This edition of the history of Europe's century of global ascendancy includes a new introduction and bibliography. It covers the political and economic balance of power, the mechanics of government, economy and society, states, nations, Europe and the world.

In this sequel to his popular Aspects of European History, 1494 - 1789, Stephen J. Lee charts the most commonly encountered topics of nineteenth and twentieth century history, from the origins of the French Revolution, through the social and political reforms and upheavals of the last two centuries to the present. Helpful and accessible, the book includes: * an invigorating guide and sound source of background material * short analytical chapters * an interpretative approach to history, providing a range of viewpoints on each subject * both a broad survey and specific studies * stimulation for student's ability to develop and clarify theme * a careful structure which aids notetaking, preparation of essays and revision. Any student of European history will want to have this book at their side throughout their course studies.

The period spanning the two World Wars was unquestionably the most catastrophic in Europe's history. Despite such undeniably progressive developments as the radical expansion of women's suffrage and rising health standards, the era was dominated by political violence and chronic instability. Its symbols were Verdun, Guernica, and Auschwitz. By the end of this dark period, tens of millions of Europeans had been killed and more still had been displaced and permanently traumatized. If the nineteenth century gave Europeans cause to regard the future with a sense of optimism, the early twentieth century had them anticipating the destruction of civilization. The fact that so many revolutions, regime changes, dictatorships, mass killings, and civil wars took place within such a compressed time frame suggests that Europe experienced a general crisis. The Oxford Handbook of European History, 1914-1945 reconsiders the most significant features of this calamitous age from a transnational perspective. It demonstrates the degree to which national experiences were intertwined with those of other nations, and how each crisis was implicated in wider regional, continental, and global developments. Readers will find innovative and stimulating chapters on various political, social, and economic subjects by some of the leading scholars working on modern European history today.

This pamphlet examines British foreign policy from Castlereagh to Disraeli. Focusing on Britain's relations with other European and non-European powers such as America, Afghanistan, South Africa and Egypt, this pamphlet examines the roles of Canning, Palmerston, and Gladstone amongst others. The author discusses British attitudes to empire, and analyses socio-economic, military and political factors as they influenced foreign affairs.

A new and revised edition of Alan Sked’s groundbreaking book which examines how the Habsburg Empire survived the revolutionary turmoil of 1848. ‘The Year of Revolutions', saw the whole of Europe convulsed in turmoil and revolt. Yet the Habsburg Empire survived. As state after state succumbed to the violent winds of change that were sweeping the continent. How did the Habsburg Empire survive? How was the army able hold together while the rest of the empire collapsed in civil war, and how was it able to seize the political initiative In this new edition, Alan Sked reflects on the changed understanding of the period which resulted from the first appearance of this book, and widens the discussion to look at the Habsburg Empire alongside the decline of the Russian and German Empires, arguing that it is possible to understand their decline from a broad European perspective, as opposed to the overly narrow focus of recent explanations. Alan Sked makes us look at familiar events with new eyes in this radical, vigorously written classic which is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of nineteenth-century Europe.

Finland and Europe was first published in 1982. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. In 1808 the Grand Duchy of Finland, part of the Swedish kingdom since the thirteenth century, was invaded and in 1809 annexed by Russia -- events which took place within the context of the Napoleonic wars but whose significance was obscure to most Finns and to the outside world as well. During the nineteenth century Finnish national identity grew and Finland began to play a role in European politics. This book traces the course of Finnish involvement in European affairs from the time when it became an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire down to the First World War. Juhani Paasivirta's analysis is centered upon eleven international crises, including the Russian annexation of Finland, the fall of Napoleon, two revolutions in Poland, the revolutions of 1848, the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, the Russo-Turkish and Russo-Japanese wars, and the outbreak of the First World War. Paasivirta writes from two vantage points: he records the reactions to these events in Finland, across a broad social and economic spectrum, and the attitudes towards the 'Finnish situation' in Sweden, England, France, and Germany. Finland's relationship with Russia, and her necessarily realistic regard for the security of the Russian Empire were important matters faced by Finnish leaders; Paasivirta shows how this delicate relation collapsed, making way for a course that led to Finnish independence in 1917.

Fascist Ideology is a comparative study of the expansionist foreign policies of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany from 1922-1945. Fascist Ideology provides a comparative investigation of fascist expansionism by focusing on the close relations between ideology and action under Mussolini and Hitler. With an overview of the ideological motivations behind fascist expansionism and their impact on fascist policies, this book explores the two main issues which have dominated the historiographical debates on the nature of fascist expansionism: whether Italy's and Germany's particular expansionist tendancies can be attributed to a set of generic fascist values, or were shaped by the long term, uniquely national ambitions and developments since unification; whether the pursuit of expansion was opportunistic or followed a grand design in each case.