INTERNATIONAL HISTORY 1900-99

INTRODUCTION
The First World War began among European states on European battlefields, but it
later extended across the globe. It was the first modern, total industrialized war as the
belligerents mobilized their populations and economies and their armies, and they endured
enormous casualties. The Second World War was even more total in nature and global in
scope, and it fundamentally changed world politics. Before 1939, Europe was the judge of
world affairs, when both the USSR and the USA remained, for different reasons, preoccupied
with internal development.
The First World War caused the demise of four European empires: Russian, German,
Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman (in Turkey). After 1945, Europa power was in eclipse. After
the 1945 European war, power declined. European economic difficulties occurred to those
who fought, including the victors. The end of the First World War increased the military and
economic potential of the US and the USSR. Both emerged as "superpowers" with global
political ambitions and military power with weapons of mass destruction. Since 1900, world
politics has been transformed in various ways, reflecting political, technological, and
ideological developments.
MODERN TOTAL WAR
The origins of the First World War have long been debated. This debate occurred
among historians about the origin of war; however, the conflict can be seen in political,
military, and systematic factors. Debates about the origins of the First World War focus on
whether responsibility should rest with the German government or whether it originated from
more complex factors. A Serbian nationalist’s assassination of the heir to the Austro-
Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, triggered Austro-Hungary’s declaration of war
against Serbia. Russia’s alliance with Serbia and Germany’s alliance with Austro-Hungary
then became catalysts for Europe-wide conflict.
The United States entered the war in 1917 under President Woodrow Wilson, whose
vision of international society later drove the agenda of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
The Versailles Peace Treaty in 1919 promised a new framework for European security and a
new international order. The treaty failed to tackle the central problem of European security
after 1870, a united and frustrated Germany, and it precipitated German revanchism by
creating new states and contested borders.
 The collapse of Wall Street in 1929, which weakened liberal democracy in many
countries, gave rise to an appeal to communists, fascists, and Nazis. This impact affected the
German economy, which resulted in hyperinflation in the German currency. Economic and
political instability formed the basis of support for the Nazis. By 1933 Adolf Hitler had
achieved power, and the transformation of the German state began.
THE RISE AND FALL OF JAPAN
In 1868, Japan emerged from centuries of isolation to pursue industrial and military
modernization and expand its rioters. In 1937, Japan invaded China which was involved in a
civil war between communists and nationalists. The imposition of American economic
sanctions on Japan triggered a Japanese military war by carrying out a surprise attack on the
US fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and then forcing Germany to fight on two
more fronts.
THE END OF EMPIR
The demise of imperialism in the twentieth century marked a fundamental change in
world politics. It reflected and contributed to the decreasing importance of Europe as the
arbiter of world affairs. The belief that national self-determination should be a guiding
principle in international politics marked a transformation of attitudes and values. Multiple
factors influenced decolonization: the attitude of the colonial power, the ideology and
strategy of the anti-imperialist forces, and the role of external powers. Political, economic,
and military factors played various roles in shaping the transfer of power.
BRITAIN
In 1945, the British Empire extended across the globe. Between 1947 and 1980, 49
territories were granted independence. In 1947, the independence of India, the imperial
‘Jewel in the Crown,’ created the world’s largest democracy. The end of empire in Africa
came towards the end of the 1950s and early 1960s, symbolized by Prime Minister Harold
Macmillan’s speech in South Africa in February 1960 when he warned his hosts of the ‘wind
of change blowing through the continent. British withdrawal from the empire was relatively
peaceful, except for Kenya's (1952–6) and Malaya (1948–60).
FRANCE
The French experience of decolonization stood in contrast to that of the British.
France had been occupied during the Second World War, and successive governments sought
to preserve French international prestige by maintaining its imperial status.
LEGACIES and CONSEQUENCES: Nationalism and Communism
The relationship between nationalism and revolutionary Marxism is a powerful force.
The British succumbed to the rebel communist movement in Malaya (1948-60). France failed
to do the same (1946-54). The Tet Offensive by Viet Cong guerrillas in 1968 convinced the
Americans that even the war would not be won. Even though the American army only
withdrew in 1973.
THE COLD WAR
The rise of the United States as a world power after 1945 is of paramount importance
in international politics. The conflict with the Soviet Union provided a vital dynamic in world
affairs, affecting every part of the world. The rise of the Soviet Union as a global power after
1945 is equally important. Moscow's relations with its Eastern European 'allies,' with the
People's Republic of China (RRC), and with revolutionary forces in the Third World are an
essential issue in world politics and a critical factor in Soviet-American affairs.
