history world.pdf

8/20/2019 history world.pdf

1/26

7/7/2014 Evernote Export

file:///C:/Users/user/Documents/world%20history.html 1

The World After WW2

Created: 5/22/2012 2:19 PM

Emergence of 2 Power Blocs

Emergence of 3rd WorldNAM

Membership Conditions

1. They must formulate an independent foreign policy aimed at establishing mutual cooperation among states.

2. They should support independence and right to self determination.

3. They should not be a member of any military alliance created by big powers out of their conflict.4. They should not have any bilateral or regional alliance created out of the conflict of big powers.

5. They should not host foreign bases created out of the conflict of big powers.

UNO & Global Disputes

SuccessesWest New Guinea, 1946

1. UN brokered an independence deal for Indonesia from Dutch in 1946. However, the fate of this land was left undecided as Dutch refused to vacate it.

2. In 1961, fighting broke out and in 1962, UN played a vital role in concluding a peace that it should become a part of Indonesia slowly.

The Korean War, 1950-53

1. When N Korea invaded S Korea, UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning it and calling on its members to help S Korea.

2. However, such a resolution was only possible due to absence of USSR which had been boycotting security council meetings over the non recognition of China.

The Suez Crisis, 1956

1. When Nasser nationalized Suez, England, France and Israel invaded her.2. Though a resolution in security council was vetoed by England and France, the general assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion by a

overwhelming majority. In view of Soviet pressure and international opinion, England, France and Israel agreed to back down.3. A UN force was sent in to maintain peace on the Egyptian Israeli border.

The Gulf War, 1991

1. When Iraq attacked Kuwait, UN Security Council warned him to withdraw his troops or face the consequences. When it refused to hear, a UN force was sent and Kuwait was liberated.

Cambodia

1. In 1975, the Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge regime exterminated one-third of the country's population within 3 years. In 1979, Vietnamese troops moved in an

installed a new government.2. US pressure led to UN condemning the Vietnamese action. But it was Cold War.

3. When the Cold War ended, UN intervened successfully to secure withdrawal of Vietnamese troops and holding of a general election in the country in 1993.

The Mozambique Crisis, 1990-94

1. After winning independence in 1975, Mozambique was torn in a civil war. By 1990s, both sides were exhausted and attempted to sign a peace. But violations

the peace continued.

2. In such a situation, UN forces moved in, disarmed both rivals and held free elections in 1994.

FailuresThe Palestine Issue, 1947

1. The dispute between Jews and Arabs was brought to UNO in 1947. The UN after conducting investigations decided to divide Palestine and setup a Jewish stat

of Israel. But this decision was not accepted by the Arab World and the crisis continues till date.

The Hungarian Crisis, 1956

1. When the Hungarian tried to assert their independence, Soviet troops moved in. The security council resolution was vetoed by USSR but general assemb

passed a resolution condemning the attack with an overwhelming majority. But Soviet Union refused to listen and UN couldn't do anything.

The Cyprus Crisis, 1963-74

1. A civil war broke out between Greeks (~80% of the population) and the Turks. A UN force was sent and it remained stationed there till 1974.2. In 1974, the Greeks tried to unite with Greece. An invading Turkish force came to help the Turks and expelled all the Greeks. UN failed to do anything.

The Chezchoslovakia Crisis, 1968

1. The Warsaw Pact troops moved in when Chezchoslovakia tried to assert independence. The security council motion was vetoed by USSR and it simply ignorethe international will.

Somalia, 1991-1995

1. A civil war broke out in 1991. In 1992, UN troops dominated by US moved in and tried to disarm the fighting groups. But the fighting groups refused to disar

and began to attack UN forces. Casualties began to grow and US withdrew its troops in 1994. Remaining UN troops were withdrawn in 1995 and the Somalia

warlords were left on their own to fight it out.


2/26



Enlightenment and Modern Ideas

Created: 5/22/2012 1:52 PM

Enlightenment

Factors ResponsibleSocial

1. Discrimination: There was widespread discrimination between the privileged and the unprivileged based on birth. Exploitation.2. Scientific inventions: Spreading inventions and education questioned existing beliefs and inspired new thinking.

Political

1. Absolutism: There was no democracy, no checks and balances, no separation of powers. There were despotic monarchies. There was no liberty for thmasses.

2. Feudalism: All the high offices were monopolized by feudal lords. S tate authority was being misused for personal benefits.3. Arbitrariness: There was no rule of law. There were cahiers.

Cultural

1. Church: It dominated religious-cultural lives of people. It was an absolute tyrant and no one could speak against it. Its voice was the voice of God. Dissentewere suppressed brutally. There was no tolerance for different ideas and re ligions and only catholicism was allowed. Church indulged in massive corruption.

Economic

1. Exploitation: A small fraction of the population cornered most of the resources and lives of majority were miserable.

2. Industrial revolution: Old landed groups lost their hold on economy and new groups emerged which were guided by different set of interests and ideas.

Nature and Character

1. Rationalist: Laid emphasis on logic and reason. It had a scientific outlook. Anti superstitions and anti bigotry. Critical analysis of prevail ing conditions and logic

alternatives. Discarded practices not conforming to reason. They emphasized on empiricism i.e. accept only those ideas which can be perceived throughuman senses.

2. Humanist: Believed in welfare of human beings. It believed in progress of mankind and its innate ability to cause it. They believed in social, political an

religious liberty of every man. State, society and religion exist to serve the humans and not the other way round.3. Composite movement, secular and tolerant. They were reformative in outlook. It put forward new concepts and ideas instead of harping upon past glories f

inspiration.4. Liberal and democratic: It advocate constitutionalism. It was non violent. It believed in promoting liberty. Concept of popular sovereignty was popularized.

was against absolutism and gave a call for © monarchies.

5. Egalitarian: It was also anti slavery and anti serfdom apart from being anti feudal privileges. It believed every man is equal.6. Natural laws: They believed that society, political system, religion etc. everything is governed by natural laws and nature is supreme. So an understanding

these laws is necessary.7. Urban.

Spread

1. Enlightenment didn't remain confined to € but spread later to Americas, Asia and Africa in that order. Various leaders and institutions were instrumental in i

spread.

Socialism

Rise of Socialist IdeasRobert Owen in £

1. The ear ly socialist ideas stemmed from the writings of Rousseau, philosophies of extreme Jacobians and from the general ideas of liberty, equality an

fraternity. But in £, socialism gained importance for the first time under Robert Owen. In 1800 he began his experiment with creating a model factory where htried to prove that π could be increased by treating workers well.

2. He had great influence on two of the most successful working class movements of his day - the trade unionism and cooperative movement. After the unionwere legalized in 1825, Owen setup a national trade union whose aim was to raise the level of unionism to a national movement. Simultaneously h

reorganized production along cooperative lines. In 1844, inspired by his ideals, 28 workers opened a little cooperative store and by 1851 more than 130K suc

stores had been opened. Yet the movement failed to make any real note.

St. Simon in France

1. He preached that the property rights must depend on their social utility and not on individual rights. He coined the slogan - from each according to his capacityto each according to his needs.

Charles Fourier in France

1. He regarded modern commerce as a great evil as it made vice more profitable than virtues. He believed that competition leads to deceit, greed and inhumaniand thus the aim should be to restore harmony. To make a work attractive each worker must share in its produce and be guaranteed a sufficient minimum

free him from anxiety.

Louis Blanc in France

1. He argued that political reform is the only means to achieve social reform and that socialism must be a state socialism. If the state is not used as an instrume

it becomes an obstacle. Thus the state must recognize and implement a right to work and should protect the weak.

Spread of Marxian Socialism

1. The socialists had vowed to use the state to further their aims. But the socialists in Europe were divided into 2 lines on the question of whether they shou

work within the parameters of the parliamentary constitutional framework or should they overthrow it via a revolution? Generally it can be said that wherev


3/26



the civil liberties were higher and the parliamentary system was stronger, the socialists tended to organize themselves in the form of social democratic partiewhich used parliamentary means to secure power and reforms. Wherever the scope offered by the parliamentary system was non existent or weak thcommunists or believers in revolution were stronger.

2. Moreover the parliamentary socialists were better representatives of the organized labor unions and they tended to be more popular when business was bris

This was because the employers were more willing to grant concessions during such times. But in downturns the communists and class struggle theorietended to become more popular.

