History 201-206 seminars are open to history majors only during pre-registration. If the course does not reach its enrollment maximum, it will be open to all students beginning with drop/add on a first-come first-serve basis.
HIST 202 International Diplomacy before World War II
Weber
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
SEM
This course seeks to investigate whether the pre-1914 international system was by and large the source of relative stability in the era between the Crimean War and the First World War (or at least between 1871 and 1914) or whether the international system made the outbreak of the First World War all but inevitable. What role did the rise and fall of great powers play in upsetting the international system? What were the underlying mentalities in the pursuit of foreign policy, i.e. what was the role of, e.g., social Darwinism, rising nationalism in a world of multi-ethnic empires, the emerging Wilsonian model of international relations, or of militarism in shaping the international system on the eve of the war that shaped the 20th century? Did economic and financial considerations lead to the collapse of the system? Did the world experience a first era of globalisation (and if it did how did globalisation affect international relations?) Does John Mearsheimers brand of realism successfully capture realities before 1914? What was the link between public opinion and the formulation of foreign policy (primacy of domestic or of foreign policies)?
