Cartel incitando a los obreros a votar a Hitler en las elecciones de 1932
("Trabajador, la frente y el puño, vota al soldado del frente Hitler)
Despite the disaster of World War I, Nationalism was extremely strong still in Europe from 1919 to 1939. International Socialism as defended by Lenin when he created the Komintern for expanding the Communist revolution Worldwide was counteracted by Hitler’s idea that the defense of the poor and weak could be done at the State level through “National-socialism”. The problem was that Nazi politics were not limited to solve the Social Question in Germany. Hitler decided to take revenge of the humiliation of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, which was negotiated exclusively by the victors and considered the defeated the only responsible of the War and therefore imposed extremely onerous War reparations on Germany. This was the Diktat of Versailles that produced enormous resentment in Germany and brought Hitler to power.
La Wehrmacht entrando en Praga (septiembre de 1938)
The Versailles Humiliation led Hitler to adopt the “Lebensraum” (literally “living space”) policy according to which the German Nation did not have enough Territory to support its population. (Please read carefully footnote 340 on page 164 to understand this crucial concept on Hitler’s own words included in Mein Kampf). So the Third Reich decided to expand. In 1936 Hitler ordered the remilitarization of the Rhineland, violating unilaterally the Versailles Treaty with no reaction from the allies. In 1938 Austria was annexed (Anschluss) and then the Sudenten Land (see page 165 of your materials), both “faits accomplis” were again accepted by the French and the British in the Munich Agreement (September 30, 1938). In September 1st of 1939 Hitler invaded Poland, but this time France and the UK declared War, though the fighting did not start before May 1940 (The Phoney War).
World War II was another tragic consequence of Nationalism. Internationalism as established by the League of Nations was completely inoperative. Europe was, again, completely destroyed because the Nation-State principle had prevailed once more. But the creation of the United Nations in 1945 was a second attempt for replacing the nation-states confrontation by a way of arbitrating conflicts internationally.
In fact the Teheran, Yalta and Postdam Conferences had designed a new World order controlled by the two superpowers that had won the war: the US and the USSR. The Liberal model would fight the Socialist model Worldwide for 40 years, during the Cold War (1948-1989), that started with the Stalin’s rejection of the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade and the creation of the new Communist international (Kominform). Communism spread rapidly all over the world (see pages 171-173). Mao won the Chinese civil war in 1949. In the Spring of 1954 France was defeated by Vietnamese Communists in Dien Bien Phu. Castro established a Communist regime in Cuba ten years later. International communism tried to become the World ruling principle over the nation states as showed the Warsaw Pact (1955).
The symbol of the Cuban Revolution: the mythic photography of Alberto Korda
On the other side Liberal democracies adapted to the new situation since 1949 creating NATO, a military alliance on the initiative of West European Nation-States, that demanded the military protection of the US against Stalin’s threat of invasion beyond the Iron Curtain. Nevertheless the Liberal model was alleviated by the establishment of the Welfare State model, that started with Roosevelt’s New Deal and expanded in Europe after 1945. (See pages 166-170). Democracies became social and therefore “interventionists” through regulation.
Vopo escaping East Berlin
Cold War was finally won by the Liberal democracies. Mao died in 1976 and Den Xiao Ping established from 1978 the principle of Market Socialism. (See pages 173-174). In November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, disappeared, and in 1991 the USSR was dissolved. According to Francis Fukuyama that was the end of history as the Liberal model had prevailed and the US became the supreme World power. In fact, according to Bertrand Badie (page 180) it was the beginning of History. Of a new history because the US –even through the creation of the Group of Seven (G7)- were not in fact the only World power and Cold War had been replaced internationally by a Multilateral equilibrium.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989
Everything started in 1979 in Iran with Jomeiny Revolution and the creation of an Islamic Republic. Russians were finally defeated in Afghanistan in 1992, and had to fight Islamism in the Chechenian War (1999-2009). Radical Islamists declared a war on terror to the West but the World did not realize it until September 11, 2001. In the meantime Communist China had become an Economic World Power and Putin’s Russia became the champion of military intervention in any conflict that could weaken the Western powers as it occurred in Post Ghadafi Lybia, Syria, or even Venezuela. And through Cyber attacks Russians tried to influence liberal democracies in 2016 in crucial events like the Brexit referendum or the Trump presidential elections. Without counting with India, the largest Democracy in the World.
