Modern History - Power and Authority

Conditions enabling dictators (x6)

Impact of war; unfavourable treaties; unstable democracies; extreme ideologies & nationalism; economic hardship; mass media

Condition - Impact of war

Total war normalised violence & govt interference (surveillance, censorship); angry veterans; e.g. War Precautions Act

Condition - Unfavourable treaties

Took too much (Germany) or gave too little (Italy, Japan); humiliation & resentment exploited by leaders

Condition - Unstable democracies

Ineffective, inexperienced coalitions; frequent govt changes; resentment of treaty signers (stab in the back)

Condition - Extreme ideologies

Communism (Russia), Fascism (Italy), Nazism (Germany); eugenics, militarism; street clashes between armed groups

Condition - Economic hardship

Local: hyperinflation, unemployment (Germany, Italy), strikes (Russia); Global: World Agricultural Depression, Great Depression

Condition - Mass media

Radio, cinema, print spread propaganda; created fear/scapegoats; first used widely in WWI

Fascism (Cambridge)

Very powerful leader, state control, extreme pride in country and race; no political opposition allowed

Fascism (Nelson)

Nation/race above individual; centralised authoritarian govt; removes civil liberties; charismatic dictator with cult of personality

Socialism

Govt/community owns key industries but some private ownership; wealth shared more equally

Communism

Classless society; means of production owned by all; work as much as you can, receive what you need

Capitalism

Trade and industry controlled by private owners for profit

Mussolini - background

Ex-socialist newspaper editor; became nationalist after WWI; served in army; founded Fascist movement 1919

Il Duce

'The Leader' - Mussolini's title; cult of personality

Italian Fascist ideology

Cult of personality; revolutionary nationalism (Ancient Rome); glorified violence/war; anti-democracy & anti-communism; corporatism; expansionism

Spazio Vitale

'Living space' - Italian territorial expansion, mainly North Africa & Eastern Europe

Italy - political context

Unified 1860s as constitutional monarchy; king appoints PM if no majority; limited voting until 1912

Italy - social context

North modern, industrial, secular; South agrarian, Catholic

Italy - impact of WWI

~650,000 deaths, 1m casualties; war loans; GDP fell 14% (1919) & 7.6% (1920); ~2m unemployed 1920

Italy - post-war instability

Socialists, Communists (1921), Catholic Popular, Liberals, Fascists; street violence; fear of communism; 5 PMs 1914-22

Constitutional monarchy

King/queen is head of state but powers limited by constitution; authority with elected reps

GDP

Total value of goods & services produced in a country over a period

Fascist rise in popularity

After May 1921 strikes: 100,000 → 300,000 members; 35 seats (1921), 50 (1922); dropped anti-monarchy/Church ideas

March on Rome (Oct 1922)

17-26,000 squadristi marched; King refused martial law; PM resigned; King appointed Mussolini PM

Squadristi

Blackshirts - Fascist paramilitary arm that destroyed opponents

Paramilitary

Semi-militarised force outside official armed forces with military-style structure

Matteotti Affair (1924)

Socialist critic murdered; socialists walked out; Mussolini gained power, apologised, purged ~60,000 radicals

Italy consolidation - 1924-25

Press censored 1924, radio 1925; 1925 PM made responsible to monarch, not parliament

Italy consolidation - 1926

Other parties & unions outlawed; rule by decree; police arrest without trial; fascist youth groups

OVRA (1927)

Secret police - monitored citizens, infiltrated opposition, spread fear

Italy consolidation - 1928

Free elections abolished; parliament only Fascists

What Mussolini never controlled

The monarchy, the Church, the army

Wages Law (1927)

Illegal in most industries to pay women more than 50% of men's wage

Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB)

1926 youth group, boys 8-14; exercise & fascist values; ~60% participation

Lateran Accords (1929)

Deal with Catholic Church: Catholicism official religion, Vatican territory; showed pragmatism

Mussolini & the Church

Personally anti-religious but worked with Church: closed nightclubs, banned public swearing, opposed divorce & contraception

Charter of Race (1938)

Racist laws targeting Jews; aligned Italy with Nazi Germany after Rome-Berlin Axis (1936)

Italy - foreign policy

Restore Roman-style empire; Abyssinia 1935-36 (isolated Italy → closer to Germany); Albania 1939; backed Franco & foreign fascists

Rocco Law (1926)

Economy in 7 sectors; outlawed strikes & lockouts; suppressed unions → Fascist syndicates; govt control of judiciary

Corporatism

Employers, workers & state organised into 'corporations' by sector; disputes solved without strikes/unions; state controls labour

Russia - leadership

Party dictatorship (Bolsheviks) → personal dictatorship (Stalin)

Marxist-Leninism

Lenin's adaptation of Marxism; skip capitalist phase to reach classless society; values workers

Stalinism

Cult of personality (nation's father, Lenin's heir); Socialism in One Country

Russia - rise to power

Bolsheviks seized power 1917 after Tsar's abdication; won civil war (Reds); USSR est. 1922

Russia - consolidation

Bolsheviks: terror, banned opposition, censorship, secret police. Stalin: purges, gulags, show trials, propaganda

Russia - women

Lenin progressive (easier abortion, divorce); Stalin's Great Retreat to conservative family values

Komsomol

Soviet youth group; schools indoctrinated youth, raised literacy

Russia - religion

Secular state; Orthodox Church suppressed, churches closed

Russia - economy

Stalin: centralised economy, rapid industrialisation, collectivisation of agriculture

Russia - foreign policy

Revolutionary (spread communism) vs pragmatic (relations with foreign powers) - often in conflict

