mazower and the evolution of europ1

7/23/2019 Mazower and the Evolution of Europ1

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Mazower and the evolution of Europe

Mazower argues that the 1940s were the 20th century's watershed. Why? And

discuss if you agree.

Watershed: "an event or period marking a turning point in a situation" - oxforddictionaries.

1940s = a watershed moment

!e moments:

"#n the 1940s - the centur$s watershed" %x - intro&

'o(e of state:

Including change e!"ansion etc o#er this "eriod

)riticisms:

*a+ower in this ,ook is too urocentric and disregards the importance of

deco(onisation the ro(e of the / for exap(e urope had dominated the 2rst

ha(f of the centur perhaps and however its ro(e united in the second ha(f of the

30th centur had dec(ined

emocrac:

With the ends of the ancien regime "po(iticians promised the masses

enfranchised and mo,i(i+ed as never ,efore a fairer societ and a state of their

own"%preface x&. 5hese perceptions of a new societ di6ered with Wi(son who

preached a wor(d"safe for democrac" - (i,era( democrac communism and

fascism.

#n this sense there is disunit in urope ,etween states and societies.

e2nition of empire is 7uestioned

*a+ower points out correct( that /' switched to capita(ism not democrac

therefore the dis,andment of the oviet /nion was a not a win for (i,era(

democrac - /'$s disunion a(so starts o6 the re,irth of nationa(ism in urope

as we(( as c(ass and re(igious tension which is indicated through the 8ugos(avian

Wars. #n these wars there was racia( and re(igious tension ,etween the osnian

er,ians and osnian *us(in er,s and )roats. 5he nations who sp(it up from the

oviet /nion a(so had to rediscover nationa( identit.

*ost assume that fascism and tota(itarianism was something that s(ipped in out

of error and was an out(ier ,ut it was in fact democrac which was an out(ier.

*a+ower shows that "(i,era( democrac was not universa(( accepted as the

norma( and natura( form of government in 30th centur urope and that fascism

and a+ism were not simp( a,errant deviations in otherwise stead growth of

democrac" o;an ugaric


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5here was actua( competition ,etween a+ism facism and socia(ism and

(i,era(ism.

o,s,awnindicates that state socia(ism fai(ed due to the fact that it didn$t stick

to the socia(ism vision it c(aimed to upho(d state socia(ism dispensed the

democratic e(ement of the socia(ist vision e.g. ?enin said"from the start that the

(i,era( horse was not a runner in the russian revo(utionar race" %pg @A age of

extremes&.

ccording to >o,s,awn socia(ism fai(ed due to "...hard( anone ,e(ieved in the

sstem or fe(t an (oa(t to it not even those who governed it." p4AA age of

extremes whereas *a+ower thinks that it was main( a resu(t of the weakness of

the part rather than the strength of the opposition. Berhaps there is a

corre(ation ,etween the weaknesses of ,e(ief in the part. ue to the fact that no

one ,e(ieved it it soon ,ecame weak. $his is %uch li&e de%ocracy in the

interwar "eriod where it did not thri#e due to the lac& of elief in the "olitical

syste%.

>o,s,awn7uotes that the popu(ar appea( of fascism (a with its c(aims to

technocratic achievement: "Was not the prover,ia( argument in favour of fascist

#ta( that $*usso(ini made the trains run on time$"

5he 'ussian revo(ution showed that "capita(ism had proved far easier to

overthrow where it was weak or ,are( existed than in its heart(ands."5he ge of

xtremes p.A3

Cuture:

5he / ma ,e the on( via,(e option for the foreseea,(e future ,ut *a+owersage( states that its signi2cance wi(( ,e economic rather than po(itica( or

cu(tura( and must ,e p(aced in the context of g(o,a( econom and shifting

centres of wor(d power %40A-10&.


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mazower and the evolution of europ1

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