Questions of periodization

1914 to Present

Major Developments

1. Questions of periodization
   1. Continuities and breaks
      1. Most tumultuous eras in world history
         1. “age of extremes”
            1. Tons of democracies vs. extremist dictatorships
            2. Unprecedented prosperity vs. total poverty – income gap widens
         2. 1914 clearest demarcation line
            1. After war, nations fight everywhere for power and territory
            2. Empires weakened, monarchies toppled, new nations rose
            3. Last 100 years, most dramatic/tragic in recorded history
      2. World Wars
         1. WWI
            1. Destroyed several empires
            2. Weakened all of Europe
         2. WWII – largest, bloodiest, costliest
            1. Ends European global mastery
         3. Interwar period
            1. Economic crisis – started by US
            2. Dictatorial regimes – Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia
               1. Totalitarian states wave of the future?
         4. Communism as alternative to capitalism
         5. Decolonization – Europe loses control of Africa, Asia, Pacific
            1. National liberation creates new nations
               1. Smooth and peaceful
               2. Attained by violence
               3. Turned into chaos
         6. Political extremes
            1. Democratization
               1. Allow women to vote
            2. Most extreme dictatorial regimes
               1. millions imprisoned, abused, tortured, killed
         7. Modernization – toward postindustrial modes
            1. Developed world goes postindustrial
            2. Asia industrializes and mechanizes
         8. Economies
            1. Globalized, grown closer together
               1. Mass communication
                  1. Computer technology
                  2. Information and communications revolution
         9. Closer together or further apart
            1. World closer together
               1. End of arms race, economic globalization, American pop culture
               2. Spread of mass communications/technology
            2. Pulling world apart
               1. Ethnic violence
               2. Extreme forms of nationalism
               3. Religious fundamentalism
               4. Fear of biological and chemical weaponry
               5. Growing tensions between China and the West
               6. Cooling of relations between US and Russia
   2. Causes of changes from the previous period and within this period
      1. Great wars
      2. Cold War
         1. Power concentrated in two evenly matched superpowers – US and USSR
         2. Led to nuclear arms race
         3. Divided world into two camps – bipolar
      3. Reactions to Great Depression
      4. Degree of Modernization - Four basic tracks of 20th century changes
         1. Western Europe, United States, Canada – the West
            1. Stable democratization
            2. Economic prosperity
            3. Thorough urbanization
            4. Com mitment to social equality
            5. Creation of social welfare systems
            6. Scientific/technological achievements tremendous
            7. Postindustrial economies that emphasize services, consumerism, cutting-edge technology
         2. The Tigers – prosperous nations in Asia – Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore
            1. Economic and technical modernization
            2. Urbanized greatly
            3. High degree/variety of social services
            4. Economies post-industrial and high-tech
            5. Japan equaled or surpassed the West
            6. Nominally democratic
            7. Slow to embrace/tolerate diversity and individualism
         3. Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
            1. Modernized economically, especially post WWII
            2. Urbanized and developed social welfare services
            3. Technological and scientific advancement
            4. Remained industrial – didn’t move to postindustrial
            5. Technological finesse – computers – cruder than West
            6. Political systems dictatorial and repressive
            7. After communism, difficult to move toward democracy/economic propser
         4. Developing nations – Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America
            1. Trying to attain advanced economic systems
            2. Considering representative government
            3. Some have made great progress
            4. Others mired in backwardness, poverty, civil war, dictatorship
            5. Most between two extremes
            6. People’s Republic of China the anomaly
               1. Geography, population, military capacity of major power
               2. Strong economy – growing fast
               3. Government authoritarian, social and economic progress uneven
               4. Technological and scientific achievement inconsistent
         5. Modern vs. Postmodern Era
            1. Modern era – industrialization, formation of nation-state
               1. Struggle for representative government
               2. Moving toward economic equality
            2. Postmodern Era
               1. Postindustrial and global forms of economic organization
               2. Multiculturalism
               3. Blurring of national lines
               4. Extreme form of individualism
                  1. Takes for granted political/social freedoms won
               5. Usually ascribed to Western world