Declan's blog

After the defeat and exile of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Nations at Leipzig in October of 1813, the Allied Nations, of which the major powers were Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, gathered at the Congress of Vienna over a nine month period, ostensibly to restore Europe to its traditional order (Lengyel 3). Disputes over how various territories should be distributed arose. The major conflicts occurred over the partition of Poland and the distribution of the territories of Saxony, and large portions of Scandinavia. Eventually Prussia gained one portion Poland and Saxony, while Russia took another part of Poland as well as Finland, and Austria received a third portion of Poland (Lengyed 19). Great Britain was allowed to keep the colonies of Ceylon and South Africa after having taken them from the French during the war (Lengyel 22). In addition to settling territorial disputes the Allies signed the “Holy Alliance”, which meant that the heads of state of the Allied Nations ruled by “the grace of God”, and anyone opposing them would not only be committing treason, but also sacrilege (Lengyed 38). The “Holy Alliance” became an instrument of repression because it gave the rulers absolute power.

The total wars of the first half of the 20th century marked the apotheosis, or epitome, of traditional great power politics in international relations. “Total war” is warfare that knows no limits, that extends to all facets of a state’s affairs, including the economy, internal politics, industry, commerce, a state’s laws, and the welfare of its citizens. The causes of both WWI and WWII were characterized by nationalist aspirations to unify and consolidate the peoples of Europe through imperialist expansion, international power rivalries (arms races and economic competition), and complex webs of alliances which inextricably pitted groups of states against one another. The idea of the “nation” was of foremost importance for both citizens and governments. This context of international relations, with states as the key actor, defined and pitted unitary nations against each other in a bid for power and security in an inherently unstable and anarchic world system, characteristic of the balance-of-power tradition of great power politics. Self-preserving imperialism and fervent nationalism would twice in half a century create the context for global conflict, epitomizing the tentative and competitive nature of politics between great powers in the first half of the 20th century.

Traditional great power politics have long been dominated by states’ tendencies to expand and form rivalries, and this is evident in the total wars of the first half of the 20th century. As nationalist aspirations intensified, so to did attempts at expansion and therefore tensions between states heightened. In his article “Essay and Reflection: On Total War and Modern War,” Hew Strachan reiterates French scholar Leon Daudet’s 1918 definition of total war “as the extension of the struggle into the realms of politics, the economy, commerce, industry, intellectual life, the law, and finance” from his book La guerre totale. There were many different wars during the first half of the 20th century, including the Spanish civil war and the Bolshevik revolution, which we do not count today as being “total wars.” The concept of total warfare encapsulates the heart of great power politics, pitting states against states in the anarchic realm of international relations.

Opening Statement
Throughout history, due to political economic and social differences, the interactions of various cultural groups from around the world have led to social disturbances, segregation, and upheaval. On both internal and external frontiers of a country's borders, this segregation can been seen occurring with the presence of different cultures and social groups interacting on a non-peaceful basis. With every possible disturbance from genocide, to colonization, to world wars, segregation caused by zones of interaction can be seen on all scales, both local and global. Although governments and political leaders may argue that cultural interaction has proven to be ultimately beneficial to a society as a whole, the initial reactions have commonly been instigated by violence, racism, upheaval, and disturbance to the individual.

Since prehistoric times, populations of humans with different cultural, political, economic, and social traditions have come to meet one another in what are known as zones of interaction. These zones often include an established host group who are approached by an outside migrant group. It would be misleading to state that these meetings have always yielded positive results. Many frontiers have experienced some instance of violence or segregation. However, the overlying trend throughout history has been to promote stability and integration. Interaction at these frontiers result in different exchanges, including those of commercial, biological, technological, religious, and cultural natures. These exchanges help different populations to expand their knowledge in these areas, and therefore often lead to progress, which can help to stabilize the frontier. Furthermore, because different populations gain new and valuable ideas from one another, they generally continue to interact at these frontiers, which leads to increased cooperation and cultural awareness. Over time, the cooperation among these societies brings about integration, which forms a more stable and mutually beneficial state. The current world, where many cultures live together in multicultural areas, is an example of this integration.

Since I moved to Vancouver from White Rock, I have ridden my bike to the downtown a few times. I find cycling the optimal way for city tour for couple of reasons: you could travel over a longer distance than on foot in a given amount of time, and the trails for pedasterians are accessible to cyclists as well - at least  that's the case in the city. You could also ride at your desired pace, stop for a snap shot, or walk a distance and admire your surroundings.

社會的制約, 傳統, 束縛, 流行

是為了能夠更容易控制在社會中必須依賴彼此生存的方式,

短短兩星期的耶誕假期結束了

上學期課程內容仍記憶猶新