Rethinking the Peace of Utrecht aspires to analyse the Peace of Utrecht (1713) and its consequences. It consists of three international conferences that will take place in Osnabrueck (2011), Madrid (2012) and Utrecht (2013) and will result in a volume of essays and a short monograph. project leaders are Inken Schmidt Voges, Ana Crespo Solana, Renger de Bruin and David Onnekink

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This research project aims to study the relationship between ideology and politics in the Dutch Republic during a neglected but important period in her history. In particular, it will study the impact of ideology on the conduct of foreign policy and the significance of a wider public discourse.

Between 1672 and 1713 the Dutch Republic was at war with France and experienced profound disruption leading to financial exhaustion and the consequent demise of the Republic as a Great Power. Historians of Dutch political history of this period have usually argued that the Dutch had no choice but to confront France, that consensus emerged, and that partisan struggles were relatively insignificant. In this perspective, the war was fought for strategic and commercial reasons only, and ideological and religious convictions played no role.

However, during this period the Dutch were confronted with matters vital to their interests and the very foundations of their state were threatened. A successful French invasion would have meant the end of liberty, Protestantism and prosperity based on commerce. Consensus was superficial, and political 'parties' discussed war policy in debates that were sometimes fiercely ideological. By ideology is meant (in this context) a more or less coherent (although not necessarily precisely defined) set of fundamental assumptions about religion, centralisation, the necessity of war, the direction of grand strategy and the significance of commerce. In this sense, two distinct ideologies evolved which divided the political nation into 'parties', which may be referred to as Orangist and Republican. These deeply disagreed on the direction of foreign policy, although 'parties' were loosely defined and ideology adapted to specific circumstances.

By re-evaluating the convictions of Dutch political leaders, the role of ideology in party politics, the impact of Orangist and Republican propaganda, the significance of political pamphlet literature and the role of a public debate, the proposed study aims to reconsider the relationship between ideology and Dutch foreign policy during this period.

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