3. Another common phenomenon among the socialists was a split in their ranks on multiple questions. Thus we have seen above there were those whadvocated parliamentary means, and there were those who advocated revolution. There were anarchists who were against any form of state as well an

believed in setting up small local bodies.4. But the question which really led to their downfall was the attitude towards national ism. They were often caught on wrong footing there when they raised

rhetoric against nationalism. Sometimes they would preach against nationalism but their actions would be pro nationalism. Thus they lost their credibility.

Paris Commune, 1871

1. After the defeat at the hands of Germany the workers in Par is rose in revolt against the liberal government which had surrendered to Germany in order

preserve its existence. It was seen as a betrayal and compromise and the government lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The various socialists an

communists and workers parties united and overthrew the government. But this revolt can't be seen as a class revolt as put forward by Marx because thworkers had not risen against the exploitation. On the other hand they had revolted guided by patriotism and anti-German sentiments. Paris had seen a larg

influx of workers from the German occupied northern areas and the bourgeoise class had fled Paris in the wake of its siege.2. The confusion (that it was a great example of a revolution symbolizing the class struggle) also seems to come from the choice of words used by Marx

describing it. He called it a moment of great triumph for his followers and the International. He called the workers communards (supporters of the Commune

and the politicians "capitulards" which meant the government which had capitulated. But people mistook it as communists vs capitalists.

Growth of Social Democratic Parties

1. In Germany the lower house Reichstag was elected by universal male suffrage and the socialists there organized themselves on the parliamentary lines to forsocial democratic parties. In 1875 the main socialist parties in Germany united where they accepted the Marxian doctrines of class struggle and hi

interpretation of history, but they decided to press for it within the parliamentary framework. The party grew rapidly and soon became the largest party Germany. Similar parliamentary socialist parties came up in £ and France as well.

2. In places like Italy where universal suffrage was late in coming, the socialist parliamentarian parties couldn't claim to be effective. Thus revolutionary socialis

grew in such places. S imilarly in Russia there was no parliamentary system and thus the socialism there was revolutionary.

World Wars

Created: 5/22/2012 2:18 PM

Total WarsSocietal Implications

WW1CausesMilitary Factors

1. Germany was trying to expand its navy to match £ naval supremacy. This was less out of the concerns to protect its colonial empire and more for its ambitionto become the strongest power by combining her traditional land supremacy with naval supremacy. That £ opposed it not because of the threat it posed to he

colonial empire but because her naval supremacy was the only guarantee for her own independence.2. The shocking defeat of Russia in the war with Japan dangerously exposed the changed balance of power in Europe. It allayed the traditional German nightmar

of a 2 front war and thus made it more aggressive. It made France more insecure and thus made it go deeper into £ laps and strengthen their alliance.

The Contradictions of VersaillesContradictions with Fourteen Points

1. The first of the Fourteen Points was that no secret negotiations and alliances will take place and all conferences will be held in open. When this was applied the Paris peace conference, it led to a hopelessly slow conference and had to be abandoned there itself. The small and the defeated powers were kept out.

2. Freedom of seas was something which £ refused to guarantee.

3. The Fourteen Points nowhere stipulated the harsh treatment which was met out to Germany in the treaties.

Imposition of Democracies

1. The wartime slogan of the allies was 'war for democracy'. Naturally after the war, democracies were setup in the defeated countries. For some time it seemethat the experiment had succeeded and the world had become safer for democracy, but it wasn't to be for long. No attention was paid to the socio-econom

fabric of these countries. They wanted to setup democracies in these countries and yet force them to accept severely penalizing peace conditions. How is

possible for any democratic government to do that and yet retain legitimacy in the country. Then they kept these democratic government weak in the fear tha

if they become too strong they might rise again. Obviously democracy can't work in such situation and specially when these countries had been ruled bmonarchies and aristocracies for centuries and were not ready for democracy immediately. Thus within a few years democracies were overthrown anreplaced by military dictatorship.

2. The assumption of the treaty was that a democratic government will be a peace loving government and would keep radical nationalism and militarism unde

check. Obviously this was to backfire.3. In Germany, a republican, democratic form of government with came up where the president was elected by a popular vote for 7 years and the governme

was run by the chancellor who was responsible to the Reichstag and was nominated by the president. But under extreme nationalism and economic duresthe government didn't have any legitimacy, there were coups and counter-coups and soon Hitler came up.

4. In Italy the government was weak anyways and lost all its credibility when she failed to gain anything out of Versail les. The economic hardships meant the

were large strikes and deterioration of law and order. Communists and anarchists tend to gain in such an environment and fearing them, the bourgeoishanded over the power to the thugs of Mussolini in 1924.

5. In Hungary, democracy lasted for only 5 months. A liberal government was setup initially which pleaded Hungary to be treated as a successor state and nenemy state. But the demand was rejected. Subsequently, Hungary negotiated a separate treaty with France in the hope of getting better terms. B

Rumanians continued to invade in its eastern territories (in defiance of all treaties) and she was forced to retreat even from the agreed frontiers. This led to i

collapse and power went into the hands of a communist. This alarmed the western powers who blockaded Hungary and threatened military action. This led tpower going into the hands of a military general.


4/26



6. Austria wanted to unite with Germany but when allies forbade it, she had to setup her own democratic institutions. She knew no nationalism before that an

was held together by loyalty to Habsburgs. So she chose a federal structure but it was kept very week by vested interests. This led to the establishment of afar right army soon which proved disastrous for it in 1934.

Issue of Communism

1. This formed an overriding factor for which all other principles could be sacrificed. We have seen how a communist government in Hungary was overthrowwith a show of force by the allies. It also served to make states like Finland, Poland, Rumania as large and strong as possible so as to counter communis

Russia @ her borders.

Constituting Nations

1. The newly created nations were a mere collection of diverse territories not bound by any common feelings of nationalism. Though the right to sedetermination and nationalism were the mainstay of the fourteen points, the treaties were signed keeping in mind the considerations of economic viability an

keeping the balance of power against Germany so as to prevent her resurgence as an aggressive state again (by surrounding her with large, militar

defensible neighbors). This led to multiple violations of nationalistic principles and sowed seeds for further discontent. Also it seemed wise to follow thexisting lines of communication and roads and to combine industrial and agricultural areas into one nation so as to make the nation viable.

2. Thus Yugoslavia comprised not only Serbia but westernized areas of Croatia and easternized areas of Macedonia. She was given Albania in order to give haccess to the sea, but this clashed directly with Italian interests. Also that such a large nation come up in Balkans which could rival Italy again stoked disconten

in Italy. Yugoslavia comprised of multiple races and minority ethnic groups which just before the war had been fighting each other and after the war were pu

in one nation!3. Czechoslovakia comprised of industrialized areas of Bohemia along with the backward peasant areas of Slovakia and Ruthenia. In order to make her

industrially viable and militarily defensible, she was also given Sudenteland where more than 3 million Germans lived but it was believed that the Bohemiamountains were the only militarily defensible frontier for her.

4. Access to sea to Poland could only be given at the cost of Germany by giving her territories of W Prussia and the Polish corridor. This would leave German

with a permanent grudge.5. Rumania got Transylvania from Hungary and Bessarabia from Russia and thus nearly doubled in size. But this meant that Hungary was ceding to Rumania mo

territory then she herself kept which definitely created a permanent grudge. S imilarly Austria was made to cede many territories as well.

Issue of Minorities

1. Since the principles of nationalism had to be sacri ficed for the principles of economic viability and military defensibility, many nationalities were left in oth

states as minorities. The treaty makers for some reason had hoped that the new states would be peace loving and these minorities would be treated well. Bthe treaty was wrong again. These states had been fighting each other before and during the war and as such the minorities were often seen as the 'enemy'

these nations. How could then it be expected that Hungarians would be treated well in Romania and Yugoslavia, Germans in Poland, Poles in GermanyBulgarians in Yugoslavia and so on.

2. To handle this issue, the allied tried to induce the successor s tates and the defeated states to guarantee the protection of minority rights. But the treaty didn

create any mechanism to ensure the implementation of these provisions and the protection of minority rights except by creating a feeble minorities commissioin LoN which had no powers. It was hoped that the danger of international publicity would deter the new nations from harshly treating their minorities but

had no such effect. On the other hand, such allegations fanned more radical nationalism.

Issue of International Trade

1. The treaty created multiple mid size states and enhanced the length of borders in Europe by 4000 miles. This had an important effect in the post war world

prohibitive tariffs.

