ABSTRACT
The international role of Frederick III was blurred with contradiction. As Elector of Brandenburg he was a natural adversary of an ambitious Emperor. Yet he also believed in the idea of a universal Christian Empire, and, like his grandfather, George William, he felt a certain moral commitment to support the Emperor, so long as this policy coincided with the interests of Brandenburg-Prussia. As the head of the Calvinist Hohenzollerns, he saw himself as a leader of Protestantism, but in 1688 the principal threat to European peace and stability came not from the Habsburgs but from another Catholic power, France. An anti-French policy was already in place when Frederick succeeded the Great Elector. A series of defensive alliances tied him to the imperial camp and to the maritime powers of Sweden, England and the Dutch. Fear of French expansionism kept him within the anti-French coalition throughout his reign.
