Cold War containment: the role of the military
The policy of containment led directly to a radical change in the global positioning of the U.S. In the early period of Truman’s presidency U.S. armed forces were undergoing a large-scale programme of demobilisation, yet by its end in 1953 military and economic alliances were held with states in virtually every continent of the globe.
What Did Abdulhamid II Identify as the Principal Threats to his Caliphate?
The prestige that was vested in the seat of Caliph rested on the physical strength and success of the Empire. Unlike his ancestors, Abdulhamid was unable to guarantee either. War with Russia and the partition of the Empire at the Congress of Berlin had brought his main basis of authority into question.
British and French Colonial Attitudes Towards the Arab World
Britain and France were influenced by their own special interests, which, for the British, was principally the maintenance of peace, trade and oil; whilst the French interest was one of maintaining a presence in the area. These would provide the framework towards the mandated territories both respectively administered.
Why Was India Partitioned at Independence?
India was partitioned at Independence on 15th August 1947 into two distinct nations: a newly-established and principally Muslim state of Pakistan, and a Hindu dominated India. The fact that such a division occurred on religious lines means that partition was the logical and inevitable outcome of the irreconcilable opposition between Hindus and Muslims.
Why is ‘historical memory’ still so significant in understanding German foreign and security policy?
From the Holocaust memorial, to the deliberately unrecovered foundations of Gestapo headquarters, to rare war-era buildings bearing the scars of Red Army gunfire, links to the Nazi-era and the associated ‘historical memory’ has maintained a grip on the German psyche.
Colonialism, Lebanon and the Middle East
Many of the recent uprisings in the Middle East have been in reaction to political systems and traditions which can be traced back to the colonial period. This is very much the case with the protests against Confessionalism in Lebanon. Although colonial rule has ended, its legacy continues in contemporary Middle Eastern politics.
Was the European student movement of the 1960s a global phenomenon?
The anti-conformist student movement was indeed a global phenomenon, even though there are still some sociologists that support the idea that the protests were only movements of university students, and small minorities of young people that had little to do with higher education.
Climate Related Natural Disasters and the Onset of Civil Conflict: 1970-2008
Since the end of the Cold War, research into the causes of civil conflict has intensified dramatically as scholars, policy makers, and NGOs have come to recognise the tremendous human toll they exact. Almost completely absent from civil war literature is the impact that natural disasters may have on the likelihood of conflict.
American Federalism and Post-1997 Devolution in Britain
The amalgamation of state and federal powers, the increased capacity of the central government to control the states through grants and mandates and the growing convergence of central and peripheral policy are all features of the competitive interdependence form of federalism that can be seen reflected in the new devolved British governmental structure.
Inter-war airpower theory and World War II
The development of air power in the realm of the military emerged almost at the same time as aviation itself due to the accelerating features of the First World War. With air power’s inception, it became possible to make strategic strikes against the enemy’s centre of gravity without the necessity of making contact in a traditional land or sea war.
