State Power Shifts: 1900 to Present

State Power Shifts After 1900

Time period: 1900 to the present.
Focus: Shifting state power leading to world wars, depressions, and decolonization.

Background: The Ottoman Empire was known as the "sick man of Europe."
Tanzimat Reforms: Defensive industrialization efforts failed to revitalize the empire.
Young Ottomans:
- Educated on Western ideas.
- Advocated for political change to align with Western democracies.
- Briefly succeeded in establishing a parliament and constitution, but the Sultan reverted to authoritarian rule due to the threat of war with Russia.
Young Turks:
- Arose in response to the Sultan's authoritarianism.
- Called for complete modernization based on Western European models, fueled by nationalism.
- Envisioned a Turkic state, marginalizing ethnic minorities.
- In 1908, overthrew the Sultan and implemented reforms:
  - Secularization of schools.
  - Establishment of political elections.
  - Imposition of Turkish as the official language.
Consequences of Young Turk Policies:
- Alienated non-Turkish minorities, fostering their own nationalistic movements.
- Fractured the empire further.
End Result: After World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled by victorious powers into independent states.

Industrialization: Russia made industrial progress in the late 19th century under Czars like Alexander II and Nicholas II.
Growing Discontent:
- The middle class resented the Czar's authoritarianism and sought political representation.
- The working class suffered from state-sponsored industrialization.
Russian Revolution of 1905:
- Caused by boiling grievances.
- Violently suppressed by Czar Nicholas II.
- Some concessions were made: a constitution, legalization of labor unions and political parties, but Nicholas largely ignored these reforms.
Russian Revolution of 1917:
- World War I intensified existing tensions.
- Led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, a Marxist political group.
- Successful revolution leading to the establishment of a communist state.
- Formation of the Soviet Union.

19th-Century Weakness: China faced internal and external challenges.
Internal Factors: The Taiping Rebellion caused massive loss of life and economic devastation.
External Factors:
- Defeats in the Opium Wars against Western powers.
- Defeat in the Sino-Japanese War due to insufficient industrialization.
Boxer Rebellion:
- Led by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists against the Qing authorities.
- Suppressed by foreign powers (British, French, Japanese) who sought to protect their interests.
- Foreign powers imposed further demands on China due to their involvement.
Revolutionary Movement:
- Led by Sun Yat-sen, who was Western-educated.
- Resulted in the abdication of the Qing emperor, ending 2000 years of imperial rule.
- A provisional government under Sun was short-lived.
- China eventually became a communist state under Mao Zedong after power struggles and civil war.

Porfirio Diaz's Dictatorship: Mexico was ruled by Porfirio Diaz in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Widespread Dissatisfaction: Diaz's policies angered nearly every social class, leading to a united front against him.
Francisco Madero: Became president in 1910 but was assassinated two years later.
Civil War (1910-1917):
- Massive peasant armies led by figures like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.
- Unlike the Bolsheviks, they didn't seize significant state power.
Outcome:
- By 1917, the revolution concluded, and Mexico became a republic.
- A new constitution was drafted, enacting reforms to address grievances that fueled the revolution.
- Reforms included universal male suffrage, minimum wages, and decoupling the Catholic Church from political and economic power.
Significance: The revolution was largely confined to Mexico, lacking the global impact of the Chinese and Russian revolutions.