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During a week of lecture and discussion, the class
will examine the pre-conditions for general war that had been developing
in the four decades prior to 1914. Shifts in industrial, social,
cultural, and economic power, both within and across European nation states
need to be discussed, along with some assessment of cause, effect, and
blame. The role of Imperial Germany will provide the main historical
exercise in discussion and readings. |
Assigned Readings:
Fritz Fischer, "Germany: World Power or Decline"
1. The
Next War,
by General Friedrich von Bernhardi - concentrate
on Chapters 5 and 9
2. Norman
Angell, The Great Illusion (preface)
3. The
Debate - Fischer Thesis
Supporting Documents:
The
Triple Alliance (1912 version, extended from the original 1882 agreement)
The
Entente Cordiale (1904)
Lloyd
George's Mansion House Speech (1911)
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