The Ebbing of European Ascendancy An International History of the World 1914-1945

by Marks, Sally

• ISBN13: 9780340555668
• ISBN10: 0340555661
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780340807682
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-01
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

In the decades between the World Wars, the global power structure was transformed. The once great European powers were no longer ascendant, even if they had not yet acknowledged it, and the U.S., a regional power as of 1914, now belonged to a new category: "superpower." What happened in this short period to usher in such a dramatic change?The Ebbing of European Ascendancyexplores the crucial factors, including the international history of the period in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, as single interlocking whole to clearly examine one of the most dramatic, worldwide power shifts in the last century.In the decades between the World Wars, the global power structure was transformed. The once great European powers were no longer ascendant, even if they had not yet acknowledged it, and the U.S., a regional power as of 1914, now belonged to a new category: "superpower." What happened in this short period to usher in such a dramatic change?The Ebbing of European Ascendancyexplores the crucial factors, including the international history of the period in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, as single interlocking whole to clearly examine one of the most dramatic, worldwide power shifts in the last century.In the decades between the World Wars, the global power structure was transformed. The once great European powers were no longer ascendant, even if they had not yet acknowledged it, and the U.S., a regional power as of 1914, now belonged to a new category: "superpower." What happened in this short period to usher in such a dramatic change?The Ebbing of European Ascendancyexplores the crucial factors, including the international history of the period in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, as single interlocking whole to clearly examine one of the most dramatic, worldwide power shifts in the last century. "Sally Marks has rendered a great service to students and general readers alike in this incisive and insightful survey of global politics in the first half of the twentieth century. Her lively prose and shrewd judgements make it a most readable and valuable introduction to the themes of modern diplomacy, war and the relations between Europe and the wider world. Gordon Martel, Professor of History, University of Northern British Columbia "A most thoughtful and comprehensive analysis of how Europe's dominance of the globe dissolved in the twentieth century. Readers are carefully led through the thickets of war and diplomacy with due attention to economic and cultural factors and the perceptions - and misperceptions - of key actors as well as the public in Europe and around the world."Gerhard L. Weinberg, Historian, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina "An incisive and insightful survey of global politics in the first half of the twentieth century."Educational Book Review

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Prologue: Europe's World	1	(1)
Diplomacy and the State System to 1900	2	(15)
ACT I: EUROPE'S WAR	17	(62)
The Coming of the First World War	19	(19)
The First World War	38	(24)
The Russian Revolution	62	(17)
ACT II: THE WEST'S PEACE	79	(42)
The Paris Peace Conference and the Versailles Treaty	81	(19)
The Eastern Treaties, 1919-1923	100	(21)
ACT III: THE WEST'S WORLD	121	(180)
The Imperial Factor	123	(28)
Sub-Saharan Africa	151	(22)
The Middle East	173	(29)
East Asia	202	(23)
Latin America	225	(29)
The United States	254	(18)
Europe in the 1920s	272	(29)
ACT IV: THE WORLD'S CRISES	301	(42)
The Great Depression	303	(14)
Challenges of the Dissatisfied, 1931-1937	317	(26)
ACT V: THE WORLD'5 WAR	343	(62)
War East and West, 1937-1941	345	(29)
World War II, 1942-1945	374	(31)
EPILOGUE: A DIFFERENT WORLD	405	(21)
The Aftermath	407	(19)
Further Reading	426	(31)
Index	457