If Hollywood is to be believed, the first half of the Twentieth-Century was characterised by traditional moral values and romantic ideals. The 1920s were full of happy maidens marrying their long lost loves who had all miraculously survived World War One. But in his book ‘The Twentieth-Century World, An International History’, William R. Keylor refers to the 1920s and an “era of illusion”. The following essay will explore this claim.
In evaluating Hitler’s power as the maker of German foreign policy from 1936 to 1939 this essay covers some of the most controversial debates on Nazi history. It will show that whilst Hitler determined the direction of foreign policy, it was his exploitation of the opportunities placed before him that led to the Third Reich’s diplomatic successes during the period.
Liberal fire-brand William Gladstone launched his election campaign to become British Prime Minister in 1880 during what was being described by contemporaries as the ‘Great Depression’. The ‘People’s William’ was elected primarily on the back of his promise to reverse the Conservative Party’s jingoistic, imperialist foreign policy under Benjamin Disraeli’s tenure.
In October 1917, the Bolshevik Party staged the first communist revolution in history. With this, the new Russian leadership removed Russia from the Great War and began to put into action its ideological ideas for world revolution. In 1919 the Third Communist International (Comintern) was established with the role of exporting the revolution and creating, a ‘World Federative Republic of Soviets’ which was seen as crucial for the survival of the Russian soviet state. Despite this, and the economic problems of the interwar years, the only other country to witness a communist revolution before the Second World War was Outer Mongolia (and briefly, Hungary).
In recent years declassified documents relating to attempts by the Kennedy administration at withdrawing US forces from the conflict in Vietnam have been released, causing much debate among scholars and historians. Previously not much was written about Kennedy’s decision to withdraw US personnel from Vietnam in over 40 years of historical writing.
Communism in the 1970s was stagnant both as an ideology and as a form of government. This work will outline several factors which made the system stagnant. It is important to bear in mind that there was some progress at the policy level, but the analysis will show this did not translate into real progress because of problems ingrained in the system.
The aim of this piece is not to provide a conclusive assessment, but to consider different aspects of Gorbachev and Putin’s leadership. In examining leader-type and surveying conditions, light is shed upon the significance of these individuals and upon the different purposes of leadership during their premierships.
Since March 1918, the signing of the Brest-Litovsk agreement and the collapse of the left wing coalition, and up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Communist Party was the sole decision-maker and ideology setter in the USSR. By virtue of its survival it must have had operational advantages. However, when taking a closer look at this system, severe weaknesses are evident.
This essay evaluates and compares the diplomatic relations of the United States and China during the Administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. Using interest-based negotiation as the theoretical framework, the essay discusses the divergent diplomatic strategies enacted by the two presidents.
Between 1956 and 1965 the political climate of African countries experienced rapid change. Within just nine years 29 of the 53 African states had declared independence and two prevailing regime forms dominated the continent: the one-party state and military rule. Acknowledging this division, this essay will discuss the assertion that the one-party state bred corruption while military rule meant strong government.
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