SUPERPOWERS, EMPIRES, & SUPRA-NATIONAL ALLIANCES & ORGANIZATIONS

Colonialism – The practice of acquiring full/partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers and economically exploiting it

 

Imperialism – A policy of extending a country’s power through colonization, use of military force or other means

 

Power – The capacity/ability to direct or influence the behaviors of others or the course of events

 

Balance of power – A state of stability between competing forces, alliances formed to prevent any one entity from becoming too strong

 

Mercantilism – Belief in the benefits of profitable trading

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Balance of Power

• The posture and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by meeting its power against the power of the other side

• States can pursue a policy of balance of power:

  • Increasing their own power (armaments race or competitive acquisition of territory)

  • Policy of alliances (currently applied, trade and globalization more important)

• Term used to denote the power relationships in the European state system from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to World War I

  • In European Balance of Power, Great Britain played the role of ‘balancer’ or ‘holder of balance’. It was not permanently identified with the policies of any European nation, and it would throw its weight at one time on one side, at another time on one side, guided largely by one consideration – maintenance of balance itself

• Balance of power from the early 20th century onward underwent drastic changes and destroyed the European power structure as it existed since the end of the Middle Ages. Prior, the political world was composed of many separate and independent balance of power systems, e.g., European, American, Chinese and Indian. WWI and its political alignments triggered a process that eventually culminated in the integration of most of the world’s nations into a single balance of power system.

• Bipolar balance of power – Democratic West vs. Communist East

 

Mercantilism (1500s-1700s)

• Favorable balance of trade (import < export)

• Colonies would help mother countries in mercantilism

  • Raw materials and manufactured goods

• European countries viewed wealth as being ‘zero-sum’

  • ZERO-SUM – Old ideology: must lose the equal amount gained

  • POSITIVE-SUM – New ideology: Both sides can gain and trade

• Government has control over foreign trade

• Mercantilism was eventually replaced by capitalism   

 

Holy Roman Empire

• The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western Europe (800 AD – 1806 AD)

• Initially known as Empire of the West

• Holy Roman Empire title was adopted in the 13th century

  • Fredrik-I coined the term HRE

• Principal area was always that of German states (over time the borders shifted greatly)

• All German States had individual kings but looked to the ‘Holy Roman King’  

• After collapse in 1806 AD, Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria, as well as other empires were formed

• Feudalism formed a hierarchy

  • Emperor <- King <- Duke <- Count <- Baron <- Knight

• Charlemagne -> Otto

• People were not loyal to the king, but to their own feudal lords

  • These lords got more power, and started becoming more like countries

  • These lords decided to vote for the HRE leader

  • Due to CORRUPTION family of Hapsburg kept winning

• 30 year war was ended by Treaty of Westphalia, HRE ended, and countries are formed (area by different feudal lords; mentioned earlier)

• Church vs. State

• Essentially Church was ruling HRE (the Holy Roman Church)

• Bishop of Rome crowned himself Pope (Got immense power)

  • Monopolized literature (changes to the bible)

    • By doing this, any power given to the people would give more power to the Pope

  • Charlemagne + Pope (military + social power) State + Church

• Legal System invented

• Catholicism became very important during this time period

 

World War I (1914-1918)

   Dates from 1879-1914

• 1879 – Dual Alliance (Germany + Austro Hungary)

• 1881 – Austro-Serbian Alliance (Didn’t want Russia to take control of Serbia)

• 1882 – Triple Alliance (Germany + Austro Hungary + Italy)

• 1907 – Triple Entente (Britain + France + Russia) (no peace treaty)

• 1908 – Austro Hungary forcefully takes over Bosniq

• July 29th, 1914 - Garvilo Princip of the Black Hand (Serbian militant group) kills Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro Hungary

  • Hungary gives Serbia 24 hours to surrender Princip (and publicly execute him) or claim that they have caused the assassination. Threatens to declare war on Serbia

  • Serbia does nothing

  • Garvilo Princip is not hanged, given life sentence

• Austro-Hungary at war with Serbia

• Russia supports Serbia, at war with Austro-Hungary AND Germany (since Germany was an ally)

  • This leads to Germany declaring war on France (Ally of Russia)

  • UK sides with France (alliance)

  • Ottoman Empire joins Germany

 

CAUSES OF WWI

• Nationalism (After French Revolution)

• Economic Rivalry (France/Germany/Britain)

