Essay On Modern Struggles Against Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is a form of governance or social organization where citizens submit blindly to the demands of the government or authority and its administration. Much of the 20th century witnessed significant social, economic, and political changes. The changes stretch back to the 1800s during the French revolution. Inspired by the masses opposition to authoritarian regimes, the changes were also witnessed majorly during the first and second world war that saw the rise and decline of fascism in Italy and Spain, and also during the cold war era that witnessed mixed reaction as the Western Powers sought different ways to counter the growth of communism. This paper analyzes the different phases in the world history characterized by the fight against authoritarianism to show how much of modern history has concentrated on establishing democracy as the best form leadership.
The French revolution occurred between the years 1789 – 1815. The first phase spanned the year 1789 to 1791. It was inspired by the need to end absolute rule of the monarchy and to trim down the powers of the church. Enlightened thinkers led peasants to the mass protests and demanded the restriction of privileges of the nobility who comprised of aristocrats and church leaders. The monarchy was abolished and King Louis XVI was executed on January 1793. The third estate comprising of commoners took over the National assembly and abolished privileges enjoyed by the clergy and nobles, game laws, privileges of towns and provinces, feudal dues, and legal jurisdiction of noblemen. On twenty-sixth of August 1789, the declaration of rights of man and citizen was issued proclaiming equality before the law, religious tolerance, and freedom from oppression by authoritarian regimes such as the previous monarchy, and the right to own property. The complete replacement of the monarchy by the republic occurred during the second phase between 1792 and 1799. This period witnessed the execution of about 17000 persons comprising of priests and nobles. It was feared they would undermine the ideals of the revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power through a military coup and he was named the first consul. Though France retained its republican state, Napoleon was a military dictator. His consulate introduced authoritarian rule. Napoleon used this to establish a centralized and efficient bureaucracy with a uniform legal system. His attempts to expand the French empire garnered success in Spain, Prussia, and Austria, with a short-lived success in Russian. Allied forces comprising of Italy, Britain, Spain, and Russia defeated Napoleon at the battle of Leipzig in 1813, and later that of Waterloo after Napoleon escaped from prison and tried to rally an army. Louis XVIII, brother to the executed King was restored as leader, and France was allowed to retain its borders of 1790. The alliance formed between Britain, Spain, Russian, and Italy against Napoleon who wanted to conquer Europe and establish the French empire illustrates the classic 18th century fight against authoritarianism.
During the First World War era, authoritarian, communism and fascist governments began to emerge again. The events that fueled the rise of these forms of governments were uninspired leadership that caused widespread disillusionment among the population with the government, and chaotic economic conditions. The Soviet Union adopted communism, Germany and Japan became national socialists, while in Spain and Italy there emerged fascist regimes. These government regimes practiced total control over the lives of their citizens. For instance, Benito Mussolini, Italy’s dictator led by the motto ‘none outside and against the state, but all citizens within the state.’ Among the radical forces that developed out of the First World War, Fascism was unique as it did not have any clear predecessor. A totalitarian form of government characterized this style of leadership in addition to disbelief in legal processes, uphold of violence against opposition, and rapid nationalism. Opposition against the fascist Italian leader, Benito Mussolini began as early as the 1920s when the workers movements expressed dissatisfaction against the Blackshirts, a fascist paramilitary group that served Mussolini. The Italian dictator agreed to become Hitler’s chief ally in the year 1937. Consequently, Nazi anti-Semitic legislations were introduced in Italy. Participation of Italy as Germany’s ally during the Second World War led to the downfall of Mussolini in the year 1943 as the major allied forces comprising of the United States of America, Britain, and Russia defeated the axis powers.
In Spain, the struggle against fascism began on a large scale during the 1930s. Francisco Franco, then considered an authoritarian leader faced opposition from the workers’ party of Marxist, the republican government and army, the Spanish anarchist militias, for instance the Iron column, and the international brigades. These factions did not witness immediate success since Francisco Franco managed to cling to power as from the Jan 1938 to June 1973. Military aid from Italy and Germany inspired the leader to adopt same leadership styles applied by Mussolini and Hitler in their respective countries. The leader managed to hold on by suppressing the opposition and the use of propaganda. Franco fell ill and was succeeded by Luis Blanco whose regime spanned only 6 months before his assassination by the ETA group. Spain struggled between adopting communism during its later years. Presently the nation has stabilized as a unitary State led by a parliamentary constitution and a monarchy.
The fall of Nazi Germany is perhaps the epitome of the fight against authoritarianism during the 20th century. Allied forces comprising of the United States, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China united to fight the axis powers consisting of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Nazi Germany was under totalitarian rule by Adolf Hitler who synchronized all state organizations and political parties to conform to Nazi goals. He appointed members of his National Socialist German workers party to lead these state organs so that he could consolidate his powers effectively. Hitler’s words were regarded to be above other laws as he used propaganda to mystify his image among the masses. Anti-Semitism was a major tenet characterizing Nazi Germany. During the late 1930s, concentration camps began exterminating hundreds of thousands of Jews as the Fuhrer had managed to convince his followers their Aryan race was the world’s superior race. Germany’s attack of Poland triggered the Second World War. At the time, the empire of Japan was the principal Axis power in Asia.
The leader of Japan, Hideki Tojo held sovereign rights and could exercise them as he wished. Japan realized it lacked adequate resources and therefore began to establish military hegemony in Asia by acquiring neighbor country territories with abundant natural resources such as islands belonging to China with the objective of becoming self-sufficient. These acts were similar to those of Italy and Germany who also pursued expansionist policies. The Anti-Comintern Pact united Japan and Germany against possible invasion by the Soviet Union. Japan invaded China in 1937 and committed atrocities such as the Nanking massacre, besides occupying China’s territory. The imperial Japanese army viewed the United States of America support for China as a threat and prepared for war against the U.S.
The allied forces united because they felt threatened by imperialism and authoritarianism shown by government regimes of the axis pact that threatened to gain control of the world. The Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945. Germany’s disastrous attack on Russia during the winter weakened its army and the nation surrendered unconditionally after Hitler committed suicide and Italian partisans killed Mussolini. The allies convened at a conference and demanded Japan’s surrender. The Asian nation ignored these demands. Consequently, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki effectively ending the war.
Two superpowers emerged after the war, the United States of America, and the Soviet Union. By the 1950s, growing tensions began over which superpower would dominate the world. The U.S. was for democracy, while the Soviet Union sought to promote communism. The arms race saw its peak during the 1950s and the 60s, as tensions were high a third world war between the U.S. and the Soviet would break out. The Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament (TNCD) sought to address the issue of nuclear weaponry during the cold war. The world’s western hemisphere embraced democracy, while the eastern hemisphere was for communism. The western powers embraced a capitalist system or free market economy. On the other hand, the Soviet Union economy stagnated during the 80s and reforms had to be put in place. The USSR was formally dissolved. During the same era, the Berlin wall also collapsed. The communist Eastern Germany and Russia embraced political and economic liberalization as opposed to authoritarian and totalitarian regimes
. In a recap, the 20th century witnessed struggles against authoritarianism during the world wars and the cold war. The fight against hegemony and dictatorship can be traced back to the 18th century French revolution. Presently democracy has been adopted in most nations though modern history is still characterized by continued struggle against authoritarianism. Into the 21st century, the Middle East region has the highest number of authoritarian regimes. In addition, the people’s republic of China, a communist party currently rules the nation.