scholarly journals Contemporary History in Europe: From Mastering National Pasts to the Future of Writing the World

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 506-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Spohr Readman
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
World War ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Conceptual Problems ◽  
Second World

Debates surrounding the approach to and distinctiveness of contemporary history qua history that had been simmering ever since the professionalization of history in the late nineteenth century re-emerged with vigour after 1990. This article attempts to identify what characterizes and distinguishes (the history of) our present time, by comparing the evolution of what has been labelled ‘contemporary history’ in France, Germany and Britain over the last 90 years. In discussing some of the conceptual problems and methodological challenges of contemporary history, it will be revealed that many in Europe remain stuck in an older, ‘national’ (and transnational) fixation with the second world war and the nazis’ atrocities, although working in medias res today appears to point to the investigation of events and phenomena that are ‘global’. The article will seek to make a fresh suggestion of how to delimit ‘contemporariness’ from the older ‘past’ and end with some comments on the significance of the role of contemporary history within the broader historical discipline and society at large.

The German and Japanese Empires

2021 ◽  
pp. 1123-1160
Author(s):  
Daniel Hedinger ◽  
Moritz von Brescius
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
World Order ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
World War ◽  
Shared History ◽  
The World ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Second World

This chapter provides an analytical overview of the German and Japanese imperial projects from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of World War II. It shows how Germany and Japan—two imperial latecomers in the late nineteenth century—redefined imperialism and colonialism in the first half of the twentieth century. In order to realize their dreams of a new imperial world order, both countries broke with what had come before, and their violent imperial projects turned out to be radically new and different. While Europe had never seen an empire like Hitler’s, the same is true of East Asia and the so-called Co-Prosperity Sphere during the Second World War. In the end, it was their wars for empire and brutal legacies that not only profoundly shaped their respective national histories, but also undermined the legitimacy of imperialism after 1945. The chapter, which focuses on a series of important moments from a trans-imperial perspective, highlights two points. First, it stresses that the German and Japanese empires had a shared history. Second, it shows that by their emergence as colonial powers, Japan and Germany first fundamentally challenged and later changed the very rules of the “imperial game” and the existing global order. Their histories are central to understand great power competition in the first half of the 20th century as well as the imperial nature of the World Wars.

Detectives and Forensic Science

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haia Shpayer-Makov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Forensic Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

This exploratory essay outlines various pivotal trends in the professionalization of police detection in England, France, and the United States from the mid-eighteenth century to the Second World War. Key landmarks in the evolution of the role of the detective from criminal turned paid informant, or from nonspecialist law enforcer, to a professional member of a detective unit are traced. The essay draws upon the history of forensic science to highlight the interface between detection and forensic science and to point toward forensic science methodologies that made significant inroads in the world of police detection, thereby enhancing its professionalization.

ڕەنگدانەوەی نووسینەوەی مێژوویی لە گۆڤاری گەلاوێژدا

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-351
Author(s):  
توانا ڕەشید كەریم
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Historical Writing ◽  
World War ◽  
Historical Material ◽  
Sensitive Stage ◽  
The Press ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

Reflection of Historical Writing in Galawezh Magazine      The study aims at highlighting the importance of Galawezh magazine, which was issued during 1939-1949, in the process of historical writing, with its ten years of historical inventory in the fields of (Kurds and Kurdistan history, Second World War, the press history, developments and internal events in Iraq, etc).This magazine was characterized by an active presence in following up the historical material and political developments at a sensitive stage in the history of the Kurds, Iraq, and the world.    Building on this, the research is divided into two sections: the first one deals with the historical development of Galawezh magazine through its objectives, form and contents, meanwhile the second one is dedicated to the role of the magazine in historical writing through the most important fields that the magazine worked for and how to deal with historical topics.      Finally, the researcher has come up with a number of conclusions, mainly: The historical subjects occupied a high proportion in the magazine writings, especially in the field of history of the Kurds, which in turn contributed to the development of the historical writing movement in Kurdistan. The magazine also followed the rapid political developments witnessed by Iraq and the world.

The Nonviolent Struggle for Indian Freedom, 1905-19

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hardiman
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Passive Resistance ◽  
Civil Resistance ◽  
Political Concept ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
Moral Stance

Much of the recent surge in writing about the practice of nonviolent forms of resistance has focused on movements that occurred after the end of the Second World War, many of which have been extremely successful. Although the fact that such a method of civil resistance was developed in its modern form by Indians is acknowledged in this writing, there has not until now been an authoritative history of the role of Indians in the evolution of the phenomenon.The book argues that while nonviolence is associated above all with the towering figure of Mahatma Gandhi, 'passive resistance' was already being practiced as a form of civil protest by nationalists in British-ruled India, though there was no principled commitment to nonviolence as such. The emphasis was on efficacy, rather than the ethics of such protest. It was Gandhi, first in South Africa and then in India, who evolved a technique that he called 'satyagraha'. He envisaged this as primarily a moral stance, though it had a highly practical impact. From 1915 onwards, he sought to root his practice in terms of the concept of ahimsa, a Sanskrit term that he translated as ‘nonviolence’. His endeavors saw 'nonviolence' forged as both a new word in the English language, and as a new political concept. This book conveys in vivid detail exactly what such nonviolence entailed, and the formidable difficulties that the pioneers of such resistance encountered in the years 1905-19.

