HST 504 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: The Yes Album, Social Darwinism, Europeanisation
Document Summary
Great powers - (cid:862)old diplo(cid:373)a(cid:272)y(cid:863) imperialism militarism - social darwinism - balance of power - (cid:862) (cid:272)(cid:396)a(cid:373)(cid:271)le fo(cid:396) af(cid:396)i(cid:272)a(cid:863) - raison d" tat. The world of 1900: the world of perpetual change: most states at the beginning of the 20th century were ruled by monarchs (emperors, kings and queens, rajahs, shahs and many others) not parliaments. No single hegemonic superpower or supranational organization could singlehandedly regulate international relations, resolve crises or impose its own rules on the entire system. But flexibility within the system allowed for both diplomacy and limited armed force to resolve crises and conflicts. In addition, professional diplomatic corps qualified individuals who knew how international relations functioned were employed to conduct statecraft. In 1900, almost everywhere and almost everyone advocated the europeanization of the world. When the 20th century began, much of the world was indeed centered on and controlled by europe. Hence, the first half of that century is a story of how and why.