Samenvatting van hoorcolleges, werkcolleges en literatuur van eigentijdse geschiedenis (contemporary history). De literatuur en hoorcolleges zijn samengevat in het Engels, en de werkcolleges in het Nederlands. Het boek dat is samengevat is van W. M. Spellman 'A concise history of the world since 19...
- Invented by Geoffrey Barraclough (1908-1984)
- New area of history from the 1960s, a period of re-adjustment
- A period of new dimensions in which nuclear power was prominent
- Nagasaki 9 august 1945
- Requires new perspectives and values
- The world is integrated, which never has been the case before
- He was trying to transcend the European perspective
- Fundamental changes in contemporary history:
o From European to international
o Emergence US and Soviet Union as superpowers
o Breaking down imperialism and colonialism, loss of European hegemony
o Resurgence of Asia/Africa
o Shift Atlantic to pacific
o Interaction social movements
o Re-adjustment relations white/coloured people
o Communism as example: a new age, good direction
o Individualism to mass politics, liberalism outdated
o Nuclear revolution
- Does not mention climate change
- He was stuck between the old and new
- Contemporary history covers a short period of time, but covers many broad themes
,Containment:
- Atlantic Charter 1941: US and UK treaty, basis of UN charter
- Borders created during war were recreated
- Self-determination of countries, consequences for imperialism/colonialism
- Free world trade
- Demilitarisation of aggressor states: Japan & Germany
- Collective safety and security
- Soviet forces did not withdraw from Eastern Europe, Soviet new occupants and replaced
German occupation. Soviet created new borders and occupied Eastern Europe
- Postwar partition of Europe
o Western perspective: Soviet power was increasing and there was lack of action in
preventing this. How to balance this new sphere of influence?
- George F. Kennan & term Containment
o Long Telegram 1946, X-article 1947
o He worked as diplomat in Moscow and Prague
o He explained Soviet behaviour and gave policy advice, and tried to take away
prejudices about the Soviet Union
o Feared that US would return to isolation policy, and tried to show that cooperation
with Stalin would not work.
o A strong and consistent policy of containment was needed
o Soviet Union was seen as autocratic and military and Soviets tried to expand
territory. However, political system was weak, and this is where the West would
excel
- Truman doctrine 1947:
o Increase of interest in the West of communism, because it was seen as counter
ideology of Nazism and Fascism
o Economic and military support that were of strategic importance (Greece & Turkey)
o Economic recovery of Europe and Japan (Marshall-plan)
o Truman doctrine contained more militarism than Kennan wanted
- NATO 1949
- Warsaw-pact 1955
- Nuclear arms race intensified
- Tom Lehrer: songs about political topics
McCarthyism
- Things seemed to go ‘terribly wrong’ between 1948 and 1950
- Communist rise, US started to lose its position of power
- US felt the need to explain this communist advance
- Joe McCarthy from US: 1950-1954
o True populist, stirred up the pot
o 1948: committee on unamerican activities: too liberal, too communist. ‘unamerican’
people needed to explain their ideas in front of a Court. Started in Hollywood, there
was a fear that unamerican ideas were expressed in movies
o Red Scare: Anticommunism, he started a witch hunt
,Sovietization of Central and Eastern Europe:
- 1945-48: transition period, doubt about balance of power
- 1948-53: period of terror, show trials,
- 1953-56: destalinisation under Khrushchev criticizing Stalin, created uncertainty in Eastern
Europe
- 1956-68: Revolts in Hungary, Prague, Poland for liberalisation
- 1968-89: ‘normalisation’ Brezhnev doctrine. Members of the Warsaw pact intervened in a
country when a revolt took place and socialist rule was under threat. Peaceful coexistence
Barraclough revisited:
- His ideas of this new era has been proven wrong
- Berlin wall and communism fell
- Vanishing of capitalism wasn’t correct either
- Religion would become absent, not true
- World becoming more intertwined: true
- Nuclear era: true
, Werkcollege 1
Finalisme: logsich dat het zo is gegaan, had niet anders gekund
Possibilisme: hoe had het anders kunnen lopen?
1. Waarom was Berlijn een bottleneck in koude oorlog?
Berlijn was bezet door het oostblok om USSR te blokkeren in de hoofdstad, waardoor alleen het
Westen kon fungeren als ingang (vanaf 1948). De westerse mogendheden wouden er een geheel van
maken, maar Stalin wou dit niet en sloot Berlijn af. Dit werkte niet, en de VS creëerde een luchtbrug.
1960-61 bouw Berlijnse muur werd gebouwd om mensen binnen te houden, omdat veel
voornamelijk hoogopgeleide jonge mensen vluchtten van Oost-Berlijn naar West-Berlijn, en dus van
communisme naar kapitalisme, wat een gevaar was voor het communisme.
- Waarom is het problematisch om over ‘liberation’ te spreken als we het over het rode leger
in 1944-1945 hebben?
De Sovjet Unie heeft met veel geweld bezette landen bevrijd, en mensen wilden niet communistisch
worden. Bovendien bleef het Rode Leger in de bezettingszone en gingen ze niet meer weg, dus ze
waren eigenlijk de nieuwe bezetters in plaats van de bevrijders.
- Na postwar periode werd communisme aantrekkelijke ideologie voor Europeanen. Leg uit.
De Communisten hadden gevochten tegen Nazi Duitsland, het was dus een verzetsideologie, en het
was goed georganiseerd, wat nodig was in de puinhoop van het Europese continent na de oorlog.
Bovendien economisch voordelig
2. Wat wordt er bedoeld met ‘containment’ en welke rol had het in Amerikaans
buitenlandsbeleid tijdens koude oorlog?
Containment betekent indammen en beheersen. Het hield in dat staten die communistisch waren
niet aangevallen werden, maar verdere expansie van het communiste moest worden tegengegaan,
en het communisme ingedamd moet worden. Er werd gedacht dat het Westerse systeem het beste
systeem was -> gelijk gekregen in ’89.
- Wat waren de intenties van George F Kennan’s containment policy
Het indammen en onder druk zetten van het communisme; het bestrijden van de communistische
expansie
- In 1947/48 werd het beleid strenger, wat waren de redenen hiervoor?
Winter 1947 bleek dat Engeland onder Labour regering er erg onder leed, Truman bedacht dat VS
enige macht was om het nog in te kunnen dammen. Er was een enorme teleurstelling bij de
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