scholarly journals The Munich Crisis and Collapse of the Versailles System on the Eve of World War II

1970 ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
V. Pavlenko

The article examines the development of the crisis manifestations of the Versailles system on the eve of World War II. Special attention is paid to how and under what circumstances the preparation and signing of the Munich Agreement took place. It is noted that the emergence of Nazi Germany’s European politics at the forefront undoubtedly stimulated a whole range of interstate contradictions. This led to a decrease in the stability of the Versailles system. The manifestations of the reaction of the great powers to the aggressive policy of Berlin are analyzed and attention is focused on the fact that the policy of appeasement was erroneous and led to the aggravation of the Versailles system crisis in the late 30s XX century. This study emphasizes that as a result of the policy of appeasement, the balance of forces on the continent changes dramatically, and the signing of the Munich Agreement in September 1938 was decisive in the development of the Versailles system crisis and determined the beginning of the collapse of this model of international relations. It was stated that the Western democracies did not understand the essence of dictatorial regimes, and such a misunderstanding led not only to the collapse of the international system, but also to the beginning of the World War II

Author(s):  
Leonard V. Smith

We have long known that the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 “failed” in the sense that it did not prevent the outbreak of World War II. This book investigates not whether the conference succeeded or failed, but the historically specific international system it created. It explores the rules under which that system operated, and the kinds of states and empires that inhabited it. Deepening the dialogue between history and international relations theory makes it possible to think about sovereignty at the conference in new ways. Sovereignty in 1919 was about remaking “the world”—not just determining of answers demarcating the international system, but also the questions. Most histories of the Paris Peace Conference stop with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany on June 28, 1919. This book considers all five treaties produced by the conference as well as the Treaty of Lausanne with Turkey in 1923. It is organized not chronologically or geographically, but according to specific problems of sovereignty. A peace based on “justice” produced a criminalized Great Power in Germany, and a template problematically applied in the other treaties. The conference as sovereign sought to “unmix” lands and peoples in the defeated multinational empires by drawing boundaries and defining ethnicities. It sought less to oppose revolution than to instrumentalize it. The League of Nations, so often taken as the supreme symbol of the conference’s failure, is better considered as a continuation of the laboratory of sovereignty established in Paris.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. e39056
Author(s):  
Rachel Silva da Rocha Coutinho ◽  
Raquel Araújo De Jesus

Em todo o mundo, pessoas foram e são forçadas a migrar pelos mais diversos motivos. No entanto, a questão do refúgio adquiriu importância no cenário político internacional apenas com o fim da II Guerra Mundial. No âmbito das Relações Internacionais (RI), os debates que vêm sendo conduzidos sobre a temática, embora apresentem abordagens distintas, possuem como pano de fundo uma mesma pergunta: qual é o lugar do indivíduo na arquitetura do sistema internacional? Argumenta-se que a resposta a esse questionamento implica não apenas nas “soluções” políticas conferidas ao “problema” do refúgio, mas também ao tipo de engajamento teórico empregado em sua discussão. Neste sentido, o texto aborda a inserção do refúgio nas RI por meio de quatro chaves interpretativas: segurança/proteção, emergência, fronteira e mobilidade. Longe de um esgotamento do tema, o objetivo é apresentar um panorama dos debates sobre refúgio nas RI, possibilitando ao leitor perspectivas variadas acerca do tema.Palavras-chave: Refúgio; Relações Internacionais; Debate.ABSTRACTThroughout the world, people have been and are forced to migrate for a variety of reasons. However, the issue of refuge became important in the political arena only in the end of World War II. In the realm of International Relations (IR), The debates that have been conducted on the subject, although presenting different approaches, have the same question in the background: what is the place of the individual in the architecture of the international system? It is argued that the answer to this question implies not only the political “solutions” given to the “problem” of the refuge, but also the type of theoretical engagement employed in its discussion. In this sense, the text addresses the insertion of refuge in IR through four interpretative keys: security / protection, emergency, border and mobility. Far from an exhaustion of the theme, the objective is to present an overview of the debates about refuge in IR, providing the reader varied perspectives on the theme.Keywords: Refuge; International Relations; Debate. Recebido em 10 jan.2019 | Aceito em 17 set.2019


Author(s):  
Alexander Naumov

This article reviews the role of Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 in escalation of crisis trends of the Versailles system. Leaning on the British Russian archival documents, which recently became available for the researchers, the author analyzes the reasons and consequences of conclusion of this agreement between the key European democratic power and Nazi Reich. Emphasis is placed on analyzing the moods within the political elite of the United Kingdom. It is proven that the agreement became a significant milestone in escalation of crisis trends in the Versailles model of international relations. It played a substantial role in establishment of the British appeasement policy with regards to revanchist powers in the interbellum; policy that objectively led to disintegration of the created in 1919 systemic mechanism, and thus, the beginning of the World War II. The novelty of this work is substantiated by articulation of the problem. This article is first within the Russian and foreign historiography to analyze execution of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement based on the previously unavailable archival materials. The conclusion is made that this agreement played a crucial role in the process of disintegration of interbellum system of international relations. Having officially sanctioned the violation of the articles of the Versailles Treaty of 1919 by Germany, Great Britain psychologically reconciled to the potential revenge of Germany, which found reflection in the infamous appeasement policy. This launched the mechanism for disruption of status quo that was established after the World War I in Europe. This resulted in collapse of the architecture of international security in the key region of the world, rapid deterioration of relations between the countries, and a new world conflict.


