Question : How far is it correct to say that the First World War was fought essentially for the preservation of the balance of power?
(2015)
Answer : The theory of the balance of power-where the distribution of power is equally shared amongst the appropriate entities-is a concept crucial to the study of International Relations and of World War I.
When studied in relation to the nineteenth century, we can see that the concept is a major part of both contemporary and modern literature, thinking and politics. When analyzed in relation to this era-a time where ‘no general or systemic’ war occurred- the theory ....
Question : “Europe was eclipsed through European folly due to the two world wars.” Elucidate.
(2014)
Answer : In the course of the horrors of the two World Wars, Europeans threw away their position of world leadership: Europe was eclipsed through European folly. In 1914, Europe’s power and prestige were unrivalled: Europeans led the field in almost any sphere one cared to mention - science, culture, economics, fashion, etc. Through their colonial empires and trading companies, European powers dominated the globe.
Economically, the war severely disrupted the European economies and allowed the United States ....
Question : “Any single explanation for the outbreak of First World War is likely to be too simple. An amalgam of factors intellectual, social, economic as well as political and diplomatic contributed to this horrifying conflict of monumental proportions”. Explain.
(2012)
Answer : World War I is actually much more complicated than a simple list of causes. It is a amalgam of factors that directly led to the fighting, the actual root causes are much deeper and part of continued debate and discussion.
Militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism played major roles in the conflict as well. The immediate origins of the war, however, lay in the decisions taken by statesman and dictators during crises of 1914. On 28 June ....
Question : “The peace of Versailles lacked moral validity form the start.”
(2011)
Answer : The treaty was replete with unstable compromises, reflecting more materialism than idealism. On the question of territorial changes and national self-determination, there were some justification.
But why, for example, should this facility have been given to the Danes of Northern Schleswig and Poles and Czechs of Southern Silesia, but not to the Germans sof Sudetenland. There was also an element of hypocracy for the confiscation of Germany’s colonies. Wilson’s avowed reason for removing regions like S-W ....
Question : “The War’s (First World War’s) most permanent contribution to the spirit of the post-War years was disillusion”.
(2007)
Answer : The First World War was the most frightful war that the world had so far seen. The devastation caused by it had no precedent. Ranging for over four years, the war was fought at in all conceivable ways.
It was a total war and not restricted to wars between states. The most lasting and immediate result of the war was sense of disillusionment.
The number of persons who fought in the war was staggering. More astounding was ....
Question : ‘The most important single factor ……. in the years following 1919 was the French demand for security.'
(2004)
Answer : France annexed the Independent Republic of Alsace-Lorraine, the country which had been established in the wake of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication, corresponding to the region which had been ceded to the German Empire during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. At the 1919 Peace Conference, President Clemenceau’s aim was to insure that Germany would not seek revenge in the following years. To this purpose, the chief commander of the Allied forces, Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch, had demanded ....
Question : “The Great Depression (1929-34) was attended by momentous consequences in the economic as well as in the political sphere.
(2002)
Answer : The great world depression that had started with wall street crisis in 1929 had a remarkable impact on the economy of world and it also effected the then political order of the world. On the economic sphere this economic crisis had caused the problem of unemployment and poverty. In Germany where industrial development had uplifted the masses economically became unemployed as the industries stopped manufacturing of the goods. This also caused financial deficit to governments ....
Question : “The Great Depression (1929-34) was attended by momentous consequences in the economic as well as in the political sphere.
(2002)
Answer : The great world depression that had started with wall street crisis in 1929 had a remarkable impact on the economy of world and it also effected the then political order of the world. On the economic sphere this economic crisis had caused the problem of unemployment and poverty. In Germany where industrial development had uplifted the masses economically became unemployed as the industries stopped manufacturing of the goods. This also caused financial deficit to governments ....
Question : “One of the most important consequences of the Second World War was ‘division of Europe’ eastern and western.”
(2002)
Answer : Second world war caused enormous destruction of lives, homes, industries and communication in Europe. After this war the USA and USSR emerged as the two most powerful nations in the world, and they were no longer as isolated as they had been before the war. The USA had suffered relatively a little from the war and had enjoyed great prosperity from supplying the other allies the war material and food. The Americans had the world’s ....
Question : ‘There was not only difference of principles at Paris (peace conference) but a clash of personality.
(2001)
Answer : The four leaders - American President Wilson British Prime Minister Lloyd George, French Prime Minister Clemenseau and Orlando, the Prime Minister of Italy - entrusted with the responsibility of taking a decision had no identity of interests. Woodrow Wilson, who headed the American delegation had come to establish a long and durable peace based upon justice and neutrality. Wilson was an idealist who had two objectives before him. Establishment of League of Nations and acceptance ....