scholarly journals The Westphalian model and sovereign equality

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 641-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER M. R. STIRK
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
World War ◽  
Sovereign Equality ◽  
Normative Principle ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Second World

AbstractAlthough the Westphalian model takes many forms the association of Westphalian and sovereign equality is a prominent one. This article argues firstly that sovereign equality was not present as a normative principle at Westphalia. It argues further that while arguments for sovereign equality were present in the eighteenth century they did not rely on, or even suggest, a Westphalian provenance. It was, for good reasons, not until the late nineteenth century that the linkages of Westphalia and sovereign equality became commonplace, and even then sovereign equality and its linkage with Westphalia were disputed. It was not until after the Second World War, notably through the influential work of Leo Gross that the linkage of Westphalia and sovereign equality became not only widely accepted, but almost undisputed until quite recently. The article concludes by suggesting that not only did Gross bequeath a dubious historiography but that this historiography is an impediment to contemporary International Relations.

scholarly journals The War of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Sukhodolov ◽  
Tuvd Dorj ◽  
Yuriy Kuzmin ◽  
Mikhail Rachkov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
World War ◽  
The World ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Second World

For the first time in Russian historiography, the article draws attention to the connection of the War of Khalkhin Gol in 1939 and the conclusion of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of 1939. For a long time, historical science considered these two major events in the history of the USSR and history of the world individually, without their historic relationship. The authors made an attempt to provide evidence of this relationship, showing the role that surrounding and defeating the Japanese army at Khalkhin Gol in August 1939 and signing in Moscow of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact played in the history of the world. The study analyzes the foreign policy of the USSR in Europe, the reasons for the failure in the conclusion of the Anglo-Franco-Soviet military union in 1939 and the circumstances of the Pact. It shows the interrelation between the defeat of the Japanese troops at Khalkhin Gol and the need for the Soviet-German treaty. The authors describe the historic consequences of the conclusion of the pact for the further development of the Japanese-German relations and the course of the Second World War. They also present the characteristics of the views of these historical events in the Russian historiography.

Introduction

2000 ◽  
pp. 3-33
Author(s):  
Antony Polonsky
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
World War ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Polish Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Second World

This introductory chapter provides an overview of how Poland was one of the principal areas where the Nazis attempted to carry out their planned genocide of European Jewry. It was there that the major death camps were established and that Jews were brought from all over Nazi-occupied Europe to be gassed, above all in Auschwitz, where at least 1 million lost their lives in this way. There is no more controversial topic in the history of the Jews in Poland than the question of the degree of responsibility borne by Polish society for the fact that such a small proportion of Polish Jewry escaped the Nazi mass murderers. The primary responsibility clearly lies with the Nazis. However, the recognition of the primary role of the Germans in the genocide has not prevented bitter arguments over Polish behaviour during the Second World War. Jews have harshly criticized what they see as Polish indifference to the fate of the Jews and the willingness of a minority to aid the Nazis or to take advantage of the new conditions to profit at Jewish expense.

8. The Evolution of the International Monetary and Financial System

2020 ◽  
pp. 199-221
Author(s):  
Eric Helleiner ◽  
Melsen Babe
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate Regime ◽  
Financial System ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
System P ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Second World

This chapter explores the international monetary and financial system, which plays a central role in the global political economy (GPE). Since the late nineteenth century, the nature of this system has undergone several pivotal transformations in response to changing political and economic conditions at both domestic and international levels. The first was the collapse of the integrated pre-1914 international monetary and financial regime during the interwar years. The second transformation took place after the Second World War, when the Bretton Woods order was put in place. Since the early 1970s, various features of the Bretton Woods order have unravelled with the globalization of finance, the collapse of the gold exchange standard, and the breakdown of the adjustable peg exchange rate regime. These changes have important political consequences for the key issue of who gets what, when, and how in the GPE.

The Machine in the Garden

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-31
Author(s):  
Tim Strangleman
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
World War ◽  
The World ◽  
Second World ◽  
Irish Politics

This chapter looks at the decisions made by Guinness related to the building of its English brewery at Park Royal in west London. It places these decisions within the context of Anglo-Irish politics of the 1920s and 1930s. Using a variety of archive sources, oral histories, and autobiographies, it tells the story of how the Park Royal site was identified and developed in secret. The chapter looks at the building and architecture of the brewery and the role of the world-renowned architect Giles Gilbert Scott. It also relates the experience of some of the early workers employed at the site during construction and subsequent production. The chapter finishes at the end of the Second World War in 1945.

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