Author(s):  
Burim Mexhuani

Neorealists say that a country's Foreign Affairs is based on its power or position as the power that has a state in the international system. Field of International Relations based on international legal policies and norms; It can be defined by different political perspectives and phenomena, depending on certain theories. Theories are the best determinant of defining policies in the International System. For a long time, in the international system have dominated realistic, liberal and radical theories; After the Second World War for the purposes of explaining or defining international policies, other theories, including neo-realism, were listed. As a structured theory versus reality that defined the theory of alignment for defining political theories in the international system. In International Relations there is no central authority or world government, the state and the international environment is in a state of anarchy, which pushes the states to create the conditions to create an environment where they can survive. Special studies of International Relations theory were spurred especially after World War I and World War II. The neorealistic theory itself contains some elements that differ from other theories and that as its base takes the strength or position of power of states in the international system. Responses to the framework of action, the theories are directed as perimeters to solve the problems of the international system. The international relations system may be positioned in other circumstances when a power is not balanced, depending on the different circumstances of politics and politicians


Author(s):  
Dale C. Copeland

This chapter explores the origins of three of the four most important wars of the first half of the twentieth century: the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5, World War I, and World War II in Europe. These three wars had more than just a chronological connection to one another. The Russo-Japanese War helped solidify the diplomatic and economic alignments of the great powers in the decade before 1914, while the disaster of the First World War clearly set the stage for the rise of Nazism and the outbreak of yet another global war a generation later. This chapter focuses on providing a fairly comprehensive account of the causes of the Russo-Japanese War, confining the discussion of the world wars to the economic determinants of those conflicts.


Author(s):  
Andrew Preston

Despite rejecting the internationalist marriage Woodrow Wilson had arranged for it with the world, America was still the strongest state in the international system. ‘The American century?’ explains how the myth of isolationism emerged in this period, and why it was so powerful. The Depression did more damage to America’s role in the world than anything in the decades before it, yet in the late 1930s Franklin D. Roosevelt began rebuilding the structures of American power. Thanks to Roosevelt, during World War II the United States transitioned from a major, but often peripheral actor on the world scene, to one of the most powerful states the world has ever seen.


1996 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Cohen

Of all the many changes of the world economy since World War II, few have been nearly so dramatic as the resurrection of global finance. A review of five recent books suggests considerable diversity of opinion concerning both the causes and the consequences of financial globalization, leaving much room for further research. Competing historical interpretations, stressing the contrasting roles of market forces and government policies, need to be reexamined for dynamic linkages among the variables they identify. Likewise, impacts on state policy at both the macro and micro levels should be explored more systematically to understand not just whether constraints may be imposed on governments but also how and under what conditions, and what policymakers can do about them. Finally, questions are also raised about implications for the underlying paradigm conventionally used for the study of international political economy and international relations more generally.


1978 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond F. Hopkins ◽  
Donald J. Puchala

The international system of production, distribution and consumption of food is managed by states, corporations and international organizations. International organizations play minor roles in the food regime, principally as arenas for policy coordination among state bureaucracies and as agents for modest multilateral programs. All of these actors work within the framework of a set of norms, rules and practices that constitutes a global food regime. Currently, the regime is undergoing change. Growing demand for food, tighter connections among markets, and greater reliance on technology have increased the importance of international adjustments. American preponderance in shaping regime features and insuring food security through reserves has declined. The dramatic price rises and rationing of international food supplies that occurred during the “crisis” of 1973–74 exposed serious deficiencies in the existing regime. At least five world food problems—potential shortages, instability, insecurity, low productivity and malnutrition—continue as real or potential threats. To solve these problems the norms of the current regime that has existed since World War II are seriously under challenge. Re-evaluation and reform of the major principles characterizing the food regime are needed.


Author(s):  
Ekaterine Lomia

Realism, also known as political realism, is one of the most dominant theories of international relations. The school of thought in realism was established in the post-World War II era; however, it is widely associated with the ancient Greek studies, particularly, in the works of Thucydides who allows a more sophisticated analysis of the conception of power and its place in the anarchic international system. Unlike idealism and liberalism, which underline the idea of cooperation in international relations, realism stresses a competitive and confrontational side of human nature and argues that in global politics there is no space for morality. Thus, states show constant readiness to obtain power and achieve their political ends. The article aims at studying the basic approach, the theory of realism is based on. The study has been prepared as a result of examining articles and books written by dominant realist scholars who have influential opinions in the field.        


Author(s):  
D. A. Kryachkov

Chair of English Language № 1 considers itself the successor of the English Language Chair, established at the Faculty of International Relations at the Moscow State University during the World War II. After the Faculty was reformed into MGIMO the Department of English Language began to grow rapidly. Members of the chair develop textbooks and teaching materials designed to provide competence-based approach in the education in field of international affairs, the development of the professional proficiency in English, which are necessary for future participants of our foreign policy. To date, the chair staff consists of 60 professionals, including 26 PhDs. Teachers of the department also conduct research and take part in educational conferences both in Russia and abroad, including those devoted to the professional foreign language communication. Members of the chair also publish scientific articles in this field.


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