War Guilt Clause

1. This met with universal resistance in Germany for it essentially meant that all the Germans who had died in the war had died for an unjust cause. Thcomplicated situation in Germany on many fronts (anti-semitism, extreme nationalism, loss of credibility of the government etc.).

Reparations Clause

1. At the time of signing the treaty the allies were not able to come up with any figure on reparations. Thus they created a Reparation Commission and askeGermany to sign that she will pay whatever be the amount fixed by the Commission. This was like signing a blank check and leaving the question of reparation

to post war politics. £ had suffered little destruction on land herself and saw Germany as a potential valuable market. So she was not interested in fixing verhigh reparations. France on the other hands saw these reparations not only as a means to compensate her for the losses of the war but also as a potential to

to keep Germany weak in future and ensure her security. So she wanted highest possible reparations. After prolonged haggling an amount of £6.6 bio wa

fixed which was so high that it actually aroused £ sympathies for Germans. This meant that when Germans violated it, £ public opinion would not automaticallmobilize against it.

2. The first payment of the reparations was received only after a French threat of occupying Ruhr. During next 3 years Germany made payments in kind but 1923 she announced she couldn't make any further payments. Thereupon the Belgian and French troops occupied Ruhr arousing much sympathy for German

in £ and other countries. The government and the workers resisted passively and the production came to a standstill. Paper currency was printed on a large

scale and by November, 1923 Germany suffered from one of the worst hyperinflation in the history. It was thus clear enough that she won't be able to makany more payments.

3. An allied committee of financial experts was setup and it came up with the Dawes Plan in 1924 which proposed a 2 year moratorium on reparations, return Ruhr and a £40 mm loan to Germany. After 2 years Germany was to repay in increasing annual annuities only. In 1929, another commission was setup and

came up with the Young Plan which envisaged a new international loan of £60 mm and a payment of reparations over a period of 59 years in cash. As a resu

of these foreign loans and new FDI Germany was able to buildup her infrastructure and industries back. Finally in 1932 in the Lausanne Conference, threparations ceased and in any case in 1933 after the Nazis captured power even the repayment of the foreign loans made earlier (under the Dawes and th

Young plans) also ceased. Thus it can be questioned how much in reparations she actually paid except for the first 3 years when she paid in kind. Thesreparations (in kind) were also not free from trouble in the allied countries for it was like dumping which would ruin the domestic production.

Addressing French Security Concerns

1. France was the most anxious state and she wanted to prevent a resurgence of Germany in future at any cost. Thus many German territories were given to hneighbors in order to make them strong and defensible. Other restrictions were also imposed. Clemenceau even wanted the bridges of Rhineland for France

guarantee her future security but the allies refused since they feared it would create an Alsace-Lorraine in reverse. Instead they offered him a joint £-Uguarantee for automatic and immediate military support in case French security was threatened by Germany. France agreed reluctantly but this guarantee wa

soon rendered void when the US senate refused to ratify the treaty and £ too backed off saying such an action by US invalidated her obligations also.

2. As a result France was forced to create a 'Little Entente' by making a network of alliances with the succession states like Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakand Rumania whose very survival depended upon the maintenance of the Versailles order. But this meant that she now was guaranteeing their security again


5/26



Russia, Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Bulgaria as well. She had now assumed the role of preserving the Versailles order just as Austria had takethe role of preserving the Vienna order. This led to diplomatic and military overburdening of France.

3. France was also increasingly worried that an alliance might come out of Germany and Russia and this nightmare seemed to be coming true for some years a

Germany and Russia increased bilateral relations. This was made worse by the apparent shifting of interest of £ to outside europe into her colonial empire an

US in pacific. The unbalance of power on which the treaty depended so much for its fulfillment was now rapidly being redressed in Germany's favor.4. To allay her security concerns, France first proposed in LoN in 1923 a Treaty of Mutual Assistance which stipulated that in the event of an aggression, within

days of the outbreak of hostilities, the LoN should decide which party is the aggressor and automatically be obliged to give military aid against it. Earlier themilitary obligations of LoN were optional. £ rejected it since she was against automatic obligations. As a compromise in 1924, the Geneva protocol wa

proposed by France where it sought to plug the loopholes (condition of unanimity and optional nature of sanctions) in LoN by proposing that if there was nunanimity then the matter may be referred to arbitrators and the member nations will abide by the decision of such arbitrators. But again £ and her dominion

refused it.

5. Locarno: Due to above rejections, France began to seek £ guarantee for her border with Germany. By 1925, £ was in a more conciliatory mood and waprepared to give a guarantee for the Franco-German border against an aggression by any party. This guarantee was extended to include Belgium-Germa

border as well as the demilitarized areas of Rhineland. Italy too joined in and it was decided that Germany should join LoN. In October 1925, 3 set of treatiewere signed - (a) Treaty guaranteeing Franco-German and Belgium-German border, (b) Treaty of mutual guarantee between France on one side an

Czechoslovakia and Poland on the other, and (c) Treaty of arbitration between Germany on hand and France, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium on th

other. The effect of the last 2 treaties was that since £ would not guarantee the eastern borders, France should and that Germany would submit any bordedispute to arbitration. It was the first treaty which recognized the needs of both Germany and France. This was the best security arrangement which Franc

could get while Germany came back in the international circle of powers (and also reduced its chances of affiliating with Soviet Union). But it had gravimplications as well for now it graded the borders with the western borders being ranked more sacrosanct than the eastern. £ distinction between the frontie

which she would guarantee and which she would not guarantee undermined the general obligations of the whole Covenant. It divided the indivisible peace

Versailles and made it clear that now the Versailles order depended upon the willingness of Germany and didn't have any international backing. She could noeasily disregard her eastern borders without any threat of £ action (in fact without threat of French action as well since if French attacked Germany, £ wouldn

come to French aid and France alone couldn't harm Germany). France clearly overburdened herself without the partnership of £. It also undermined thauthority of LoN since now it distinguished between its members and the idea of collective security went into drain. There were technical absurdities too fo

how could £ armed forces prepare a joint defence plan with French if they could be made to fight against France also. This also had the effect of weakenin

LoN further since while Germany was being inducted as a permanent member, Poland, Span and Brazil too raised the same demand. Inducting Poland as permanent member would have canceled out Germany's vote, so a new level of semi-permanent members was created and Poland was admitted to it. Bu

Spain and Portugal declined and resigned from LoN. LoN now had no representative from Americas. As a result of increasing pacifism (borne out of Locarnand otherwise), all the concessions which allies had made to Germany became a source of tension. Allied military control of Germany had ended in 1927. Th

Young Plan of 1929 gave her loans and removed the financial controls imposed on her. £ pressed for ending the allied occupation of rhineland and by 1930, a

Allied troops were withdrawn from Rhineland. Now it was only Germany's willingness which lay between peace and the war.

Treatment of Colonies

1. The allied powers had gotten their support from the colonies in the name of providing right to self determination after the war. But once they won the wathey made it clear that such a rule was not to be applied to the colonies (a direct violation of Fourteen points as well). Obviously this created resentmen

everywhere.

2. Moreover as a settlement of Turkey under the treaty of Severes, £ got Palestine, Iraq and Jordan while French got Syria and Lebanon as 'mandates'. Planwere made even to partition Anatolia itself among the allies. While Mustafa Kemal accepted the loss of Arab territories he could in no way accept the partitio

of Turkey itself. £ and France sent their troops. This led to a nationalistic revolution in 1924 and treaty of Severes had to be abolished.

Failure of League of Nations

1. It was the last of the Fourteen Points but the form in which it was actually implemented reflected the modifications to suit £ and French interests. One way

looking at it is a wider extension of Concert of Europe where all the member states may meet regularly to discuss common problems and issues threateningworld peace. The League merely provided a standing machinery for doing this. Another way of looking at it was like a multilateral treaty where each membe

state committed itself to not only seek peaceful means to settle any dispute it may get involved in but also to share some responsibility for defending everother signatory against aggression. This notion of collective security was supposed to keep world peace by deterring the aggressor and in this the LoN failed

miserably.2. A system like LoN was not any supra governmental agency but merely a body used by various governments. It could thus function only when most of th

governments wanted peace and would be willing to use the LoN to maintain peace. But this in turn could only work when there was balance of power amon

nations with rival interests. It was also hoped that democracy and good treatment of minorities would enable such governments. It was believed that it waunfulfilled nationalism which had caused the war and the 'perfect' settlement after the war would remove the militancy from nationalism. But once suc

assumptions were nullified, there was no mechanism to restore the efficacy of LoN. It also had no method to ensure that only democratic governments becomand remain a member.