• Military Expansion

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A FEW FACTORS IN WWI

Imperialism – Africa and South Asia

Militarism – Military Centric (Britain and Germany had a DAMNED GOOD navy, part of the economy)

Nationalism – Bosnians wanted to be part of Serbia, not Austro-Hungary

 

*Machine Gun

 

*Trench Warfare

 

*Chlorine/phosgene gas

 

*Tanks

 

*Radios and telephone

 

*Planes

 

*U-boats

 

*Zeppelin airships

1918 – Ceasefire agreement (Allied Force + Germany)

 

World War II (1939-1945)

• continuation of WWI

• Axis and Allies

• Locarno Pact

• Kellog Briand Pact

  • 60 powers for peace

    • So much peace, not well prepared for WWII

    • Easier for Hitler

 

Asia for Asiatics

• Aim: Remove colonial powers

  • But Japan wants to colonize these areas (Already in mainland China)

 

USA – Neutrality Acts, Land lease, stop spread of communism

 

Britain & France – Let Hitler expand, 1939 declare WWII

 

Nazi-Soviet Pact – Territory Pact with Germany and USSR

• This shocked allies (No ally on East of Germany???, oh shit)

• Russian Revolution 1917

• Communist Stalin, received US Aid and eventually joined Allies   

 

GERMANY – POST WW1

Treaty of Versailles (TOV) led to hyperinflation (printing more money than they have)

Weimar Period – First free elections in Germany

*** Increased gap in classes (Lower, Middle, Rich)

1933 – Chancellor of Germany -> Adolf Hitler

*By going against TOV, Hitler builds self-esteem of Germany

• Militarism

• Land grabbing

• Stop paying money to League of Nations

 

Useless League of Nations:

• Precursor of the United Nations

• Britain, France, Italy & Japan

  • All imperial powers, competing against each other anyway (don’t exactly have time to listen to other problems)

• Trying to avoid WWII, that’s why not doing anything against Hitler when he does things against the TOV

• Dealing with various independence wars over the world

• In debt from WWI already, need Germany to pay that money, so that they can pay back the USA

• Does not have an army (to preach peace)

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3 MAIN & SIMILAR IDEOLOGIES

Nazism (Germany) – Idea of authoritarianism rule (racism + nationalism)   

Fascism (Italy) – Radical authoritarianism nationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and control of industry and commerce  

Militarism (Japan) – The belief that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests    

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• Resulted in deaths of 40-50 million people

• World power shifts from Western Europe to USA & Soviet Union

• Soviet Union grasps control over large areas in Eastern Europe

• China becomes communist

• 1920 – Adolf Hitler leader of Nationalist Socialist Party (Nazi Party)

• Hyperinflation in Germany in 1930s due to New York Stock Market Exchange Crash in 1929

• 1933 – Hitler becomes German Chancellor (dictator)

• Hitler orders Germany to begin a large program of arms production

• Sept 1, 1939 – Germany invades Poland

• Sept 3, 1939 – Britain and France declare war on Germany

• Hitler wanted to get back what Germany had lost, and create a larger ‘Greater Germany’ with living space. He wanted control of fertile lands of Ukraine, allowing Germany to be an economic and military power

• Slavic people (subhuman according to Hitler) occupied lands in the Eastern Soviet Union (under communist rule of Dictator Stalin). Hitler wanted his Aryan master race to control this land

• Hitler blamed the Jews for defeat in WWI and later economic problems in Germany

• Persecution of Jews in 1930s

• Concentration camps for some religious groups, gypsies and mentally ill, where many died from disease, starvation, overwork, being gassed or shot

• 1940 May – Germany invades France with great speed

• 1941 – German U-Boats sink supply ships from USA to Britain in ‘Battle of the Atlantic’

• 1941 December – Japan attacks American Pearl Harbor, USA declares war on Japan; Germany and Italy declare war on USA

• 1942 February – Japanese capture Singapore

• 1942 May – Allies begin large scale air attacks on Germany

• 1942 June – Germany invades Soviet Union

• 1942 November – Soviet Union attacks Germany

• 1943 February – Soviet Union forces German army to surrender at Stalingrad

• 1944 June – ‘D-Day’, allies invade France, Paris taken by Germans

• 1945 February – Allies invade Germany

• 1945 May – Germany surrenders, Hitler commits suicide

• 1945 August – Atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forces Japan to surrender

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