The economic impact of the Great Depression on world trade and geopolitics in the 1930s.
With its onset in 1929 in the U.S., the great depression lasted between 1929 to approximately 1939 and brought with it massive economic and geopolitical consequences. Economically, it resulted in reduced output, massive unemployment and deflation the world over and thereby plummeting global trade. Geopolitically, America’s influence globally, and the power of the dollar as the reserve currency waned but was not lost.
WWII in Europe and Asia.
The onset of WWII in both Europe and in Asia were herald by acts of unchecked aggression by particularly states, a fact that degenerated leading to the war. Although both Wars were different in some ways, the common denominator was a power struggle for supremacy. In Europe for instance, Germany formed an alliance with the Soviet Union as both powers swept across Europe conquering nations. Upon invading France however in 1941, the tide shifted against Nazi Germany as an allied force of U.S, Soviet and British forces attacked Germany and reclaimed conquered European territories.
Simultaneously, Asia also witnessed power struggles pitting China and Japan as the Japanese launched an undeclared war on China. The Japanese aggression saw them gain control of Chinese territories and subsequently attack the Pearl Harbor in the U.S and in effect invite the U.S. into the WWII conflict. In both Europe and Asia, mass casualties and fatalities came about during WWII. While the Japanese constituted majority of the deaths after the dropping of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs, Russia and Nazi troops constituted the vast majority of deaths in Europe.
Why the Cold War happened
The cold war involved a myriad of struggles including economic, geopolitical and ideological struggles pitting post WWII powers- the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R. The war lasted between 1947 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the main reason behind the war was the battle for supremacy. Whereas the U.S sought to contain the world, the U.S.S.R sought to dominate it. Consequentially, in as much as no ‘hot’ fighting took place, the war involved a lot of intimidation tactics, lots of fighting in in arts and media, manufacturing of weapons, technological advancements among numerous other maneuvers.
