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TITLE OF PAPER USING FEWER THAN 50 CHARACTERS 5
[Rebuttals] Despite these arguments, I argue that Talleyrand successfully used the
platform of European balance of power to advance French political interests. Talleyrand
effectively argued against the Austrian acquisition of Sardinia by raising the specter of Austrian
dominance of northern Italy (Blinn, 1935, p. 144). When Talleyrand maneuvered France into the
Triple Alliance with Britain and Austria to counteract growing Russian influence, he did so in
order to decrease border friction and turn bitter enemies into allies who would support France's
international agenda (Ferrero, 1941, p. 275). While France had fought Britain and Austria on and
off for nearly 200 years prior to the formation of the Triple Alliance, France has not since been
involved in a major conflict with either country. Furthermore, Talleyrand used his adept
diplomatic skills to keep the defeated France at the negotiating table by insinuating that only
France would be capable of forcing Tsar Alexander to give up his 1813 alliance with Prussia and
enter into a broader European balance of power (Chapman, 1998, pp. 18-19). In order to prevent
a future conqueror (à la Napoleon) from destabilizing this new system, Talleyrand used his
influence to delegitimize the “right to sovereignty by force” within the Congress and ensure that
the other powers would not tolerate aggressive or illegitimate conquests (Dwyer, 2002, p. 146).
[Conclusion/Explanation of Significance] Despite Napoleon's defeat, Talleyrand
ensured that France would continue to have a voice in European affairs through his collective
security scheme. He maintained that this system was in France's long-term interests and spurned
warfare as an effective political tactic. Talleyrand argued that war inflicted nearly as much
damage on the conqueror as on the conquered. Even if Napoleon had been victorious, he would
have left Europe in a perpetually unstable condition with the threat of war ever-looming.
Talleyrand firmly believed that an unstable Europe was ultimately incompatible with a strong