lecture 7 explaining world war ii with theories of international politics
TRANSCRIPT
LECTURE 7
EXPLAINING WORLD WAR II
WITH THEORIES OF
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Explaining WWII with IP Theory
Aftermath of WWI
• Break-up of two empires
• New states created – self-determination
• Harsh restrictions/reparations on Germany
• Global economic depression
• Social and economic upheaval and tension – several civil wars, riots, etc.
• US retreats, USSR banned from League of Nations
Lessons Learned?
• Balance of Power caused WWI
• World needs reorientation of politics
• Realism failed, now try idealism/liberalism
Prescription for Peace?
• Self-determination – freedom, break-down old empires (except France, Britain)
• Democracy
• Collective Security – League of Nations
• Collective security is based on the principle that any aggressive act by one state against another state, is a transgression against all states.
• Collective security recognizes the realist principle of sovereignty as legitimate but also idealist/liberal non-aggression.
• To apply collective security would in the worst case circumstances require a grand coalition of states to force aggressors to retreat or be defeated through war.
Origin of Aggression
• Germany harshly treated in Versailles Treaty -- Hitler rises to power.
• Fascists rise to power in Italy: goal is to create a new Roman Empire.
• Japan seeks empire and power to avoid being exploited by western great powers of USA, France, England, Russia, etc.
League is tested and fails
• Japan and Manchuria (1931). Later Japan attempts to conquer all of East and Southeast Asia
• Italy and Ethiopia (1935-36). Later Italy takes Albania (1939) then attacks Greece, and tries to take Tunisia from France and Egypt from Britain.
• Hitler takes back the demilitarized Rhineland region (1936)
Japan expands into Korea (1910) Manchuria (1931) and, and then later in China and Southeast Asia.
League fails to act. Japan leaves the League.
Germany’s attempt to rectify Versailles Treaty
• Uses principle of “self-determination” against Allies to argue for reincorporation of German-speaking peoples back into Germany.
• 1938 – Occupies and annexes Austria
• 1939 – Occupies and Annexes Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, later takes rest of Czechoslovakia
Why didn’t League of Nations prevent WWII
• USA and USSR, two great powers, not members of the League.
• War-weariness on part of England and France – lacked resolve to confront aggression.
• Reemergence of Realist, balance of power thinking – neither CS nor BOP could work when major powers think in terms of BOP in CS system.
Aggression of Axis Powers
• War begins when Allies stand up to German aggression against Poland in 1939.
• Japan had already begun its attempt to conquer China. Japan grabs French, British, and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia in 1940-41.
• Using Blitzkrieg, Germany conquers France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, the mighty Luxembourg, and Norway in 1940.
• Italy attacks Greece and Egypt but nearly routed – Germany helps conquer Greece and Yugoslavia. Axis powers
Mobilized strengths armed services.
Country Mobilized strengths
UK 5.000.000
India 2.150.000
USA 11.700.000
USSR 11.500.000
France 5.000.000
Germany 9.500.000
Italy 4.000.000
Japan 4.000.000
Aggression of Axis Powers
• Hitler makes biggest mistakes – attacks USSR and later declares war on USA after Pearl Harbor.
• War with USSR particularly drains Germany, whereas Italy is defeated by 1944 and only Germans are left fighting on Italian peninsula against the Allies.
• Tide against Japanese turns at battle of Midway north-west of Hawaii, Japan slowly pushed out of conquered islands of Pacific.
• Germany falls in 1945, followed later by Japan.
Country Soldiers Civilians Total Jews
Belgium 12.000 76.000 88.000 40.000 45%
Bulgaria 10.000 10.000 20.000 7.000 15%
Canada 37.000 - 37.000 --
China 3.500.000 6-10 million 9,5-13,5 mil. --
Denmark 400 1.000 1.400 1.500 1%
Germany 3.000.000 3.000.000 6.000.000 170.000 85%
Finland 82.000 2.000 84.000 -- -%
France 199.000 400.000 599.000 90.000 25%
Greece 20.000 140.000 160.000 60.000 80%
Britain 295.000 62.000 357.000 --
Lives Lost in WWII
Hungary 180.000 280.000 460.000 200.000 70%
Italy 330.000 80.000 410.000 15.000 15%
Japan 1.700.000 360.000 2.060.000 --
Yugoslavia 300.000 1.400.000 1.700.000 55.000 75%
Luxembourg 4.000 1.000 5.000 3.000 80%
Netherlands 19.000 225.000 244.000 104.000 70%
Norway 6.000 4.000 10.000 1.500 40%
Austria 230.000 104.000 334.000 40.000 90%
Poland 125.000 5.800.000 5.925.000 2.800.000 90%
Rumania 300.000 260.000 560.000 425.000 20%
Russia 13.600.00 7.000.000 20.600.000 1.720.000 70%
Czechoslovakia 250.000 330.000 580.000 260.000 90%
United States 293.000 - 293.000 --
The table shows the probable number (Column 5) of Jews killed in various countries and the approximate proportion (Column 6) of that figure to the Jewish population in those countries at the beginning of the 'final solution'.
Aftermath
• Huge areas of China, Japan, USSR, Germany, Italy, UK left in ruins
• United States and USSR emerge as dominant military powers
• Nuclear age is born
• United States is half of world economy
On Theory
• Multipolarity of system
• Failure of BoP and collective security
• Individual level factors: Hitler and Mussolini
• Domestic factors of German anger
• Domestic factors of Japan military inst.
• Economic-social issues in Germany, Italy, France, USA isolation