World Peace and the Lessons of the Great War

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key historical figures, events, and international relations concepts from Margaret MacMillan's article on world peace.

Margaret MacMillan

An author, historian, and professor of international history at Oxford University who wrote about the centennial of World War I.

World War I

A conflict known as the Great War prior to $1940$, resulting in the deaths of $10 \text{ million}$ combatants and the destruction of whole empires.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

The German leader whose ambitions for a greater Germany and challenge to British naval supremacy are cited as potential causes of World War I.

$$32,000$$

The estimated number of articles, treatises, and books on World War I that have been published in English alone.

The Middle East

A region made up largely of countries that received their present borders as a consequence of World War I.

Poison gas

A weapon first deployed in trench warfare in $1914$ and later outlawed, which the Bashar al-Assad regime used in Syria.

Mark Twain

The author who famously remarked that history "never repeats itself but it rhymes."

Guarantor of international stability

The role the U.S. has played since the mid-$20\text{th}$ century, similar to the leadership role Britain held during the $19\text{th}$ and early $20\text{th}$ centuries.

Hegemon

The role the U.S. assumed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late $1980\text{s}$, taking responsibility for the international economy and global security.

Dayton Agreement

The agreement signed in $1995$ that ended the long conflict in Bosnia following American pressure and NATO military action.

Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi

Two leaders who met their ends at American hands and had few friends by the time of their deaths.

BRICS

An acronym for the group of nations consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.