3. The LoN was borne out of and was an integral part of the Versailles settlement and it endorsed all the settlements reached in Versailles including all the

weaknesses. Thus it too endorsed the 'war guilt' clause. Thus from the start itself this (the integration with the treaty) made LoN a suspect to Germany anRussia and all the neutral states who didn't wish to be associated with the allied war plans.

4. Article 10 of the Covenant was its strength as well as weakness. Article 10 was the collective security clause which obligated each member state to respeand preserve the territorial integrity of all other member states against any external aggression. In the event of any such aggression, the LoN was obliged t

take an action after discussion which could include military and economic actions. But it was this clause which was used by US senate to reject the treaty an

hence the LoN.5. Thus US, Germany and Russia kept out of it. Italy and Japan were very dissatisfied from the Versail les settlement and by extension had no interest in LoN an

chose to openly violate it. Everything was left on £ and France and when France in defiance of £ opinion occupied Ruhr in 1923, it further reduced anenthusiasm in LoN. A system like LoN can work when there is balance of power among multiple nations which have rival interests but clearly the powe

realities of the world were not reflected in the LoN. Otherwise there is no one left to check the aggressions of the powerful nation in the system and hence th

credibility of the system gets eroded. Thus no action was taken against French aggression and this emboldened Italy to violate it later in Ethiopia and Albaniand then Japan in Manchuria. Even France was apprehensive about its efficacy and thus sought to secure its security outside LoN by signing pacts with Poland

Czechoslovakia and Rumania.6. The procedure of decision making in LoN was ill suited to taking any international action. Any international action could be taken only by its assembly in whic

every state had one vote and a complete unanimity was required. This amounted to giving a veto even to the smallest of the power. On the other hand th

council which had major powers had mere recommendatory role and it could recommend only on subjects which were referred to it by the assembly.

WW2

Causes

Consequences

Industrialization


6/26



Created: 12/7/2011 7:54 PM

BritainCauses

ImpactUSA

Factors & Forces

1. The Embargo Act, 1807 led to a ban on all imports into US. So US industries had huge demand in front of them now.2. The 1812 Anglo US war led to the realization of a stronger industrial base and development of means of transport and communications.

3. The government subsequently gave the domestic industries the protection they needed.

Nature & Character

1. Scientific developments were made in methods of production in industry as well as agriculture.

2. Great stress was laid on development of railways to connect raw materials, factories and markets.3. Electricity was effectively harnessed.

GermanyNature & Character

1. W and SW Germany was more urbanized and had close contacts with the developments in France, England and Holland.

2. The establishment of railway lines between 1830s and 1850s gave a great boost to the iron and coal industry. By 1850 the length of railway lines in Germanwas 3K miles. The coal producing sites like Saar, Ruhr were all located in Prussia and traditionally agriculture based were quickly transformed into grea

industrial centers. Lorraine was one big iron ore producing site. After 1871 there was a surge in communications network. Length of railways became 60K kin Germany against 40K in £. Roads and canal waterways were extensively developed and given its location in the center of europe, it became a important hub

and benefitted immensely from the overall completion of railway network in europe.

3. The urban towns transformed themselves into machinery production hubs. The pace of urbanization in Germany grew remarkably after the unification. While 1871 only one-third of its population was urban, by 1914 over two-third lived in cities. In the old urban centers, the city walls were destroyed and road

buildings etc. were made so as to give better and increased living space.

4. After the unification Germany grew at a breathtaking pace to overshadow even £. By 1914 the ratio of industrial output of Germany, £ and France was 3:2:Moreover its industries produced mainly for exports and thus Germany became the new workshop of the world. Her exports began to rival that of £ and th

lion's share of growth in european trade went to Germany. By 1914 its total exports nearly matched those of £. From a food exporting country in first half o1800s, it became a food importing country by 1900.

5. It reorganized most of its banks, strengthened them and used them to provide funding to the new industries. The state also enacted protective walls for heindustries.

Russia

Nature & Character

1. Russia began late so it could take advantage of latest technologies.

2. Russian industries were big to begin with and thus could exploit economies of scale.3. Russian industries were also concentrated in a few centers to take advantage of economies of scope.

4. The quality of Russian products was low, hence they could not penetrate into European markets but could be exported into Asia.5. Russian commoners were very poor, hence could not give sufficient market for the output.

6. Russian industrial development took place on foreign capital hence mostly the entrepreneurial class was foreign. This further added to the discontent.

JapanIndustrialization and Globalization

Disintegration of USSR

Created: 5/22/2012 2:23 PM

Soviet Communism Collapse (1985-91)Factors

Eastern Europe (1989-2001)

US Ascendancy

Unification of Europe

Created: 12/7/2011 7:03 PM

Unity in Eastern Europe

Nature & Character

1. It was a coerced unity unlike the W European unity which was voluntary.

2. This unity was like making carbon copies of USSR in E Europe. They were all to have same economic and political system, same education, same five yea

plans.3. The bulk of their trade was to be with USSR & their foreign policy and military were to be controlled from Kremlin.

EvolutionThe Molotov Plan of 1947

1. This was in response to the Marshall aid. Since USSR had forbidden the E European countries from accessing the Marshall aid, it felt it imperative to offer aalternative.

2. This was basically a set of trade agreements which boosted the trade within the communist bloc.


7/26


8/26



on merit.3. Matternich system was based on the notion that the internal and international affairs were inseparable. This was because it represented an attempt to tu

black the clock of history and its entire structure was dependent upon feudal relations. Large number of people had tasted the sweetness of liberty (

territories conquered by Napoleon) and in other areas had watched their fellow brethren tasting it. In such an environment any success of the new liberal an

national movements anywhere would have had a domino effect throughout. It was quickly realized that the congress system meant magnification of any issuanywhere. Peace was established but it was fragile as each power became interested in preserving its own interests which conflicted with each other most

the time.4. Europe was divided into 2 types of powers. The center and the east were dominated by feudal systems while France and £ had modern systems and econom

Thus while Russia wanted a system of automatic intervention in the internal affairs, £ and France were opposed to any such automatic interference aninstead wanted to decide on a case by case basis (with £ in general re luctant to interfere). While re ligion formed an important factor for the tsar, Matternich,

and France had no such considerations while formulating their foreign policy. In the end each power ended up interfering to secure its own interest void of any

accepted system. Thus while intervention favored monarchs in Naples and Spain, liberals gained in Portugal and Greece.

Emergence of Nationalism in 19th Century Europe

1. Nationalism in its primitive form was a sense of belonging of a community of people to a particular land, customs, language etc. In its modern form, when suc

communities began to assert their independence and sovereignty, nationalism emerged only in 19th century.2. The Jacobian doctrine of "sovereignty of people" contributed to it. It not only gave the people right to chose and control their government, but also made th

government a voice of the people.3. Countries which witnessed strongest nationalistic feelings were the ones which were occupied by Napoleon for he unwittingly through his measures promote

nationalism in these lands.

4. The Prussian victory in Leipzig became a popular symbol of triumph of German nationalism. Germany had a strong middle class as well which was to champiothe cause of nationalism.

5. Similarly nationalist feelings were strong in Italy as well though they were not so much anti-French in character.6. In Russia, the scorched earth techniques could have become the ultimate example

nationalism but so backward was the national feeling in Russia, so divorced from the popular life was the regime, that these events had little effect on nationa

sm.

Contribution of Romantic Movement

1. Despite the fact that most of the romantic writers after 1815 were conservatives, their work helped in eroding the cosmopolitan and non-nationalistic outlooon which absolutism had prospered. Thus even though they opposed liberalism, their works encouraged nationalistic sentiments. This can be seen in th

cultural movement in Germany as they began to take pride in German culture and history. Gradually the younger writers themselves began to be influenced bliberal ideas and began to preach liberalism as well.

2. The greek war of independence aroused many passions and flared up the romantic literature in praise of nationalistic ideals. The most famous hero becam

Lord Byron who died in the greek war.

Emergence of Nationalism in Poland

1. Napoleon's act of creating a Duchy of Warsaw was welcomed by Poles.2. The system of Matternich failed to check the growth of nationalism in Poland. The reason was that the Polish landed aristocracy didn't owe their position

Habsburgs (like in Italy) and never forgot they were Poles. Their imaginations were fired when the Russian tzar Alexander I created a small kingdom of Polan

which even though severely truncated in size as well as real authority served as a source of inspiration.

