1.2 the impact of depression on int. relations Flashcards
what were the four factors that weakened internationalism and league of nations?
- global economic depression and economic nationalism
- emergence of powerful dictatorships in europe
- the league’s failure in manchuria
- the failure of disarmament
how did the 1920s depression change perspectives
- many countries decided to focus on their own self-interests - nationalist approach
what is protectionism? and which countries did this?
- protecting the economy of your own people
- britain and france tried to protect their own economy by introducing tariffs to limit or stop imports but their trading partners did the same
- higher tariffs everywhere - less trade - economy contracts - trade war - unemployement
what is rearmament?
- increasing your own military forces
- many countries began this process to as a mode of boosting industry and creating jobs
- there was more fear of being vulnerable compared to the next country
why were the american loans to europe called in?
- they asked the europeans countries they had loaned to to give back the money that they had borrowed
- this caused unemployment to skyrocket in many european countries, especially germany
- britain and france also refused to lend money to germany
what role did germany’s economic destabilisation play in hitler’s rise?
due to the recall of the loans, many germans no longer trusted the government and began to turn to extremist political parties
- hitker was brought to power with the hope that he would stabilise the nation
what did the nazis and hitler believe in?
aggressive political nationalism - germany’s own self interest above everything
- massive rearmament program
- extensive state contol and large public projects; autobahn
- getting rid of the treaty of versailles and no longer paying reparations
he also had the intention to:
- reclaim the land lost by the treaty
- carve out lebensraum for germans in eastern europe
- destroy communism in germany and everywhere else
who was benito mussolini? what were his intentions for italy?
- italy’s fascist dictator from 1922 onwards
- he took over their banks and industries for the sake of fascism
he intended to:
- build an italian empire (to revive the glory of the roman empire) by gaining territories in africa
- believed that britain and france were in decline
- felt that italy had a lot in common with hitler’s new regime so wanted an alliance
what was the significance of the soviet union?
- ww1 caused a revolution in russia and communists were brought to power - this meant state control of industry and the economy
- the russian empire became the USSR and was lead by stalin
what is comintern?
- an organisation set up by the USSR in 1919 to spread communist ideas
- britain and france viewed this as a threat and were suspicious of such ideas being spread
who was stalin?
- the leader of the USSR from 1929 onwards
- he was convinced that anti- communist countries like germany and italy would seek to crush the communist nation
- he built up their industries ready for a future war, which led to a lot of suspicion from other countries
what was japan like in the early 1930s?
- an ultranationalist country with a powerful military that took over the government - a military dictatorship
- japan was also a victim of economic crisis due to the lack of international trade because it was unable to sell its products
when and why did japan invade manchuria?
- 1931 - they invaded because the country was crowded and had few resources
- japan claimed that chinese troops had attacked a japanese- controlled railway and used that as an excuse to invade + set up their own gov and troops in manchuria
how did the league deal with the invasion of manchuria?
- china appealed to the league of nations and league officials were sent to investigate the issue and took a year to do so -> it said rhat manchuria should be returned
- but japan refused to withdraw they intended to invade further with the excuse that japan needed to protect itself
- the league’s ruling was approved by a vote in 1933 but japan resigned from the league and carried on invading
- they discussed economic sanctions but they were pointless and no one could face japan in war
what consequences did the manchurian crisis have on the league’s reputation?
the league made several excuses like:
- japan was much too far for proper intervention
- it was a special case
- japan were right in saying that china was politically unstable
in reality, the league proved powerless in the face of japan’s strength
