Cold War Origins: US vs. USSR Hegemony (1945-1991)
The Origins of the Cold War
Following World War II, an international diplomatic system emerged, characterized by a struggle for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union. This rivalry shaped global history for 40 years. These two world powers were politically, ideologically, and economically antagonistic. This confrontation, known as the “Cold War,” spanned from 1945 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
During this period, the world was divided into two opposing blocs: the Western
Read MoreRussia’s Transformation: From Tsarist Rule to the USSR
In the early twentieth century, Russia maintained an absolute monarchy. The monarch, the Tsar, concentrated the supreme power of the state in his hands and exercised it without limits. Although a parliament (Duma) existed, its powers were very limited. The economy remained largely agrarian, although industrialization had started in the late nineteenth century. There were different political forces opposed to the Tsarist regime. These forces represented different social groups and political ideologies:
Read MoreCapitalism and Labor Market: A Historical Analysis
Capital and Labor Market
Capitalism was configured as a system in which the instruments of production and the interactions that occur are private properties. This property was just the bourgeois or capitalist class as workers or proletariat, only had to work in exchange of rent and wages. Capitalism is an unplanned free initiative system whose objective is to obtain maximum benefits. Supply and demand cause periodic crises correcting or adjusting the cost of production.
The New Industrial Society
The
Read MoreFrench Revolution: Causes, Rights, and Napoleon’s Rise
Causes of the Estates-General and Human Rights
In dire need of funds, the king requested that the nobles and clergy pay taxes. They refused and demanded the convocation of the Estates-General, a representative assembly that hadn’t met in two centuries.
In 1789, the Estates-General convened, with each estate (nobility, clergy, and the Third Estate) receiving one vote. The nobility and clergy sought to maintain the Third Estate’s tax burden. However, representatives of the Third Estate, joined by some
Read MoreSpanish Restoration Opposition: 1874-1900
Opposition to the Spanish Restoration: 1874-1900
Opposition to the Restoration was characterized by republicanism, nationalism, regionalism, and the labor movement. After the Restoration, the labor movement was forced underground, with socialism and anarchism (organized around the FTRE) separating into two distinct currents.
Anarchism in Spain
The introduction of anarchism was significant in Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, and Andalusia. However, due to internal divisions and police repression of workers
Read MorePlato’s Life, Influences, and Political Philosophy
Plato’s Early Life and Athenian Context
Plato was born in Athens, BC, into an aristocratic family with ties to Solon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. At that time, Greece was a collection of independent, self-governing city-states called poleis. Athens, Plato’s home, was the most prominent. In the mid-seventh century BC, Athens transitioned from a monarchy to an aristocratic system due to colonial expansion and the rising power of the nobility. This period was marked by instability, leading to