The Revolt of 1830

1. Like Italy the revolt was led by secret societies and students (wherever forces of nationalization were stronger revolts were led by secret societies and studenand wherever forces of liberalism were stronger the revolts were led by liberal parliamentarians). The leader of army stationed in Poland fled and the rebe

setup a provisional government and began to negotiate with the tsar for reforms. The tsar refused to grant reforms and in 1831 Russian army invaded Polan

Again the hope of rebels was western support which was never coming.

The Revolt of 1846

1. Poland broke out in revolt in 1830. But the most serious revolt was in 1846 which was led by the nobles and intellectuals. It was checked in the characteristMatternich patter of suppression and 'divide and rule' - the peasants were pitched against the nobles. But to win over the peasants, Matternich had to abolis

the hated Robot or the forced labor feudal levy. This tax had held the peasants to the land and its abolition freed them to move and thus paved the way for socio-economic transformation.

2. The reasons why Poland didn't break out in revolt in 1848 were - (a) The abolition of Robot in 1846 had taken the basic impulse out of any potential peasarevolt in Galicia (the Austrian held territory and most prone to revolt). (b) The Russian held part was held too tightly by the tsar and had been crushed badly i1831.

Emergence of Nationalism in SpainDuring Napoleonic Rule

1. In Spain, the guerilla war against Napoleon became a symbol of nationalist triumph as well, tough there was no middle class to take its advantage and aft

the fall of Napoleon the country fell back in autocratic rule.2. But the liberal elements were able to draft the 1812 © in the aftermath of the defeat of Napoleon in Spain. It was a classic example of how people hate

French occupation while still loved the ideals of French Revolution. The © was drafted based on the 1791 French Constitution. A single legislative assembl

based on universal suffrage, sovereignty of people, freedom of press and individual liberty were its pillars.

Spanish Revolution of 1820

1. Against the autocratic rule of the king, a successful military revolution occurred and it forced the king to revive the liberal 1812 ©. This alarmed the ts Alexander of Russia who called for an international congress and if need be an armed international interference. But this was resisted by £ which insisted th

the Spanish revolution was entirely an internal affair and to setup a system for automatic international action against such internal events was not acceptab

to £.2. Matternich too was first opposed to summoning of such a congress but accepted it when revolutions spread out to Italy and Portugal as well. In the congress @

Troppau in 1820, £ and France only sent observers (they couldn't support the aristocratic powers and didn't want to oppose them over such small an issueither) and the congress (Prussia, Austria and Russia) announced that it could never accept the right of people to restrict the power of their king. Austria

subsequently sent armies to crush the Italian revolts.

3. With no international interference, things became more worrisome by 1822 to the extent that in 1823 France sent her own troops to restore the king. The kinafter regaining the power, crushed all liberals with unprecedented fury. But Spain couldn't re-establish her control over her latam assets as £ was interested


9/26



preventing her monopoly. So she was able to convince US to warn Spain and in 1823 president Monroe warned european powers to keep their hands olatam.

Disintegration of EmpiresTurkey / The Eastern Question

1821 Revolt of Greeks - 1830 Independence

1. It broke out as a revolt inspired by nationalism (not by any economic factors). It was seen as a revolt of christians Greeks against the tyranny of muslim Tur

by the tsar. He was also naturally interested in extending his own power in the region at the obvious expense of the disintegrating Turkish empire. But thi

possibility (of his interfering in the revolt on Greek side) alarmed other powers (as they didn't want an increased Russian influence in the region). Matternicwas most interested in maintaining the interests of monarchies and balance of power. So he called for a congress @ Verona in 1822.

2. By the time the congress began the affairs in Spain had become more worrisome and France showed willingness of interfering there. £ had decided to embaupon a policy of golden isolation in european affairs (so long as there wasn't a big change in balance of power or a threat of war in europe). As a result of th

congress, the danger of Russian interference in Turkey was avoided as £ was able to extract a promise from the Turkish government that it would institute

more reforms. The question of Spain was resolved against a joint intervention but letting France to intervene solely.3. When the sultan refused to implement any such reforms and instead got the help of Egypt in crushing the Greeks, Russia couldn't hold back any longer. £ an

France had to resort to additional pressure including a threat of use of force. In 1827, the Turkish and Egyptian naval fleets were destroyed by £, France anRussia, in 1828 Russia declared war on Turkey and France too sent her troops. By 1830 Greek independence was secured.

1850 - 1875: The Aftermath of the Crimean War & Reforms

1. Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia had been made autonomous provinces within the Turkish empire. It now faced a series of separatist national movements an

had become the playground for european powers. It was composed of a vast mixture of races, linguistic groups etc. which were held together only by a hars

central authority. It had become clear that Turkish empire would crumble soon against the pressure of Austria and Russia and when it did, it would alter thbalance of power in the region. £ and France were hesitant in supporting so cruel and so failing regime against Russia and Austria. Yet the regime was failin

and this became the eastern question.2. In 1856 the sultan tried to implement reforms which included a universal Turkish national citizenship, equal ity in administration and before law and for taxatio

irrespective of religion and race etc. But these reforms failed as the local ruling class and the clergy opposed the end of their domination. Moreover th

nationalism in non Turkish communities had grown to such an extent that they resisted any attempts to impose a common law etc. on them.3. In these years between 1850 and 1870, Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia along with Rumanians pressed for and secured more autonomy for themselves.

1875 - 1878: The Turkish Crisis

1. As the reforms failed the restlessness of the different nationalities in the Turkish empire began to grow. This was stroked by Austria and Russia. Austria was

now more interested in order to recover the prestige it had lost in Italy and Germany. By 1876 full scale revolts were raging in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia

and Bulgaria which were fueled by Austria and Hungary. Soon Montenegro and Serbia too went to war against the Turks and the sultan of Turkey wasoverthrown by a local coup.

2. The attitude of foreign powers reflected their self interests. Russia wanted to press on for a dissolution of Turkish empire so that she may herself gain therstwhile Turkish territories and open her way to the Black sea. Austria was alarmed of this possibility and was oscillating between supporting Turks again

Russia or pressing for a negotiated breakup of the Turkish empire so that she may herself gain some territories and thus be able to check the Russia

influence. Bismarck's sole concern was the preservation of the international order he had so created and he was thus willing to be an honest broker. Hbelieved that if Turkish empire had to come down it should come down in an agreed and negotiated way so that peace is maintained. France was still reelin

under the defeat of 1871 and was recovering. She was not strong enough to gain substantially from any settlement in the east and thus favored that no poweshould intervene in the east. £'s first priority was to check any increased Russian influence in near east but it was in a dilemma whether this was best achieve

by a Turkish state or by strong independent smaller states.

3. In late 1876 the Turkish armies inflicted such heavy a defeat on the Serbian forces that Serbia sought the intervention of the great powers. Under the pressurfrom Russia the new sultan agreed to submit the matter to the international conference which was held in December in Constantinople. As an outcome, Russ

struck a pact with Austria where she undertook to respect the independence of Serbia and Montenegro and offered Austria a free hand in Bosnia anHerzegovina in return for a free hand in Bulgaria and Rumania.

4. In April 1877, Russia declared war again on the Turks (on the pretext that the sultan was not honoring the terms of the agreement) and got the support

Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. In the treaty which followed, the sultan recognized the independence of Serbia and Montenegro and greatlenlarged Rumania and Bulgaria. She was also to cede some territories to Russia and pay her war indemnity and carry out reforms in Bosnia. This treat

aroused the traditional jealousies and fears of various parties (Austria and £ feared the increased Russian influence while Greece, Rumania and Serbresented the increased Bulgaria) and the matter had to be submitted to the international conference again.

5. The 1878 conference @ Berlin (where Bismarck again acted as an 'honest broker') decided that the state of Bulgaria be cut down (as Austria and £ feared a

increased Russian influence over Bulgaria so by cutting down Bulgaria they hoped to limit her influence). Areas of Macedonia and Rumelia were taken awafrom her. She was not to be an independent state but merely an autonomous province under the Sultan. Similar was the status assigned to Macedonia an

Rumelia. The independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Rumania was acknowledged. Austria was allowed to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, £ got the islanof Cyprus and France got the Ottoman territory of Tunisia in N Africa. Greece was left dissatisfied as she didn't get some territories and the island of Crete sh

wanted (which were left under Turks).

