1945-Present

“The world we live in today was formed by the events of World War

II and its immediate aftermath”.

• “Before we can move forward, we must come to some kind of terms with 1945, with

what it represents. A start would be the recognition that 1945, with its devastation,

displacement, and horror, was the result not just of a few madmen and their

befuddled followers, not just of ‘others,” but of humanity as a whole and of out

culture as a whole” (Eksteins, 13).

What is Europe now? A rubble heap, a charnel house, a breeding ground of pestilence and hate” –Winston Churchill

Hiroshima: the pictures they didn’t want anyone to see

“Winners have no shame, no matter how they win” –Machiavelli.

“our historical sense is derived in turn from two directions: from the buildup that were the events of the pre-1945 past, with its inherent notions of agency and cause, and from the confusions of our own end-of-century, end-of-millennium present, with

its immediacy and contradiction” (Eksteins, x).

Pre-WWII Build-Up

Post WWI effects: • introduction of total war/cult of the offensive• Russian Revolution • Economic Disaster with Great Depression• League of Nations• Rise of dictators and fascist states• Dissatisfied Germany

“Europe After the Rain” –Max Ernst

Europe 1919-1929

“a radically new government, based on socialism and one-party dictatorship, came to power

in a great European state, maintained power, and eagerly encouraged worldwide revolution.”

The Rise

The Rise of Dictators!

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)

Originally a Marxist. By 1909 he was

convinced that a national rather than an international revolution was necessary.

Mussolini Was Hitler’s Role Model

Inter-War Years: Conflict and Cooperation

Road to WWII

• Treaty of Versailles• Great Depression• Russian Revolution

http://www.worldology.com/Europe/europe_history_md.htm

Picasso’s “Guernica”

WWII and its effects

• World Politics Transformed• Chaos in Europe• Cold War (New Super Powers)• Division of Germany• Economic Recovery in Europe• Schuman Plan on European Unity• Decolonization-rise of new nations in Africa, identity in Middle

East

“WWII was the deadliest, most destructive war in history” -- Scholastic

Post-War Era

• Unification and Fragmentation

Origins of the Cold War

Post WWII had two important outcomes:

• Emergence of two superpowers:

US and Soviet Union

• These two powers’ national interests and ideologies were fundamentally incompatible

Cold War 1947-1989

Fall of Soviet Union

• Questions we will be thinking about:– Was Western power and policy responsible for the Soviet

demise? Did the West’s preparations for war or its strong alliance system force the Soviet Union into submission?

OR– Did events within the Soviet Union itself lead to its

downfall: Was it that communism was an impractical economic structure? Or the failure of the Soviet bureaucratic system?

New World OrderKey Developments in the Post-Cold War Era:

-Changes are made in Soviet/Russian foreign policy with the withdrawals from Afghanistan and Angola in the late 1980s as monitored by the UN-Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and multilateral response unite the former Cold War adversaries-Glasnost and perestroika continue in Russia as reorganized in 1992-1993-the former Yugoslavia disintegrates into independent states; civil war ensues in Bosnia and Kosovo, leading to U.N., NATO actions-Widespread ethnic conflict arises in central and western Africa, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent-Al Qaeda terrorist network commits terrorist acts against the homeland of the US and their interests-Terrorist attacks occur in Saudi Arabia, Spain, Great Britain, and the US

• Global Networks and the Economy Market economy• Nation state in global age (common market to EU)• East Joins West• Redefining the West: Radical Islam meets West--

Problems of Immigration