Brunswick Manifesto of 1792 Against the Revolutionary France: An Example of Blatant Foreign Intervention with Counterproductive Consequences

Abstract

The famous Brunswick Manifesto (1792) is considered as the last nail in the coffin of the French Monarchy which, after having survived the revolutionary events since 1789 was still cherishing hopes of reversal to the ancien’ (ancient) regime in France. On one hand the Manifesto reflected the apparent solidarity of the conservative powers of Europe against the nascent French Revolution and on the other it served as a catalyst to the rising nationalism and war mania among the French populace. Yet little attention has been paid towards theoretical analysis of the document with respect to its motives, and desired and real consequences. In this context this paper aims at a theoretical study of the motives behind the Manifesto and the consequences it produced in relevance to the present day realpolitic. It will particularly focus on the concepts of coercive diplomacy and foreign intervention, and the reasons why both of those concepts proved self-abortive in this case.
The paper has been completed with the help of primary and secondary sources available in print and online, particularly the historical databases of Fordham University, Stanford University and Eurodocs online sources of European History as well as the available material in print.