6. Thus the concert of Europe had sacrificed the nationalist aspirations of all Balkan people and instead chosen to satisfy the wishes of the great powers. Thhandling of the situation made sure that the Balkans would erupt again in near future. Also by the handling of the territories of the Turkish empire, it was mad

aptly clear to the sultan that unless Turkey became strong on its own it couldn't hope to prevent its abuse by the big European powers. So the sultan set uponthe task of strengthening his empire with the help of Germans and Germany got a valuable ally in Turkey. Apart from this advantage of befriending Turkey

Germany also lost from the conference. Russia now held a grudge against Germany itself (for it had cut down Bulgaria) and the fate of the League of the Thre

Emperors was doomed. For France the possibilities of an end of diplomatic isolation and an alliance with Russia had opened up. Austria-Hungary became thkey piece in Bismarck's diplomacy and because of this importance of Austria-Hungary, the eastern question became the dominant determinant of his foreig

policy now (because the fate of Austria-Hungary was intricately tied to the eastern question whether it wanted to or not). Russia was obviously dissatisfied anso were Austria-Hungary (despite her addition of Bosnia and Herzegovina) and £ (despite her acquisition of Cyprus) for their main interest lay with a stron

Ottoman empire (while the conference had weakened it further).

Bulgarian Crisis - 1880s

1. Bulgaria had looked upon favorably @ Russia but soon realized that Russian interests lay in just exploiting her and filling her top posts with Russians. So sh

began to turn anti-Russian. The Bulgarian parliament was soon full of anti-Russian majority and in its display of independence, Bulgaria began to receive support (for she hoped to check Russian influence now through a strong Bulgaria instead of a weak Turkey).

2. In 1885, Rumelia and some other parts of Bulgaria which had been taken away in the 1878 concert revolted and demanded union with Bulgaria. Bulgar

accepted it. This naturally angered both Turkey and Russia and a war would have broken out had £ not come on the side of Bulgarians. But Serbia was vemuch jealous of Bulgarian rise and she declared a war on Bulgaria. Bulgarian forces defeated Serbia but Austria (as a protector of Serbia) intervened and


10/26



peace was restored in 1886.3. Soon Bulgarian king was made to abdicate in favor of a German prince who was a lso related to Louis Philippe of France and Victoria of £. He was seen a

virtually a candidate of western powers and this infuriated Russia but she was again made to hold back on account of western pressure. The new kin

gradually cooled down things and restored friendly relations with Russia in 1894.

4. But internationally, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy signed a pact in 1887 which was designed sole ly to check Russian influence in Balkans. The padecided to keep peace and status quo, thus ensuring Turkish authority over Asia Minor and nominal suzerainty over Bulgaria (thus checking Russia). In anothe

pact in 1887 called the 'Reinsurance Treaty', Germany and Russia promised to remain neutral in a war involving the other party except when Russia attacke Austria-Hungary and when Germany attacked France. Thus the alliance lines were clearly drawn. Soon Russia too was engaged in her easter movement an

building of trans-S iberian railways.

The Armenian and the Greek Revolts - 1890s

1. In 1890s, the Armenians broke out in revolt for independence. But the sultan after obtaining the assurance of non intervention from Germany went ahead an

crushed them. This non intervention from Germany was a part of her new found friendship with the sultan which became evident few years later in the form the Berlin - Baghdad railway project when the German emperor visited Constantinople.

2. In 1896 the island of Crete broke out in revolt for union with Greece. Yielding to nationalist pressures, Greece sent a force to Crete and thus a war broke o

with Turkey. Greece lost the war and appealed for international settlement. The international conference made Greece pay a heavy war indemnity and fewstrategic villages and didn't give her Crete. But Turkey too virtually lost Crete as she was made to grant autonomy to the island and withdraw her troops form

there. A Greek prince was appointed as the governor of Crete by the big powers even though it remained nominally under the suzerainty of Turkey.

The Young Turks Revolution and its Consequences - 1908

1. There was a revolution in Turkey called the Young Turks revolution which only served to make it weaker. It had far reaching consequences which tore apathe 1878 Treaty of Berlin.

2. In 1908, Austria-Hungary decided to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina which it had administered hitherto as a protectorate under the Treaty of Berlin. Th

enraged Serbs because more than a million Serbs lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus Serbia - which was so far another client state of Austria-Hungary became an arch enemy. In another development Bulgaria threw off the yoke of the nominal Turkish suzerainty and declared herself to be an independen

state. None of the big powers were interested in calling an international concert because Austria-Hungary was backed by Germany and Bulgaria was backed bRussia. The net effect was that Austria-Hungary created an enemy for little effective gain (acquisition of a Balkan territory would prove troublesome anyways

and Bulgaria moved closer to Russia. Germany too created an enemy for little gain here because of the pressure she had to put on Russia to accept Austria

annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Balkan War - 1912

1. The Young Turks in the reformist zeal tried to impose upon the national language and compulsory military service on Macedonia as well. But the Greek, Slaand other communities living there cherished their unique culture and resisted it. Thus Turkey couldn't have united as a nation without letting its hold ove

other nationalities go, but this is precisely what they refused to do. The Young Turks resorted to usual suppression and this led Greece, Serbia, Montenegr

and Bulgaria to declare war on Turkey in 1812. It was nothing short of a miracle which could have united these Balkan nations and Young Turks managed to do just that. In the war that followed, Turkish armies suffered a rout and the state collapsed.

2. Such a rapid collapse of Turkey was a clear victory of Balkan nationalism and a grave blow to Austria-Hungary. It was completely taken by surprise and noscrambled to save itself from disintegration. Thus to counter the rising power of Serbia, Austria-Hungary chose to back the demand of Albania fo

independence. Russia took a firm stand against her satellite Bulgaria to prevent her from taking over Constantinople. The old enemies vis Austria-Hungary an

Russia were thus united behind one cause this time i.e. to prevent the rising power of Balkan states. It also worked to bring Germany, France and £ together tkeep Russia out of Constantinople but France was by now too much anti-German to risk her alliance with Russia and £ was prepared to resist only in a gener

concert. The conference met in London and it couldn't undo the results of the war but accepted the Austrian demand of an independent Albanian state (twhich Russia agreed). Thus a reversal from the 1878 conference, this conference carried further the triumph of Balkan nationalism.

The Balkan War - 1913

1. The Balkan unity soon broke up as old suspicions resurfaced. Each country wanted to retain maximum possible territory and a second war broke out. Bulgarhad to fight Greece, Serbia, Rumania and Turkey and lost and had to pay a price to each one of them.

2. But the effect of this was that Bulgaria now drifted close to Germany and Austria-Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro now regarded a war against AustriHungary as inevitable (to free all slavs of Bosnia) and in this had Russian support. The terms of the Treaty of London were violated but the big powers couldn

interfere because they knew that a wider war would mean Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side and at least France and Russia on the other.

Austria-Hungary


11/26



Condition in 1815

1. The Austrian provinces themselves as well as the periphery nationalities like Czechs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Croats, Rumanians and Poles had the mediev

provincial diets or 'estates'. But these estates met rarely and the power was in the hand of local nobles who had links with Vienna and depended on itsupport. Thus the system was highly conservative and disregarded any national aspirations.

2. This system was that of a lose confederacy where the power lay in the hands of the highly conservative aristocratic elements. The center depended upon the

for its continuation and they in turn depended upon the center to crush any rebellions which may threaten them. Such a system necessitated it for Matternicto be opposed to any strands of liberalism.

3. The center had realized that it was impossible to bring the various parts under more centralized control. Instead it depended upon the divide and rule policy keep all the areas within the empire. Thus it posted German regiments in non- German areas, Hungarian regiments in Italy and so on. It even devised

German confederation to keep its influence over the different Germanic states.

Liberal and National Movements

1. In 1815 the student bodies in Germany called burschenshaften revolted and were banned by the Carlsbad Decree by Matternich.2. In 1848 the much hated feudal levy Robot had to be abolished (following the revolt). This was the last tie which held the peasant with the land and thus paved

way for a more general socio-economic transformation which changed the political landscape as well. This was because the foundation of the Habsbur

empire was on the traditional system based on feudal land relations and now that itself was shaken.

