IR 002: Lecture 4

Question 1

What was the immediate cause of WW1

Answer 1

-Crisis in the Balkans that turned out of control
-Leaders were overly optimistic about victory

Question 2

Structural causes of WW1?

Answer 2

-Global imperial rivalries
-Economic rivalries
-Historical rivalries

Question 3

What were the casualties of WW1

Answer 3

-10M dead
-21M wounded
-8M prisoners

Question 4

What were the strategic consequences of WW1?

Answer 4

Europe began to decline:
-Destruction across Europe
-European powers indebted to the US
-European powers lost their credibility as “enlightened” and “superior” actors
-Growing struggle for independence across European colonies

Question 5

When was the creation of the Soviet Union?

Answer 5

1922

Question 6

What was the goal Russia’s communist revolution?

Answer 6

Social Justice and Anti-imperialism

Question 7

When was Russia’s communist revolution

Answer 7

1917

Question 8

When did the US enter WW1

Answer 8

1917

Question 9

What were President Woodrow Wilsons ideals?

Answer 9

-European victors should not punish Germany to harshly
-European colonies/empires should become independent
-League of Nations

Question 10

What was the League of Nations

Answer 10

An international organization designed to ensure collective security and preserve world peace

Question 11

Why were other countries against Woodrow Wilsons ideals

Answer 11

-Didn’t want to end colonialism
-The US congress did no want the US to get too involved in world affairs

Question 12

What was the cause of WW2

Answer 12

-Unfair punishment of Germany
-Treaty of Versailles
-Frustration among some of the winners (not appropriately rewarded)
-Weakness of the League of Nations (US did not join)

Question 13

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

Answer 13

1919

Question 14

When did the Great Depression begin?

Answer 14

1929

Question 15

What was the Great Depression?

Answer 15

-Stock market crash in the US
-US protectionist measures (+ other states retaliated)
-Trade wars across the world

Question 16

What year did Hitler become chancellor?

Answer 16

1933

Question 17

When did Germany attack Poland?

Answer 17

September of 1939

Question 18

When did Germany attack the Soviet Union?

Answer 18

June of 1941

Question 19

When did Japan attack the United States?

Answer 19

December 7th 1941

Question 20

Between what years did the breakthroughs of the Axis occur?

Answer 20

1939-1940

Question 21

What was the turning point in WW2

Answer 21

The Battle of the Atlantic

Question 22

When was the battle of Stalingrad?

Answer 22

September 1942 - February 1943

Question 23

What was the significance of the Battle of the Atlantic

Answer 23

Enabled the US/Britain to prepare offensives in Europe/Africa

Question 24

Why were the US offensives against Japan so successful?

Answer 24

-Japan was overstretched
-US economic/demographic superiority

Question 25

What strategies did the US use against Japan?

Answer 25

-Island hopping offensive -Strategic bombing

Question 26

When was the Battle of Midway

Answer 26

June 1942

Question 27

When was the Allies final victory in WW2?

Answer 27

1945

Question 28

When did the US bomb Japan?

Answer 28

August 6th and August 9th 1945

Question 29

Who were the main victors of WW2?

Answer 29

-Britain (but imperial decline) -Soviet Union (but 27-30M dead) -US (hold 50% of global wealth and 0.3M dead)

Question 30

When was the UN created?

Answer 30

1944

Question 31

When was the Cold War?

Answer 31

1947-1989

Question 32

What was the US strategy in the Cold War?

Answer 32

Containment of Communism

Question 33

What do some scholars say the cause of the cold war was?

Answer 33

1. Traditionalist -Soviet agressions 2. Revisionist School - US provocations w/ nukes in WW2 3. Post-revisionist School - Misperceptions Fear and mistrust

Question 34

When was the US Marshall Plan

Answer 34

1947

Question 35

When was NATO created?

Answer 35

1949

Question 36

What is an ideology?

Answer 36

A system of abstract ideas which purports to explain reality, expresses value goals, and contains programs of action for the rejection or attainment of the kind of social order in which its proponents believe the goals can best be realized

Question 37

What is neo-imperialism?

Answer 37

Attempts to control weaker countries via more subtle and less violent tools (economic, military, ideological, etc.) than those used under imperialism/colonialism

Question 38

In what ways did the US use neo-imperialism in the Cold War

Answer 38

-Financial aid -Military assistance -Alliances with anticommunist dictators -coups -interventions

Question 39

In what was did the Soviet Union use neo-imperialism in the Cold War

Answer 39

-Financial aid -Military assistance -Alliances with anticommunist dictators -coups -interventions

Question 40

How did the Third World resist neo-imperialism from stronger states?

Answer 40

-The Bandung Conference -NAM (Non-aligned Movement) -Denounced the superpowers domination

Question 41

Why did the Cold War End?

Answer 41

-Fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 -Break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 -Arms race -Anti-nuclear war movements

Question 42

When did the Soviet Union Breakup?

Answer 42

1991

Question 43

When did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer 43

1989

Question 44

Why did the Cold War end peacefully?

Answer 44

Gorbachev's decision not to repress popular uprisings in 1989-1991