1944-53: Onset Of The Cold War
The start of the cold war in Europe reflected a failure to apply the principles agreed
upon at the wartime Yalta and Potsdam conferences. In March 1947, the Truman
administration assisted Turkey and Greece in raising awareness of Soviet ambitions. This is
supported by the Marchall Plan for the recovery of the European Economy, proclaimed in
June 1947, which was essential to the economic rebuilding of Western Europe.
While the cold war started in Europe, conflicts and events also occurred in Asia. The
30-year civil war ended with a communist victory under Mao Zedong in 1949. This conflict
had a significant impact on Asian perceptions in Moscow and Washington. North Korea's
attack on South Korea was interpreted as part of a communist strategy and an attempt to
contain United Nations aggression.
1953-69: Conflict, Confrontation, And Compromise
One consequence of the Korean War was an increase in American power in
Western Europe, as communist aggression in Asia increased perceptions of the Soviet
threat to Europe. Stalin's death in 1953 marked significant changes for the Soviet Union
at home and abroad. Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev, sought to modernize Soviet
society but helped unleash reformist forces in Eastern Europe. Moscow withdraws from
confrontation with Poland. The Soviet intervention in Hungary coincided with British,
French, and Israeli attacks on Egypt, sparked by Nasser's seizure of the Suez Canal.
The crises in Berlin in 1961 and Cuba in 1962 marked the most dangerous
moments of the cold war. A more stable period of cold war coexistence and rivalry
developed after 1962. However, nuclear weapons continued to create. The nuclear
dimension of world politics increased with the emergence of other nuclear-armed states:
Britain (1952), France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), and Pakistan (1998). Israel
and South Africa are also developing nuclear weapons, although the post-apartheid South
African government dismantled them.
1969-79: The Rise And Fall Of Détente
The involvement of American troops in Vietnam further worsened Soviet-
Chinese relations. There was border fighting between the PRC and the Soviets in 1969
for reasons of regional disputes. Détente placed between Moscow and Washington as a
rapprochement between Washington and Beijing. Meanwhile, Détente in Europe
originated from the Ostpolitik German Socialist Chancellor, recognizing Berlin's status
and east German sovereignty.
In the West, Détente was associated with President Richard Nixon and his adviser
Henry Kissinger. During this phase of Soviet-American relations, the two supported
friendly regimes and movements. When the Arab-Israeli war in 1973, the Soviets-
Americans got involved in the war helped create the political conditions for restoring
Arab-Israeli relations.
The Soviet support for the third world revolutionary movement reflected Moscow
as a 'superpower.' Some have claimed that Moscow's support for revolutionary forces on
Ethiopia in 1975 killed Détente. The overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979 lost a critical
Western ally in the region, although the subsequent revolutionary Islamic government
was hostile to both superpowers. In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president,
committed to a more aggressive approach with Moscow in arms control, Third World
conflicts, and East-West relations in general.
1979-86: The Second Cold War
In the West, critics of détente and arms control argued that the Soviets were acquiring
nuclear superiority. The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was a watershed in Soviet-
American relations. Reagan inherited nuclear missiles in Europe, which loomed large in the
breakdown of relations between East and West. Reagan's careless public statements
reinforced the perception that he was ill-informed and dangerous on the nuclear issue, even
though his primary weapons policy was broadly consistent with his predecessor, Jimmy
Carter. The Soviets responded to SDI, claiming Reagent's goal was to regain the 1940
American nuclear monopoly.
 The period of superpower tension in 1979 and 1986 was the second cold war period.
American statements about nuclear weapons and military intervention in Grenada in 1983
and against Libya in 1986 are seen as evidence of a new war. An international tribunal found
the United States guilty of violating international law at Nicaragua's ports. Soviet air defenses
shot down South Korean civilians rapidly in Soviet airspace. And by November 1983, Soviet
intelligence may have misinterpreted a NATO training exercise (codenamed 'Able Archer).
In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev was elected prime minister of the Soviet Union to issue a
new policy and domestic reforms. Mikhail Gorbachev's goals in foreign policy transform
international relations, particularly with the United States. In 1987, he went to Washington to
sign the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which prohibits medium-range nuclear
missiles, including Cruise and Pershing II.