the 1890s saw some relatively small-scale confl
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
For although the 1890s saw some relatively small-scale conflicts (the Sino-Japanese War, the Spanish-American War, the Boer War), and later one large if still localized encounter in the Russo-Japanese War, the general tendency after that time was for what Felix Gilbert has termed the “rigidification” of the alliance blocs.174 This was accompanied by the expectation on the part of most governments that if and when the next great war occurred, they would be members of a coalition. This would enhance and complicate assessments of relative national power, since allies brought disadvantages as well as benefits.
chapter: Alliances and the Drift to War, 1890–1914