International Relation between two Wars: Russian Revolution
1. General Summary
a. Debates about the origins of the First World War focus on whether
responsibility should rest with the German government or whether
war came because of more complex systemic factors.
b. The Paris Peace settlement failed to address the central problems
of European security, and in restructuring the European state
system created new sources of grievance and instability.
c. The rise of Hitler posed challenges that European political leaders
lacked the ability and will to meet.
d. The German attack on the Soviet Union extended the scope and
barbarity of the war from short and limited campaigns to extended,
large-scale, and barbaric confrontation, fought for total victory.
e. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the
war in Europe and eventually led Germany into war on two fronts
(again)
f. Debate persists about whether the atomic bomb should have been
used in 1945, and about the effect that this had on the cold war.
g. The First World War produced the collapse of four European
empires (the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and the
Ottoman Empire in Turkey).
h. Different European powers had different attitudes to decolonization
after 1945: some, such as the British, decided to leave, while others
sought to preserve their empires, in part (the French) or whole (the
Portuguese).
i. European powers adopted different attitudes to different
regions/countries. For example, British withdrawal from Asia came
much more quickly after 1945 than from Africa.
j. The process of decolonization was relatively peaceful in many cases;
it led to revolutionary wars in others (Algeria, Malaya, and Angola),
, whose scale and ferocity reflected the attitudes of the colonial
power and the nationalist movements.
k. The struggle for independence/national liberation became embroiled
in cold war conflicts when the superpowers and/or their allies
became involved, for example Vietnam.
l. Whether decolonization was judged successful depends, in part,
on whose perspective you adoptóthat of the European power, the
independence movement, or the people themselves.
m. There are disagreements about when and why the cold war
began, and who was responsible. Distinct phases can be seen in
EastñWest relations, during which tension and the risk of direct
confrontation grew and receded.
n. Some civil and regional wars were intensified and prolonged by
superpower involvement; others may have been prevented or
shortened.
o. The end of the cold war has not resulted in the abolition of nuclear
weapons.
p. Nuclear weapons were an important factor in the cold war. How
far the arms race had a momentum of its own is a matter of
debate.
q. Agreements on limiting and controlling the growth of nuclear
arsenals played an important role in SovietñAmerican (and Eastñ
West) relations.
r. Various international crises occurred in which there was the risk of
nuclear war. Judging how close we came to nuclear war at these
times remains open to speculation.
2. Russian Revolution
a. The Russian Revolution took place in 1917, during the final phase of
World War I. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the
transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR), replacing Russiaís traditional monarchy
with the worldís first Communist state. The revolution happened in
stages through two separate coups, one in February and one in
October. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin, would
solidify its power only after three years of civil war, which ended in
1920.
b. Although the events of the Russian Revolution happened
1. General Summary
a. Debates about the origins of the First World War focus on whether
responsibility should rest with the German government or whether
war came because of more complex systemic factors.
b. The Paris Peace settlement failed to address the central problems
of European security, and in restructuring the European state
system created new sources of grievance and instability.
c. The rise of Hitler posed challenges that European political leaders
lacked the ability and will to meet.
d. The German attack on the Soviet Union extended the scope and
barbarity of the war from short and limited campaigns to extended,
large-scale, and barbaric confrontation, fought for total victory.
e. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the
war in Europe and eventually led Germany into war on two fronts
(again)
f. Debate persists about whether the atomic bomb should have been
used in 1945, and about the effect that this had on the cold war.
g. The First World War produced the collapse of four European
empires (the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and the
Ottoman Empire in Turkey).
h. Different European powers had different attitudes to decolonization
after 1945: some, such as the British, decided to leave, while others
sought to preserve their empires, in part (the French) or whole (the
Portuguese).
i. European powers adopted different attitudes to different
regions/countries. For example, British withdrawal from Asia came
much more quickly after 1945 than from Africa.
j. The process of decolonization was relatively peaceful in many cases;
it led to revolutionary wars in others (Algeria, Malaya, and Angola),
, whose scale and ferocity reflected the attitudes of the colonial
power and the nationalist movements.
k. The struggle for independence/national liberation became embroiled
in cold war conflicts when the superpowers and/or their allies
became involved, for example Vietnam.
l. Whether decolonization was judged successful depends, in part,
on whose perspective you adoptóthat of the European power, the
independence movement, or the people themselves.
m. There are disagreements about when and why the cold war
began, and who was responsible. Distinct phases can be seen in
EastñWest relations, during which tension and the risk of direct
confrontation grew and receded.
n. Some civil and regional wars were intensified and prolonged by
superpower involvement; others may have been prevented or
shortened.
o. The end of the cold war has not resulted in the abolition of nuclear
weapons.
p. Nuclear weapons were an important factor in the cold war. How
far the arms race had a momentum of its own is a matter of
debate.
q. Agreements on limiting and controlling the growth of nuclear
arsenals played an important role in SovietñAmerican (and Eastñ
West) relations.
r. Various international crises occurred in which there was the risk of
nuclear war. Judging how close we came to nuclear war at these
times remains open to speculation.
2. Russian Revolution
a. The Russian Revolution took place in 1917, during the final phase of
World War I. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the
transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR), replacing Russiaís traditional monarchy
with the worldís first Communist state. The revolution happened in
stages through two separate coups, one in February and one in
October. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin, would
solidify its power only after three years of civil war, which ended in
1920.
b. Although the events of the Russian Revolution happened