Austrian Revolt of 1848

1. Here the intensity of revolt was very ser ious (since it also received support of the nobles and court factions who were against Matternich) and he had to flee

March. A moderate government was setup but the ruling elements just played a waiting game as in Prussia to let the revolutionary movement pass and ye

retain enough power in their hands to lead a counter revolution later. The king was forced to create a Reichstag which would be based on restricted adusuffrage. The nobility would lose their exemption from taxation and the towns would get a representation in the parliament. The parliament represented main

the gentry and the middle class.2. In Prussia, Austria and Hungary the initial successes of the revolutionaries were followed by subsequent failures. They had no common agenda and couldn

agree upon what to do next. Moreover they had settled for too little or weak reforms while they had the chance and allowed the counter revolutionarelements to retain sufficient powers. By May the revolution had spent its force.

3. There was another revolt in September but by then the aristocratic powers were securely in place and crushed it as now they had the support of the Slavs an

the Czechs.

Hungarian Revolt of 1848

1. The king of Austria ruled Hungary but it had an aristocratic diet of its own. But in 1848 a nationalist leader Louis Kossuth emerged. He led the anti-feudmovement in Hungary and kindled the nationalist sentiments. Following the revolution in Vienna, he raised the demand for home rule in Hungary which wer

granted in the form of March Laws (where the king still remained the Austrian emperor but Hungary was to have its own parliament elected on a restricted

suffrage. The nobility would lose their exemption from taxation and the towns would get a representation in the parliament). The parliament representemainly the gentry and the middle class.

2. But in the new assembly there were large major ities which wanted to avoid a complete break from Austria. The Croats and Slovaks were opposed to being le


12/26



under the Magyar rule and so opposed independence from Austria. The Austrian government utilized their fear and relied on its old policy of divide and rule

Kossuth on the other hand wanted an independent Magyar led nation (and found favor with the Great German programme since it left Hungary out).3. Soon the slavs in Croatia and Serbia broke out in revolt (with encouragement of Austria). Such a revolt increased the possibility of a Russian interference

Balkans and under such a scenario Hungary preferred to side with Austria than Russia. Soon Austrian army invaded Hungary from Croatia, Kossuth appealed

the Austrian parliament to mediate between Hungary and the Habsburgs, but the German and Slav elements together refused to help Hungary. By the end othe year the Austrian army even occupied Budapest but Kossuth had raised the Magyar nationalistic fervor to a state of frenzy and the Austrians were forced t

withdraw from Budapest in April 1849. Kossuth was made the governor and he proclaimed independence of Hungary.4. But his rule lasted only for a few weeks. The popular feeling began to turn against republicanism and the excesses of the revolution. Moreover there was sp

in the ranks of the nationalists as well. Under such circumstances, tsar Nicholas sent his armies for he believed that people shouldn't depose their kings analso was scared of the impact of Hungarian revolution on Poland. Kossuth fled.

19th Century European Revolutions

Factors Behind 1830 Revolts

Economic Factors

1. The period between 1790 and 1830 saw progressive freer trade within the national borders (as internal tariffs and other NTTBs were eliminated) and risin

protection against international products (specially £ manufacturers). Thus large free trade areas like zollverein and UK (£ + Ireland) were created. This led tgreat strengthening of the middle class in europe (particularly west). This new middle class sought policies more favorable to them and hence more politica

representation. An example is the agitation in £ to repeal Corn Laws and to allow freer trade.

Factors Behind 1848 RevoltsEconomic Factors

1. These years witnessed a tremendous progress in industrialization and modern means of communications. Railways came up in big way across wester europ

coal and iron industries developed which led to further development via backward and forward linkages. From virtually nought, £ railways had grown to 6

miles, Germany to 3K miles and French to 2 K miles. Better integration also led to higher trade, closer contacts and stroked national sentiments.2. The economic progress meant growth of labor class as well. But the years preceding 1848 were marked by international trade and financial crisis. Fluctuatio

in cotton prices and winding up of Bank of the US led to tremendous losses for european capital. Bank of England had to be bailed out by Bank of FranceSpeculation in commodities led to aggravation of business cycles. The resulting economic crisis led to growing resentment among workers.

Political Factors1. The reforms after 1830 revolution had failed to produce a just society. Even though liberal steps were taken but they were so marred with preserving the se

interests of the middle class that they actually committed more injustice than what they were seeking to undo. The limitation of suffrage to men of propert

only led bred manipulation and led to exclusion. Corruption marred the electoral process and there were no effective checks on the misuse of power. Sodemand for inclusion began to grow.

2. Moreover the workers had seen how the middle class had used the political power to its own material advancement and thus they too wanted a share in th

same.3. The revolts were stroked by growing sentiments of nationalism and they in turned stroked nationalism further and even took it to chauvinistic levels. As can b

seen the German interests collided with Magyars, Magyars with S lavs, Czechs with Germans and so on.

Social Factors

1. Demographic growth had created new pressures. For instance the population in Austria increased at the same rate as that in France (but Austria was

backward country) and that in Hungary grew even faster. But the existing feudal relations created lot of tensions in such a case and hence revolts broke out. Imay be recalled here that the Emancipation Act of 1848 passed by Austria was one of the most significant achievements of the revolt as it abolished (withou

any compensation) the hereditary rights of feudal lords in jurisdiction and administration. It was this ending of feudalism which brought about real industriarevolution in central and eastern europe.

2. Due to the abolition of feudal levies the landlords had no incentive to keep a large number of peasants. So the smaller peasants sold their lands to the th

bigger landlords and moved to the cities. This created additional pressures. It can be easily seen that the 1848 revolutions were primarily urban in character.

FranceThe Revolution of 1830

1. The restored monarchy under Louis XVIII had liberal features as it adopted to be guided by a liberal © which had elements like equality before law, right

property, protection of life and liberty, equality of opportunity etc. But at the same time it retained the absolutist character in insisting that he had been kinfrom the time of execution of his brother Louis XVI and called 1814 as the 19th year of his reign. Further he insisted that he liberal © was an act of grace by

the king (i.e. voluntarily given by the king to his subjects and hence could be taken back by him also). To this weakness of the © systems in France was adde

its relative inexperience with such methods and absence of conventions. Thus the liberal system which emerged in France remained vulnerable to the attitudof the king.

2. Thus when he was succeeded by the new king (Charles) and the new king began to assert his absolutist powers, tensions broke out between the liberals anthe royalists. The new king dismissed the parliament and called for fresh elections and when the liberals returned with a stronger majority in the elections th

king tried to stage a coup de teat. The king issued a set of 5 ordinances where he dismissed the new parliament before it could meet, reduced the number voters from 100K to 25K only, called for new elections on this basis and imposed censorship. Thus he destroyed the charter issued by Louis XVIII for apractical purposes. This led to the revolution of 1830.

3. After the revolution, the Charter was liberalized (lowering of voter qualifications, weakening of upper house which was nominated by the king etc.) further animposed upon the new king. But it must be kept in mind that this was a liberal revolution and not a democratic or socialist revolution.

The Revolution of 1848

1. The king was forced to abdicate in February by the rising mob. A group of liberal parliamentar ians sought to establish a provisional government but it coucommand no authority. Under the pressure of the mob, the resulting government had to adopt certain socialistic resolutions like the right to work, reduce

working hours, national workshops and universal male suffrage.

2. But there were attempts of coups and counter coups as there was no unity among the rebels and by summer the counter revolution commenced and in the enmost of the socialist gains were lost. The national workshops were closed, the rebels were executed, in the new © in November 1848, there was no mentio

of the right to work. Napoleon's nephew was elected the president who soon tore down the other democratic elements of the © as well.

Belgian Independence of 1830

1. The Belgians comprised of the Catholic, French and Flemish sections of south Holland and they had been forced to accept the union with Holland in 181

Naturally they resented this and nationalist sentiments grew. Within the union the Belgians outnumbered the Dutch 2:1 yet had equal share only in thparliament. The fall of 1815 monarchy in France inspired them and they too rose in revolt against the Matternich system.


13/26



2. The Prince of Orange tried to reconcile the rebels by agreeing to Belgian separation and guaranteeing complete separation leaving no point of contact exce

the ruling dynasty. But it failed and in 1831 a new © was promulgated which declared independence and that all powers have their source in the nation. Thpowers of the king were severely curtailed and he was to be elected by the parliament.

3. Matternich, Prussia and Russia wanted to check this development but £ and France stood by Belgium. A congress was called and it accepted Belgia

independence and guaranteed its perpetual neutrality. In 1831 Dutch invaded Belgium but France sent her troops and forced the Dutch to withdraw.

Italy


1. By the end of 1830 the rulers of Parma and Modena had been driven out. It was certain that Austria would send its troops to crush the rebels but they hope

France would support them (as it had supported Belgium). But France didn't (since doing so would have seriously offended Austria and Italy was not worth acause over which France should fight Austria).

