Evaluate the effectiveness of the foreign policy of any two absolutist monarchs.

Candidates will make an appraisal of two monarchs, weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of their foreign policy. Effectiveness could be measured in terms of military/dynastic success or the level of national security achieved, including the acquisition of territory that strengthened the power and influence of a given state in international affairs. In some instances, (Louis XVI or Frederick the Great, for example) it may be argued that that while their foreign policy was effective to some extent, there were also negative effects (famine, increased debt and financial and military costs). Possible absolutist monarchs for whom foreign policy was a key concern are, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Charles XII of Sweden and Louis XIV of France. The chosen examples need not be from contemporaneous periods.