Japan - leadership

Military dictatorship under PMs e.g. Konoe Fumimaro, Hideki Tojo; ruled in name of divine Emperor Hirohito; less concentrated authority

Japan - ideology

No new ideology; traditional values, loyalty to Emperor; conservative, militarist, anti-communist; 'Asia for Asia' under Japan

Japanese militarism

Belief that strong armed forces should dominate political and social life

Diet

Japan's parliament - democratic progress but lacked real power vs military & Emperor

Japan - crises undermining democracy

Rice riots 1918; Korean independence demos 1919; Great Kanto Earthquake 1923; financial/bank crises 1926-27

Great Kanto Earthquake (1923)

Destroyed much of Tokyo; 100,000 killed; pogroms killed 2,500-6,000 Koreans

Pogrom

Organised massacre/attack on a minority, often with official tolerance

Peace Preservation Law (1925)

Restricted political discussion to limit communist ideas; crushed left-wing groups

Washington Naval Conference (1921-22)

Japan's navy limited to 60% of Britain/USA; resented; London 1930 added frustration

Japan - international grievances

Denied German territory in China (1919); naval limits; Chinese nationalists threatening interests; rise of Stalin

Japan - 3 turning points to dictatorship

Great Depression; Manchurian Incident (1931); right-wing terrorism (15 May Incident)

Japan - Great Depression

Exports to USA fell 40%; 50% factories closed by 1931; 40% unemployment by 1932; moderates lost support

Manchurian Incident (1931)

Japanese railway in Manchuria blown up; military took region without govt approval; LoN inquiry → Japan left LoN 1933

15 May Incident (1932)

PM Inukai Tsuyoshi assassinated by naval officers; PMs appointed not elected after; 5 of next 10 were military

Japan - consolidation

Popular support = little repression; propaganda on internal division & foreign threat; intensified after China invasion 1937

26 Feb 1936 attempted coup

Extremist army faction failed, leaders killed; moderates in Diet silenced

New Order Movement (1940)

Political parties made illegal (targeted by secret police before this)

Japan - women & youth

Women in traditional roles but mobilised for war work; youth indoctrinated via militarised schooling & IRAA

Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRAA)

Replaced political parties; govt/military tool to control society; ran youth rallies & propaganda

State Shinto

Govt-controlled Shinto (Meiji-1945); Emperor divine; justified nationalism & expansion; other religions suppressed

Japan - foreign policy

Expansionist for resources: invaded China 1937; joined Axis 1940; Pearl Harbor 1941

Cabinet Policy Bureau (1937)

Coordinated military and civilian government

General Mobilisation Law (1938)

Workers assigned to war industries; up to 75% of govt spending on military; rationing & shortages

Big Three (Paris Peace Conference)

Clemenceau (France), Lloyd George (Britain), Wilson (USA); + Italy (Orlando) = Big Four

Paris Peace Conference dates

18 Jan 1919 - 16 Jan 1920; 32 nations, 58 committees; Big Three made all major decisions

Clemenceau's aims

Hated Germany; make them pay; protect France from future attack; claim territory

Lloyd George's aims

Opposed destroying Germany; restrict German empire & navy; secure Middle East trade & territory

Wilson's aims

Justice, self-determination, democracy; League of Nations to settle disputes; naive about European tensions

ToV - Economic terms

Reparations ≈ US$40bn (£6.6bn); US$5bn initial payment; final figure set 1921

ToV - Military terms

Army 100,000 (from 5m); no air force, submarines or conscription; navy limited (~80% pre-war fleet); no war materials made/traded

ToV - Geographic terms

Lost 100,000 km² and 7m people (incl. Sudetenland); all colonies lost

ToV - Political terms

Democracy imposed; not allowed to join League of Nations

ToV - Psychological terms

Article 231 war guilt clause; loss of Alsace-Lorraine (won in Franco-Prussian War)

Article 231

'War guilt clause' - blamed Germany for the war; insult to German pride/nationalism

Dolchstosslegende

'Stab in the back' myth - Germany betrayed by politicians at home who signed the treaty

BRAT

ToV acronym: Blame, Reparations, Army, Territory

GARGLE

ToV acronym: Guilt, Armaments, Reparations, Germans lost land, League of Nations, Extra (Anschluss)

Empires that ended after WWI (x4)

German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Ottoman

New states after WWI

Poland (Ger, Rus, A-H); Czechoslovakia (A-H); Yugoslavia (A-H + Ottoman); Austria & Hungary separate; Finland & Baltic states (Rus)

League of Nations - weaknesses

USA didn't ratify/join; Russia excluded; left to Britain & France - both in debt, economies damaged

Internationalism

Nations cooperating to promote peace, security and shared progress rather than self-interest; opposite = isolationism

Nationalism (post-WWI)

A nation (shared culture/language/history) should govern itself and prioritise its interests; pride, suspicion of others, self-determination

Self-determination

A people's right to make their own decisions and govern themselves

USA - post-war economic role

Economic powerhouse; engaged economically not politically; boomed from trade, less affected by war, entered late

Hyperinflation

Prices rise extremely fast so money loses value; caused by printing money to pay debts, loss of trust in currency

Protectionism

Protecting local businesses by limiting trade - making imports dearer or harder to get

Tariffs

Taxes on imported goods to encourage buying local products

Discontented minorities

People living under new borders/leadership, e.g. Germans in Poland & Czechoslovakia - used by Hitler to justify expansion

Germany - discontent

Bore sole blame; hatred of treaty and Allies used as unifying force in propaganda

Japan - discontent

Racial equality clause denied; limited gains; not recognised as global power → asserted influence in Asia/China