Global Upheavals to Global Integration
“War. What is it good for?” is a question asked by Motown artist Edwin Starr. His answer is, “absolutely nothing.” Although most would agree there is a very high cost associated with war, few would argue that wars and conflict have greatly shaped the world as it is today. This paper will examine some of the major conflicts in the world since the beginning of the twentieth century and how globalization has emerged from them.
The balance of power in Europe set the stage for the first major conflict of the twentieth century. Much of the worlds’ might was split into two separate alliances: the Triple Alliance, composed of Germany, Austria and Italy, and the Triple Entente, made up of Russia, Britain and France. These alliances ultimately pulled these nations, and ultimately most of the world, into conflict after the assassination of Austrian, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On July 28, 1914, with a promise of German support Austria declared war on Serbia kicking of the Great War, or what would later be called World War I, (Judge 724). In 1917, American joined what was no longer a conflict limited to a single continent, but was the first major demonstration that war …show more content…
For four decades the United States and the Soviet Union faced off in the Cold War as the respective champions of capitalism and communism (Judge 811). Both sides provided aide to opposing forces throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America as conflicts arose. The two superpowers engaged in a technology race that resulted in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and a space race that put a man on the moon. Although there were events that escalated tensions, a precarious balance of Mutually Assured Destruction prevailed long enough to see the reunification of Germany and the dismantlement of the Soviet Union (Judge 828). With the loss of a major superpower, and some would say the counter-balance to U.S., the world
“War. What is it good for?” is a question asked by Motown artist Edwin Starr. His answer is, “absolutely nothing.” Although most would agree there is a very high cost associated with war, few would argue that wars and conflict have greatly shaped the world as it is today. This paper will examine some of the major conflicts in the world since the beginning of the twentieth century and how globalization has emerged from them.
The balance of power in Europe set the stage for the first major conflict of the twentieth century. Much of the worlds’ might was split into two separate alliances: the Triple Alliance, composed of Germany, Austria and Italy, and the Triple Entente, made up of Russia, Britain and France. These alliances ultimately pulled these nations, and ultimately most of the world, into conflict after the assassination of Austrian, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On July 28, 1914, with a promise of German support Austria declared war on Serbia kicking of the Great War, or what would later be called World War I, (Judge 724). In 1917, American joined what was no longer a conflict limited to a single continent, but was the first major demonstration that war …show more content…
For four decades the United States and the Soviet Union faced off in the Cold War as the respective champions of capitalism and communism (Judge 811). Both sides provided aide to opposing forces throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America as conflicts arose. The two superpowers engaged in a technology race that resulted in the proliferation of nuclear weapons and a space race that put a man on the moon. Although there were events that escalated tensions, a precarious balance of Mutually Assured Destruction prevailed long enough to see the reunification of Germany and the dismantlement of the Soviet Union (Judge 828). With the loss of a major superpower, and some would say the counter-balance to U.S., the world