Nation‐State System: History Optional PYQs

Nation-State System: Rise of Nationalism in 19th century;

Nationalism: state building in Germany and Italy;

Disintegration of Empires in the face of the emergence of nationalities across the world.

PYQs: Nation‐State System [1985-2024]

1. “They have stopped me from making Italy by diplomacy from the North, I will make it by revolution from the South.” Comment in about 200 words. (1985)
2. ‘The Unification of Germany was the one thing Bismarck was determined to prevent.’ Comment in about 200 words. (1987)
3. ‘The Eastern Question has always been an international question’. Comment in about 200 words. (1989)
4. ‘The comparion between Cavour’s and Bismark’s achievements reveals ‘striking points of resemblance and no less striking points of dissimilarity.’ Comment in about 200 words. (1990)
5. ‘Nominally the new Turkey was republican and democratic.’ Comment. (1992)
6. What were the obstacles to Italian unification till 1852? How and with what methods was the unification of Italy achieved? (1993)
7. At the end of the battle of Sedan (1870), “Europe lost a mistress and gained a master.” Comment. (1995)
8. The unification of Italy and that of Germany constituted a contrast in respect of the ways they were affected and the impact they left on later international politics. Elucidate. (1995)
9. “The unification of Italy completed the destruction of the European order.” Comment. (1997)
10. Isolation of France constituted the keystone of Bismarck’s foreign policy. Elucidate. (1997)
11. Lord Beaconsfield after his return from the Congress of Berlin (1878) boasted: “I have brought peace with honour” Comment. (1998)
12. The political unification of Germany was accomplished solely by Bismarck. Comment. (1999)
13. “The Crimean War was the most useless war ever waged.” Comment. (2000)
14. “Bismarck created a new Germany with the policy of ‘blood and iron’.” Comment. (2001)
15. “Napoleon kindled the national sentiment, but German unity was achieved by Bismarck.” Discuss. (2002)
16. ‘Bismarck united Germany not by majority of votes and speeches but by a policy of “blood and iron”. In the light of this statement assess the contribution of Bismarck to the unification of Germany. (2003)
17. ‘To Bismarck the conclusion of the Treaty of May 20, 1882, was the culmination of this system.’ Comment. (2004)
18. ‘They have stopped me from making Italy by diplomacy from the North, I will make it by revolution from the South.’ Comment. (2005)
19. “The Eastern Question has always been an international question.” Elucidate. (2010)
20. Was German unification achieved more by ‘coal and iron’ than by ‘blood and iron’? (2012)
21. “The language of narrow nationalism held at Frankfurt destroyed the German Revolution; as the fatal idea of aggrandisement of the House of Savoy destroyed the Italian Revolution.” Discuss. (2014)
22. Critically examine: “Mazzini’s conception of Italian nationality was not exclusive and his dominant ideal was the recreation of moral unity of mankind.” (2015)
23. “The Berlin Congress (1878) failed to unlock the Eastern Question. Though there was no major war in Europe for nearly three decades after the Treaty of Berlin, it contained the seeds of many future wars.” Critically evaluate. (2015)
24. What determinant factors, along with diplomatic, shaped the process of German Unification? (2017)
25. Critically examine: At the end of the Battle of Sedan (1870), “Europe lost a mistress and gained a master.” (2018)
26. Examine the role of Bismarck in state building in Germany. (2018)
27. How was Italy transformed from a ‘geographical expression’ to a nation-state?   (2019)
28. Do you subscribe to the view that the Greek War of Independence was mired in contrasts of the best and the worst episodes? How did it affect the Concert of Europe. (2019)
29. “From Bismarck’s ‘Blood and Iron’ speech and his forceful actions to achieve German unification, Bismarck came to be known as the Iron Chancellor.” Critically examine. (2020)
30. The rise of nationalism across nations shattered the chains which held together the empires of modem Europe. Discuss. (2021)
31. Discuss the different stages of the unification of Italy from 1848 to the occupation of Rome in 1870. (2023)
32. The unification of Germany was as much a product of coal and iron as it was of blood and iron. (2024)