On the other hand the Liberal model had taken a dramatic turn in the 1980’s because of the “Deregulation” policy started by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Neoliberalism tried to free capitalism from any State control. The result was a disaster with endemic economic crisis like the one that occurred in 2008. The worst part being that deregulation has increased dramatically the inequality and contributed to concentrate World’s wealth in the hands of a few bunch of multi billionaires, that try to rule the world over the nation-states as an international ruling class meet in institutions like the Bilderberg Group or the Davos Forum. In fact this situation has provoked the danger of the disappearance of the middle class and the replacement of Democracy by Oligarchy. A situation that is violently fought by Anti System Activists. (See pages 174-178).
The result of all this is the beginning of a new World order in the Era of Globalization. This is what Bertrand Badie considers the beginning of history. In this new order there is not a Nation-State that could impose its rule Worlwide. Not the US, not China, not India, not Russia. So the new World order would not be imposed by a government but through multilateral negotiations between different Nation-States. The concept of “Government” has been replaced by the idea of “Governance”. Politics are becoming a collaborative and multilateral affair (See pages 178-180).
The idea of European integration that has brought us to the European Union is the result of this principle of Governance. As we will see in the next Teaching guides.
EXERCISING
Besides reading pages 162 to 180 according to the order indicated in the introduction text of this entry, understanding the concepts and answering the questions I would like you to forget about the overwhelming number of dates in pages 181-185 and only get familiar with the following:
Hitler and World War 2
Versailles Treaty 1919
Hitler’s Third Reich (1933-1945)
Remilitarization of Rhineland 1936
Austria’s Anschluss, Sudenten Annexation and Munich Agreement (1938)
World War II (1939-1945)
Phoney War (September 1939 to May 1940)
Stalingrad Battle (August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943)
Nuremberg Trials (November 1945 to October 1946)
Cold War
Marshall Plan 1947
Berlin Blockade 1948
Mao’s victory 1949
Creation of NATO 1949
Korea’s War (1950-1953)
Stalin’s Death 1953
Dien Bien Phu 1954
Warsaw Pact 1955
Crushing of the Hungarian rebellion 1956
Triumph of Cuban Revolution 1959
Beginning of the construction of the Berlin Wall 1961
Missile Crisis 1962
Vietnam War (1964-1975)
Mao’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
Prague Spring January-August 1968
Military coup against Chilean President Salvador Allende September 11, 1973
Mao’s Death (1976)
Gorbatchev in Power (1985-1991)
Tchernobil Nuclear explosion April 26, 1986.
Tiananmen Revolt April June 1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989
German Reunification August-September 1990
Dissolution of the USSR December 1991.
A Multilateral World
Creation of the League of Nations 1920
Creation of the United Nations 1945
Creation of the Groupe of Seven (G7) 1975
Islamic revolution in Iran (Jomeiny) 1979
Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)
Margaret Thatcher UK Prime minister (1979-1990)
Ronald Reagan’s Presidency (1981-1989)
Chechen Wars (1994-1999)
Beginning of Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela (1999)
Vladimir Putin’s first Presidency (2000-2008)
Islamic Terrorist Attack of the US September 11, 2001
Madrid bombing March 11, 2004
Evo Morales President of Bolivia (2006-2019)
Arab Spring (2010-2012)
Beginning of Syrian Civil War 2011
Assassination of Libyan President Ghadafi 2011 (In power since 1969)
Vladimir Putin’s beginning of Second’s Presidency 2012
Death of Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro becomes Venezuela’s President 2013
Islamic Terrorist attacks in Paris 2015
If you have any doubts or need any clarifications concerning this Teaching guide feel free to contact me through my email: bruno.aguilera@urjc.es You can also use the blog to make comments. As soon as presential classes would be authorized again it would be a pleasure to answer your questions personally and show you a powerful PPT.
