Brief description
The module provides a frame of reference for understanding international relations in the twentieth century by exploring developments in the balance of power, ideas of international order, socio-economic change and tensions within the European empires.

Aims
The aim of the module is to examine the profound transitions in the international system in the first half of the century. The historical background to these changes is presented thematically as a set of inter-linked crises between 1895 and 1945.

Objectives
By the end of the module students should be able to explain:

• the shifts in the balance in power and their relationship to the two World Wars

• why the United States and USSR played a marginal role during the inter-war period

• the impact of ideologies on international relations

• ideas and practices in international economic management

• the demise of empire

10 ECTS Credits