Reviews for Policy studies on economic analysis

The average rating for Policy studies on economic analysis based on 11 reviews is 4.1818181818182 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-07-18 00:00:00 Iain Delaney The late George F. Kennan, a very distinguished American foreign service officer and writer, offers a detailed look at the formation of the 1894 Franco-Russian alliance that played such a fateful role in the events of 1914. The France of the Third Republic was anxious to end 20+ years of diplomatic isolation following the disastrous Franco-Prussian war, and find a counterweight to Imperial Germany. Russia, in the form of Tsar Alexander III and many highly placed military and civilian personnel,

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-18 00:00:00 C Lare Pattison The late George F. Kennan, a very distinguished American foreign service officer and writer, offers a detailed look at the formation of the 1894 Franco-Russian alliance that played such a fateful role in the events of 1914. The France of the Third Republic was anxious to end 20+ years of diplomatic isolation following the disastrous Franco-Prussian war, and find a counterweight to Imperial Germany. Russia, in the form of Tsar Alexander III and many highly placed military and civilian personnel, was desirous of establishing a new foreign axis, given that Germany had refused to renew Bismarck\'s Reinsurance Treaty. Kennan follows the various diplomatic and military conversations involved, as well as the bureaucratic and political jostling that took place behind the scenes in Paris and St. Petersburg. The treaty, such as it was, took nearly three years to finalize, and constituted a commitment by both powers to undertake a general mobilization in case either was threatened by Germany. What astonishes Kennan is that neither party sought to define the political aims of any war that would result. Yes, the French expressed their desire for the return of Alsace-Lorraine, and Russian military personnel their aim to annex Galician Poland from Austria-Hungary, but beyond that, nothing was much discussed. Tsar Alexander, incredibly enough, believed that a defeat of Germany would mean the end of the German Empire, and a return to the cluster of smaller states that had existed prior to 1866. As General de Boisdeffre told his Russian counterpart, \"Let\'s defeat them first, the rest will be easy.\" Interestingly enough, the whole project went into high speed over the quite mistaken belief that the United Kingdom had agreed to accede to the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Moreover, in the following 20 years, i.e., down to the eve of World War I, very few people in either government were privy to the actual terms of the agreement as finalized. Secondly, the military personnel (Generals de Miribel and de Boisdeffre for the French, and Obruchev for the Russians) were certain that war was \"inevitable,\" without being able to point to any objective facts that would justify such a conclusion. The cautionary tale that the alliance offers to us is twofold, Kennan believes. First, if military professionals are allowed to operate on the assumption that war is inevitable, they will plan accordingly, with the result that such plans will lock in the parties and eliminate the room for diplomacy. As General Obruchev wrote, mobilization means war. Second, for all the horrors of World War I, Europe and the rest of the world were able to rebuild and revive afterwards. But in the age of intercontinental nuclear weapons, there is no such hope.

Review # 3 was written on 2021-08-09 00:00:00 Mauricio Ibanez Mr. Kennan spent most of his long and distinguished career focused on the history and diplomacy of Russia, the Soviet Union, and then Russia again (he was born 13 years before the birth of the USSR and outlived it by 14 years). He writes with insight and wit. He is thus the perfect man to explore the circumstances of the negotiations for the Franco-Russian military alliance from 1890-1894. Since Russia was by far the most reactionary great power in Europe at this time, and France the most liberal

Review # 4 was written on 2020-05-10 00:00:00 Jeff Smart The book deals with the coming together of France and Russia which were politically isolated for different reasons at the time; France due to Bismarck politics to keep it isolated, and Russia due to Germany letting the Reinsurance Treaty lapse. It shows that France from the outset guided Russia in concentrating the Russian forces against Germany rather than the actual enemy. The Russian tsar Alexander III was dreaming at the same time about a Germany broken up into a series of weak small states

Review # 5 was written on 2021-03-15 00:00:00 Kathy Negri The author was the American diplomat in Moscow for a short time and had written and advised about the Soviet Union. His perspectives on Russia, one would expect, were different than those typically trained historians. There were a few things I took away from the book. General Nikolai Obruchev's 1891 comment about mobilization no longer being a peaceful act, but rather an act of war (when was mobilizing an army ever considered peaceful?). The French insistence on a simultaneous mobilization - bot

Review # 6 was written on 2017-05-13 00:00:00 Sebastian Zapata A very interesting and scholarly review of the negotiations involved in formalizing the French / Russian Alliance in the 1890's. It is not an easy read by any definition; but it was a very worthwhile book to read. Keenan argues that the terms of this Alliance set the scene for the next 60 years of war in Europe. The characters on all sides are made real showing their strengths and faults. Alexander III, the Kaiser and Carnot are well-known to history. But Kennan brings to life the supporting cha

Review # 7 was written on 2014-01-19 00:00:00 Erma Davis This is a detailed account of the how the alliance between Russia and France came to be in the early 1890s. The treaty between the unlikely partners of Tsarist Russia and republican France was pursued by each for differing objectives, but both felt isolated in international affairs, and threatened by the partnership of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The terms of the treaty dictated that Russia and France were committed to come to the aid of the other in event of an attack by fully mobilizing their

Review # 8 was written on 2011-01-18 00:00:00 Rick Rhoades The author's central thesis - that the Franco-Russian alliance was the product of a predominant European theory of total war and total victory - is a useful one, but his narrative is, regrettably, a dull and turgid one.

Review # 9 was written on 2015-04-17 00:00:00 John Milton A very interesting and scholarly review of the negotiations involved in formalizing the French / Russian Alliance in the 1890's. It is not an easy read by any definition; but it was a very worthwhile book to read. Keenan argues that the terms of this Alliance set the scene for the next 60 years of war in Europe. The characters on all sides are made real showing their strengths and faults. Alexander III, the Kaiser and Carnot are well-known to history. But Kennan brings to life the supporting cha

Review # 10 was written on 2014-01-19 00:00:00 Scott Oakford This is a detailed account of the how the alliance between Russia and France came to be in the early 1890s. The treaty between the unlikely partners of Tsarist Russia and republican France was pursued by each for differing objectives, but both felt isolated in international affairs, and threatened by the partnership of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The terms of the treaty dictated that Russia and France were committed to come to the aid of the other in event of an attack by fully mobilizing their

Review # 11 was written on 2011-01-18 00:00:00 Vickie Brinkman The author's central thesis - that the Franco-Russian alliance was the product of a predominant European theory of total war and total victory - is a useful one, but his narrative is, regrettably, a dull and turgid one.