The Rise of the Modern World Events, Themes and Concepts Flashcards
What was the 1918 Allied Theory for the origins of the First World War?
Germany’s militarism and expansionism were almost entirely responsible for the war
e.g. the Moroccan Crisis’s of 1905 and 1911, the ‘blank cheque’ of July 1914, naval race with Britain from 1898 to 1912
What thesis also held the view that German was responsible?
The Fischer Thesis first put forward by in his Germany’s Aims in the First World War in 1961
It argued that Germany pursued an expansionist foreign policy
Argues that Germany had decided on War before the July Crisis at the War Council of 1912
What was the Marxist theory for the origins of the First World War?
First put forward by Lenin in his Imperialism: the Highest Stage of Capitalism pamphlet in 1917 portrayed the war as imperialist, caused by rivalries triggered by highly organised financial monopolies, that by frenzied competition for markets and raw materials, had inevitably brought about the war
What is the Standard school of thought for the origins of the First World War
That the war arose out of the actual triggers for the event, such as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 and Germany declaring war on Russia in August 1914, and that other factors made it increasingly likely, but not inevitable, that a major European conflict would break out, such as the Alliance system and the arms race
What does Andreas Hillgruber argue about the origins of the First World War?
He argued that the war was a calculated risk for Germany in an attempt to break the Triple Entente, hoping that Russia’s allies would see that the invasion of Serbia only concerned Russia and that the other powers would withdraw, allowing Germany to come to an agreement with Russia. Military hawks pressured Bethmann-Hollweg to enact the Schlieffen Plan when Russia mobilised, that inadvertedly led to the First World War
What was the First Moroccan Crisis?
- Wilhelm II declared his support for Moroccan independence in an attempt to stem French hopes of colonising it and demanded an international conference to decide the issue that went in France’s favour
What was the Second Moroccan Crisis?
- After a local uprising against the French in Morocco, the German’s sent the gunboat the Panther to Agadir to protect its economic interests but was really sent as a threat to the French. Almost led to war but an international conference was used to resolve the issue which again went in France’s favour though Germany did gain parts of the French Congo
What was the Blank Cheque?
The telegram effectively offered Austria-Hungary a ‘blank cheque’ in terms of German support for whatever action Austria-Hungary chose to take in punishing Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
What was the Naval race between Britain and Germany
Driven by a desire to make the German Empire a viable world power and an integral industrial nation, the Navy Bills of 1898 and 1900 laid out the course for a massive naval expansion under anti-British auspices. The completed navy was to have a real fighting chance in a defensive war against the Royal Navy in the North Sea, with a projected German-British force ratio in capital ships of 2:3. Designed as a military deterrent against an empire that allegedly held the key to Germany’s future, this fleet would serve as a geopolitical lever to coerce Britain into accepting the German bid for equality as a global empire
What was the War Council?
- an informal conference of some of the highest military leaders of the German Empire. They discussed and debated the tense military and diplomatic situation in Europe at the time.
What were some of the structural forces of modernization that contributed to the First World War?
The rise of the nation state
The emergence of Germany as a hybrid of dynastic/imperialist/militarist state with liberal democracy
The rise of the centralized, all encompassing state which deploys its human and material resources to its own ends
A militaristic concept of ‘Great Power’ and national greatness leading to arms races and wars over territory
Given the prevalence of such forces, the only basis for peace was an ‘Alliance System’ based on the principle of the ‘balance of power’ so that no one nation/empire would dare attack any other
What are some of the consequences of these structural forces of modernization?
It meant that international relations were based on mutual suspicion, racial stereotypes, cynicism and Realpolitik
If the system ever broke down, all participants were committed to declaring war on all other members of the other alliance
The smallest incident could precipitate a lethal chain reaction: no possibility of negotiation or popular protest in militarized and patriotic climate
What are some of the ideological forces of modernization that led to the First World War?
The rise of ethnic nationalism and racial thinking
The rise of ultranationalism and populist patriotism
Militarism and the cult of war
Imperialism as an ideology of military and territorial greatness
Ideas such as those of Filippo Marinetti “War is the only hygiene of history”
What are some of the technological forces of modernization that led to the First World War?
The science based technological revolution
Accelerating industrial revolution and techniques of mass production
The communications revolution
The revolution in military technology
These led to the age of industrial warfare/Maschinenschlacht
How could social psychology explain the First World War?
The rise of secularization, science, materialism, and Darwinism led to a existential crisis drove many into acute irrationality. A prevalent fear of dissolution, decadence and degeneration begun to be felt by many in Europe. Ideas, such as Nationalism, greatness, glory etc. begun to be seen as the way out of this perceived degeneration, leading to these forces in a way taking the place that Christianity held previously
What were some of the consequences of the First World War?
Collapse of Tsarist Russia and formation of the Soviet Union
Collapse of Austria-Hungary and emergence of new nation states such as Austria, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and creation of Turkey
The collapse of the Hohenzollern dynasty and the creation of the doomed Weimar Republic
Deep instability in all liberal democracies, some being replaced by authoritarian or fascist regimes
The end of dynastic ideas of divine monarchy/feudal politics
Intense social and political instability in some liberal democracies encouraging rise of extreme socialist or nationalist forces
What are the three ways to explain the Holocaust?
As being due to Germany’s Sonderweg, as a regression to Barbarism, and as a product of modernity
What did Hannah Arendt argue?
She argued that European Imperialism was the “Laboratory of Modernity”
Modern forces gave rise to overseas empires in 19th century
These empires became a testing ground where these modern forces were applied in new ways
Produced new ideas and practices that returned to Europe, and gave rise to genocidal totalitarianism, i.e. ideas of racial superiority
How do the “old” and the “new” Imperialism differ?
Old Imperialism was the period from 1500-1800 while New Imperialism was from 1880s-1914
Old Imperialism was focused mainly in America and India while New Imperialism expanded into inland Africa and Southeast Asia
the Old Imperial powers were Britain, France and Spain while the New Imperial powers were Italy, Germany, and Belgium
How could you link Modernity and the Holocaust?
Certain ideological and technological forces of the modern age helped to create the “New” Imperialism
These modern forces also shaped how these overseas empires were ruled by Europeans
This interaction between modernity and empire created genocidal tendencies, which then returned to Europe in the 20th century
How could Scientific Racism have its roots in the Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment sort to master nature which required knowledge and understanding of nature which in turn required the classification of nature
an example of which is in Carl Linnaeus’s Systema Naturae where he divides humans into Americans, Europeans, Asians, and Africans, and applied stereotypical racist characteristics to them i.e Europeans are very serious and intelligent while Africans are sly and regulated by their will
What are the three key assumptions of Scientific racists in the 1850s?
That Humankind could be divided into races, and race was key to understanding human differences
Racial divisions could seen via physical markers: skin colour, facial features, size/shape of skull
Each race had distinct social, cultural, and moral traits
Who is an example of this Scientific racism and what was his book and when was it written?
Arthur de Gobineau
An Essay on the Inequality of Human Races (1853)
How can Scientific Racism be linked to Imperialism?
Europeans saw themselves as both superior to the rest of the world (Social Darwinism - the Europeans ruled because they were the strongest)
Europeans thought they were civilising the natives
