3 - World History 1914-89 Moodle

International History, 1914-89
Total Wars and Cold War

Total War
• Taking deaths in conflict as

a measure, the twentieth
century was the most
deadly to date. It is
characterised as an era of
‘total war’ whereby
technological advances and
mass mobilisation pitted
entire empires, nations and
societies against each
other in armed conflict.
The First World War, 1914-18
The origins of the First World War have been debated since 1914 but the long terms
causes included the ‘alliance system’, Germany’s challenge to British hegemony [see
Glossary] – and Britain’s desire to protect its position in the state system.
The Paris Peace Treaties 1919-23
Unintended consequences of the peace treaties at the end of the First World War
included the (deferred) rise of the USA, the disaffection of victorious powers Italy and
Japan and a legacy of resentment in Germany and other defeated powers.
The League of Nations, 1920-39
The League of Nations was the first attempt at institutionalising relations between the
Great Powers, but it collapsed during the 1930s in the face of economic protectionism,
imperialism and militarism from revanchiste states, notably Germany, Japan and Italy.
The Second World War (Asia-Pacific), 1937-
45
Japan’s attempt to gain hegemony in Asia and the Pacific was initially successful
against China, Great Britain and the Netherlands, but was ultimately unsuccessful
against the United States, paving the way for post-War US hegemony in this region.
The Second World War (Europe, the Middle
East and Africa), 1939-45
With the bulk of the fighting taking place in present-day Ukraine and Byelorussia, the
Second Word War in Europe saw the USSR survive the Nazi-led invasion of 1941 and
become the dominant power on the European continent.
The War at Sea, 1939-45
Crucial to the outcome of the Second World War were two distinct naval
campaigns: the first was the (unsuccessful) German attempt to cut off the United
Kingdom from its supplies in north America; the second a (successful) allied
campaign to starve Japan into submission.
The War in the Air
Another distinctive feature of the Second World War was the use of mass aerial
bombing of civilian targets; bombings that became ever more lethal and
culminating with the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.
The United Nations Organisation (UN)
The United Nations – along with other institutions of global governance including the World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) –
were established by the victorious powers at the end of the Second World War.
Causes of the Cold War
‘From Stettin in the Baltic to
Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron
curtain has descended across the
Continent.’
Relations between the ‘Big Three’ broke down after the fighting ended in 1945.
Liberals felt that the Cold War was caused by poor diplomacy and misunderstanding.
Realists suggest that the Cold War was a product of underlying geo-strategic imperatives.
The Korean War, 1950-3
Suez Crisis 1956
The diplomatic defeat of Anglo-French-Israeli forces on the Suez Canal suggested that a
reordering of imperial dominance in favour of the US was part of the ideological struggle
within the west during the Cold War, cementing US leadership in the western bloc
Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968
The invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 led to the articulation of the Brezhnev Doctrine: Each
communist party is free to apply the principles of Marxism-Leninism as it sees fit. However, it
is not free to deviate from those principles if it is to remain a Marxist Party.
The Spread of the Cold War
Despite its origins in Europe in 1947-49, no fighting between the major powers took
place there despite tension remaining high, especially with the construction of the
Berlin Wall in August 1961. This was not the case in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
The world came very close to nuclear conflict between the USA and the USSR in 1962
when the USA discovered Soviet ICBM’s based on Cuba. But again, despite high
tensions, no direct fighting broke out between the major powers.
Indo-China, 1941-79
Although most popularly identified with the US-led conflict in Vietnam 1965-73, the
wars in Indo-China included conflicts with Japan and France and between Vietnam and
Cambodia, not only between colonial and ideological enemies, but between
communist regimes who were now split between Soviet and Chinese camps.
The Cold War in Sub-Saharan Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa global, regional and anti-colonial conflicts merged – leading to Cubans
fighting South Africans in Angola for example – flooding the region with (low-tech) weaponry
and creating long-term instability despite the 1960 declaration of the Organisation of African
States (OAS) on the permanence of colonial borders.
The Cold War in Latin America
The 1970s and 1980s saw the Cold War play out in Latin
America with left-wing groups and organisations repressed
by state forces, often with tacit backing from the US.
Detente and the ‘Second’ Cold War
A period of eased relations during the 1970s (détente)

was followed by one of heightened tensions and a new
nuclear arms race in the first half of the 1980s.
The End of the Cold War
Following the collapse of communist regimes in east-central Europe the USA and USSR
agreed that mutual hostility was at an end; many observers hoped that a “New World
Order” had begun, although some yearned for the terrible certainties of the past.
Echoes of the Cold War
Tension-points in contemporary international relations owe much to the Cold War (or
the structures then under-pinned those tensions), a situation clearest in the Korean
peninsular, Taiwan, eastern Ukraine, Syria and within the global ‘war on terror’.
The Cold War and IR
• Neo-Realism – produced by the dominance of geopolitics in
the early phases of the Cold War, neo-realists claim that the
roots of rivalry lay in the structures (both military and
economic) of international society;
• (Neo-)Liberalism – made a return to prominence as a result of

the detente of the 1970s and economic integration after the
Cold War;
• Constructivism – the role of ideas in bringing about the

collapse of Communism provided a boost for constructivist
analyses of the structures The
of international
Cold War not onlyrelations.
affected international
relations, it changed International Relations too!

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International History, 1914-89

Total Wars and Cold War

• Taking deaths in conflict as

A period of eased relations during the 1970s (détente)

• (Neo-)Liberalism – made a return to prominence as a result of

• Constructivism – the role of ideas in bringing about the

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