Summary of Richard Haass's The World

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The history of the modern international system spans roughly three centuries, from the seventeenth century to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It includes the rise of the modern international state system, the colonial period, the demise of several empires, the opening of Japan and Germany, and the American Civil War and the rise of the United States as a great power.
#2 The modern international system was created in seventeenth-century Europe. It was a system dominated by countries and the principle of sovereignty, which states that countries should not use force to change other countries’ borders or policies, and that they should not interfere in other countries’ affairs.
#3 The Concert of Europe was a system of alliances between European countries that lasted from the middle of the nineteenth century until World War I. It was centered on Europe, but it nonetheless constituted much of the international order of its day given the dominant position of Europe and Europeans in the world at the start of the nineteenth century.
#4 The nineteenth century was a period of foreign aggression against China, which led to the Opium Wars and a series of economic concessions from China that were widely unpopular. This led to a successful political challenge to the ruling shogun.

Sujets

• Colonisation
• International relations
• Général

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 08 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669351177
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Richard Haass's The World
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The history of the modern international system spans roughly three centuries, from the seventeenth century to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It includes the rise of the modern international state system, the colonial period, the demise of several empires, the opening of Japan and Germany, and the American Civil War and the rise of the United States as a great power.

#2

The modern international system was created in seventeenth-century Europe. It was a system dominated by countries and the principle of sovereignty, which states that countries should not use force to change other countries’ borders or policies, and that they should not interfere in other countries’ affairs.

#3

The Concert of Europe was a system of alliances between European countries that lasted from the middle of the nineteenth century until World War I. It was centered on Europe, but it nonetheless constituted much of the international order of its day given the dominant position of Europe and Europeans in the world at the start of the nineteenth century.

#4

The nineteenth century was a period of foreign aggression against China, which led to the Opium Wars and a series of economic concessions from China that were widely unpopular. This led to a successful political challenge to the ruling shogun.

#5

The United States, having been established as a nation in 1776, grew into a major agricultural, industrial, trading, financial, and military power. Its decisions and actions had a major impact on the rest of the world.

#6

World War I was a result of the interplay between the rising and declining entities of Europe, as well as the competition among the former to who would prevail in the coming era.

#7

The rise of nationalism, the belief that war was inevitable, and the poor statecraft of governments contributed to the alliances that were forged without thinking through their implications.

#8

The war was devastating both physically and mentally. It was a war that resolved very little, and it was a precursor to a much larger conflict.

#9

Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States, wanted to create a standing international organization to prevent future wars. However, France, Germany’s enemy, wanted Germany weakened so it would not pose a threat again.

#10

World War I led to the collapse of four empires, and nationalism began to take root around the world. Nationalism is the basic urge to be a part of a nation, and it often stems from the desire to rule oneself rather than be ruled by others.

#11

The League of Nations, which was created to peacefully settle disputes between countries, never recovered from the American refusal to join. It also suffered from a requirement for unanimous agreement before collective action could be taken, as well as the inability to enforce its decisions.

#12

The Great Depression of the early 1930s was a worldwide phenomenon that affected all major countries. In Germany, the Weimar Republic fell after the election of Adolf Hitler as chancellor in 1933, who quickly consolidated power and began rearming Germany.

#13

The world was beginning to become appeasement-oriented. The Soviet Union was transforming into a Communist country, and Italy’s fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, invaded Abyssinia in 1935. The world’s willingness to accept aggression came to be known as appeasement.

#14

Appeasement, which was the policy of making peace with aggressors in order to avoid war or conflict, was tried in Europe in the late 1930s. It reached its height in Germany’s demands for territory from Czechoslovakia in 1938, which were met with a pledge of neutrality from Britain and France.

#15

World War II, though, was completely different from World War I. Germany and Japan were free to overreach, and they did. Germany and Japan had become hostages to political systems that eliminated any checks and balances on those wielding power.

#16

The cost of World War II was high, but it did end with a clear outcome and vision for Japan and Germany: they would be transformed into democracies and integrated into the global economy. The rise of the United States and the Soviet Union, however, would lead to the Cold War.

#17

The Cold War was the name given to the four-decade long competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two great powers of the post World War II era.

#18

The United States extended billions of dollars in economic and military assistance to countries believed to be vulnerable to external pressure from the Soviet Union. This was made possible in part because the United States emerged from World War II as an economic and military superpower.

#19

Following World War II, the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin, which was surrounded on all sides by Soviet-occupied East Germany. The United States and its allies, primarily Britain, responded with the Berlin airlift, which provided enough food, fuel, and other basic supplies to enable the city and its residents to survive until the Soviets backed down and lifted the blockade in 1949.

#20

The Cold War was a series of conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States, two competing powers vying for influence in the world. The most dangerous episode of the Cold War came in October 1962, when the United States discovered that Soviet missiles were being installed in Cuba and could reach the United States.

#21

The Cold War was kept that way by a balance of military might, the willingness of both the United States and Soviet Union to use force, and the understanding that any direct confrontation between them would result in a nuclear war.

#22

The United States and the Soviet Union were, and still are, great-power rivals, but their rivalry was bounded because of the way they interacted with one another.

#23

During the Cold War, stability was achieved in large part because of the structure of international relations during that period - bipolarity. With two dominant powers, it was easier to manage a world full of independent actors and decisions.