2. Austria crushed the revolts but Mazzini founded the Young Italy movement which gained popularity and its numbers reached 60K ny 1833.


1. Rebellious elements were more active here than ever before because the new kings which had succeeded the earlier ones were more sympathetic to th

national cause and allowed more liberties. This encouraged the work of the secret societies. After the revolts broke out, they were suppressed by Austragain. King Charles of Piedmont fought for the cause of rebels but no help came from France and by May the war was turning against him and he wa

eventually forced to abdicate in favor of his son.


14/26



GermanyThe Revolution of 1848

1. Germany had neither a liberal parliamentarian tradition like £ nor a violent social democratic tradition like France. German liberalism as represente

by zollverein had no appetite for democracy and the social revolutionaries too were small and insignificant and mainly confined to industrialized Rhineland. Thcentral sentiment was that of nationalism.

2. Riots broke out in Berlin in March and the king decided to make some concessions. He declared himself to be in favor of a federal German Reich in place of th

Germanic Confederation (presided over by Austria). But the resulting reich had no powers and it was limited to debates only. He also proposed other measurelike one national citizenship, one national army, freedom of press but all these remained proposals only.

3. After the initial success, the liberals were divided on the next course of action. They couldn't even agree on the territorial extent of Germany. There was group which called for Greater Germany which was to include Germany, Poland and Austria (except Hungary but including the lands inhabited by Slavs). Bu

this would necessitate offering the crown to Austrian Habsburg. On the other hand the little Germans were willing to leave out the Austrian lands to unify re

of Germany free of Austrian influence and in such a case the crown was to be offered to the Prussian king. Catholics supported Austria, protestants supporte

Prussia as the leader. By May, a state of inaction had taken over.4. The Greater German programme was opposed by Czechs (who preferred the lose Austrian confederacy) as well as the S lovaks (who didn't want to be le

alone with the Magyars of Hungary). The Slavs demanded creation of 3 separate states of Czechs and Slovaks, Serbs and Croats (later to form Yugoslavia

and Poles. The slavs were afraid of being partitioned between the Greater Germany and Hungary and thus opposed them. Poles wanted a separate state a

well.

Revolution and Counter Revolution

Created: 5/22/2012 2:16 PM

The Russian Revolution (1917-21)Growth of Bolshevism

1. In its beginning itself the Russian socialist party faced the choice whether it should work to exert pressure on the government using peaceful means and try

get concessions from it or should it try to overthrow the government and setup an alternate structure. If it chose the latter it was facing a life or death situatiosince no civil liberties existed in Russia. If it chose the latter it might have gained some semi legal existence under the tzars but would have lost it

revolutionary impulse.2. Further in 1903 it faced another question. A section (led by Plekhanov and Ulyanov) favored the party membership to be restricted to a small close band

workers who would personally work for the party organization and to restrict the decision making to a narrow group of militant and active workers. Anothe

(led by Trotsky and Martov) supported an open membership which would also include those who supported the party in general and thus an open party guideby the collective voting power of all its enrolled supporters. The first one would keep intact the party's revolutionary impetus while the second one would hav

produced a socialist democratic party on the lines of Germany. But in a Russia where no civil liberties existed how could the second version ever gaipopularity.

3. So in the vote which was held, the minority advocating first version won by 2 votes and were thus called Bolsheviks. The others were called Mensheviks. No

the minimum aim of the party was to overthrow the tsar regime and no half measures were possible.

The 1905 Revolution

1. The loss of war against Japan and subsequent massacre of a band of peaceful petitioners (led by an orthodox priest who had gone to the tsar to petition fcontrolled working hours, universal suffrage and transfer of land to the people) created a revolutionary situation in Russia.

2. Following the mutiny @ battleship Potemkin, committees of workers (soviets) were setup in Petrograd by the Mensheviks and general strikes followed. B

eventually the soviet was broken up (Lenin came too late and Bolsheviks took no action until then) and the leaders had to flee.

German Fascism

State under Nazis

1. The 'nationalism' in Nazi meant the union of all Germans within a greater Germany and expulsion of all alien elements like jews, gypsies, communists etc. Th

'socialism' in Nazi meant a corporative state i.e. state to have total control over all economic and social activities of people and firms. Thus in his rise to poweHitler got the support of the nationalists, landlords, militarists etc. as well as the unemployed, peasants etc.

2. Hitler believed that nazism is what Marxism could have been if it broke ties with a democratic order i.e. what was the need to socialize banks and firms whe

you can socialize people. Nazi Germany was the extreme form of s tate socialism and state capitalism combined. The owners of property as well as labor wesubject to the dictates of the state alike. Thus the big German companies remained but were obliged to serve the needs of the state as determined by th

party. The unions of old type were replaced with new 'corporate' unions and their purpose too was to mobilize labor to serve the needs of the state. Therwas strict state control of foreign exchange, allocation of raw materials, controls on investment and disciplined regulation of labor, wages, prices and profi

Party leaders also took part in business and Goering works became the largest enterprise in whole Europe.

3. Unemployment was rooted out via public works, factories, conscription, production of armaments, displacement of jews etc. Hitler launched a 4 year plan 1936 with the aim of preparing the economy for full scale war . The entire economy was geared up for war production.

4. The unique feature of this dictatorship was the degree of power it held over the lives of its subjects. All the means of propaganda, education, cinema, rad

etc. were used to indoctrinate people. The party had extensive organization. It had an efficient secret police to eliminate its opponents. All this was based othe modern concept of participation of people in state life and the dislocations caused by the war. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin wouldn't have been possible

century earlier.

Acts of AppeasementLocarno

1. By 1925, £ was in a more conciliatory mood and was prepared to give a guarantee for the Franco-German border against an aggression by any party. Th

guarantee was extended to include Belgium-German border as well as the demilitarized areas of Rhineland. Italy too joined in and it was decided that German

should join LoN. In October 1925, 3 set of treaties were signed - (a) Treaty guaranteeing Franco-German and Belgium-German border, (b) Treaty of mutuguarantee between France on one side and Czechoslovakia and Poland on the other, and (c) Treaty of arbitration between Germany on hand and France

Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium on the other. The effect of the last 2 treaties was that since £ would not guarantee the eastern borders, France shouland that Germany would submit any border dispute to arbitration. It was the first treaty which recognized the needs of both Germany and France. This was th

best security arrangement which France could get while Germany came back in the international circle of powers (and also reduced its chances of affiliatin

with Soviet Union).2. But it had grave implications as well for now it graded the borders with the western borders being ranked more sacrosanct than the eastern. £ distinctio

between the frontiers which she would guarantee and which she would not guarantee undermined the general obligations of the whole Covenant. It divided th


15/26



indivisible peace of Versailles and made it clear that now the Versailles order depended upon the willingness of Germany and didn't have any internationbacking. She could now easily disregard her eastern borders without any threat of £ action (in fact without threat of French action as well since if Frenchattacked Germany, £ wouldn't come to French aid and France alone couldn't harm Germany). France clearly overburdened herself without the partnership o

£.

3. It also undermined the authority of LoN since now it distinguished between its members and the idea of collective security went into drain. There wetechnical absurdities too for how could £ armed forces prepare a joint defence plan with French if they could be made to fight against France also. This also

had the effect of weakening LoN further since while Germany was being inducted as a permanent member, Poland, Span and Brazil too raised the samedemand. Inducting Poland as a permanent member would have canceled out Germany's vote, so a new level of semi-permanent members was created an

Poland was admitted to it. But Spain and Portugal declined and resigned from LoN. LoN now had no representative from Americas.4. As a result of increasing pacifism (borne out of Locarno and otherwise), all the concessions which allies had made to Germany became a source of tensio

Allied military control of Germany had ended in 1927. The Young Plan of 1929 gave her loans and removed the financial controls imposed on her. £ pressed f

ending the allied occupation of rhineland and by 1930, all Allied troops were withdrawn from Rhineland. Now it was only Germany's willingness which labetween peace and the war.

Reoccupation of Rhineland

1. In March 1936, Germany reoccupied Rhineland. This was his most open challenge to the Versailles order and the most crucial of all. This was also in direviolation of Locarno which Germany had signed voluntarily and not under any duress. Had £ or France shown any resistance even now, he was in no position

counter. His political career could have ended. This was the last chance WW2 could have been avoided. Belgium asked to be relieved from her Locarnocommitments a