By Ng Wee Loon
This question is discussed on the basis that the peace settlements, which followed, of the 'Great War' marked the end of four empires.
Introduction
The Great War marked the end of 4 European empires, namely, the German Empire, the Austria-Hungary Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire. This essay will first attempt to define the term “modern imperialism”. Subsequently, it will attempt to explain why and how did the Great War result in the demise of each the above-mentioned empires and the possible effects of the Great War and the demise of the 4 empires with regards to the beginning of the end of “modern imperialism”. The later part of the essay will highlight that while the Great War had significant effects throughout the world with regards to both economics and politics imperialism – the reason why these two aspect are highlighted will be discussed below – it is not right to claim that it marked the beginning of the end of modern imperialism.
Definition of modern imperialism
For the sake of analysis, this essay will employ the definitions of imperialism as stated by Benjamin J.Cohen, Professor of International Political Economy at the University of California. According to Benjamin J.Cohen, “imperialism refers to those particular relationships between inherently unequal nations which involve effective subjugation, the actual exercise of influence over behaviour” . More importantly, Benjamin J.Cohen referred specifically to the modern sense of imperialism in the form of political and economic imperialism. These two aspects of imperialism are given special attention because they were the most “virulent and persistent forms of imperialism” and with economic imperialism cited as “perhaps the only form of imperialism” . Modern imperialism will therefore be defined as the exertion of influence of a more powerful nation over the behaviour of a less powerful nation through either political or economic means. One other point to note is the difference between modern imperialism and previous form of imperialism, the latter characterise often by bloodshed and aggressive take-overs whenever necessary .
The End of the German Empire
The Germans were the loser in the Great War. With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, they were, together with Austria, held responsible for starting the war and made to pay for all the war damages suffered by the Allied powers. As a result of the peace settlements, the German Empire was to give up their foreign possessions, reduce the size of their military, cede territories to France and the newly set-up Poland and maintain a demilitarised zone between herself and France, with whom she had a long-standing rivalry as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, and who had suffered greatly in the Great War because of the “Trench Warfare” along the German western front due to the death toll. With all these terms, the peace settlements ensured that the German ceased to be an empire and remained weak, therefore ensuring that it can no longer threaten its neighbours, sparking another great war.
The End of the Austria-Hungary Empire
As mentioned above, the peace settlements held the Austria-Hungary Empire responsible for the war together with the German Empire, though the settlement was not as severe as the one handed to the German Empire. With all the war-debts thrown upon the German Empire, the main losses sustained by the Austria-Hungary Empire were the loss of its territories. In place of the former Austria-Hungary Empire, the new states of Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia were established, and lend was ceded to Romania and also to Yugoslavia, which was formed by a few nations with Serbia as the core. Due to these separations, the economy of Austria was torn to tatters as Czechoslovakia had consisted of some of the wealthiest land of the former empire.
The End of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side on of the Central Powers having signed the Turko-German Alliance in 1914. Being on the losing side, the Ottoman Empire suffered a similar fate as the Austria-Hungary Empire and was carved out into different new states, such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. The Arabs were rewarded with their own nation as a result of assisting the Allied Powers by resisting the Ottoman campaign.
The End of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire under the House of the Romanovs was the only empire that did not fall as a direct result of losing the war per se. In fact the Russian Empire had entered the war on the side of the winning Allied Powers. However, Russians became disillusioned and discontented with the rule of the Russian Emperor, Tzar Nicholas II, after setbacks in the earlier phase of the war and severe economic crisis at home . Because of that, two revolutions took place in Russia resulting in the fall of the Russian Empire and the ascension of Vladimir Lenin, a Marxist revolutionary, to the Russian leadership. Promising his people “Land, Bread and Peace”, Lenin subsequently pulled out of the Great War by signing the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the Germans.
The effects of the Great War on imperialism
Firstly, the harsh treaty imposed upon the Germans resulted in a lot of hatred within the German population. The Germans felt that they were not to be held solely accountable for the war and should not be made to fully pay for the reparations. Such circumstances culminated in the rise of Hitler’s Nazi Germany when he played on the German sentiments and promise to return Germany to its former glory and take back what the Allied Powers took through the Treaty of Versailles, more specifically land, pride and money. Hitler’s Germany was to go on and start World War Two, which was destined to be far more destructive than the Great War due to technological advancements that enabled mass destruction through improved armament. World War Two was to weaken Europe like never before as millions died and Europe no longer have the ability to sustain its overseas possessions and therefore marking the beginning of the end of its influence on the less developed and therefore weaker non-Europeans.
Secondly, following the end of the Great War, American President Woodrow Wilson suggested in his “Fourteen Points” that the people of Europe should self-determinate and all set up their own states under nationalistic lines. This sparked off a new wave of nationalism, which occurred not only in Europe but also sow its seeds in their colonies in Asia and Africa. Consequently, there was an increase in rebellious movements throughout the world “dedicated to freeing their societies from the ravages of Western colonisation” . As followed, imperialism as direct control and influence over colonial possessions begins to wane and decline.
Modern imperialism persists
The demise of the four empires did not truly result in the decline of modern imperialism. For even though the end of the empires marked the establishment of several new states as well as the loss of foreign colonial possessions, many of the colonies did not achieve independence, nor did the newly established states. For example, the Middle-eastern countries, which were products of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, saved for Saudi Arabia, were incorporated into the British and French spheres of influence. Likewise for the colonies of Germany, which were distributed amongst the various Allied Powers. Hence the Great War resulted only in a change of ownership instead of a decline in imperialism.
In a way the same argument can be applied to the fall of the Russian Empire. Though it did not occurred immediately after the Great War, the successor of the Russian Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), remained an imperialist power. After World War II, the Communist government in USSR, through its military might and the spread of the communist ideology and the organisation the Third International, maintained a series of satellite states that also acted as its buffer with the capitalist Western Europe. Though these states were not under the direct control of USSR, they were under the influence of Moscow, the capital of USSR. In this way, USSR fulfilled the criteria of being a modern imperialist power both in the economic and political sense as their principle of influence; communism, was both an economic as well as a political ideology. So strong was the influence of the USSR that it emerges as one of the two superpowers in contemporary history, establishing its hegemony on one side of the Cold War, the war between the Communist ideology and the Capitalist ideology, that spanned more than half a decade of the twentieth century.
The Great War also saw the emergence of a new superpower, the United States of America (USA) at the other side of the Cold War. The devastation in Europe saw the traditional Europeans fall from grace and the Americans rise in strength. Besides, being geographically far away, American soil and society was spared the same physical and structural destruction that was the result of the Great War, despite being involved in the war. Adding on to that Europe had borrowed heavily from the Americans to rebuild itself. This gives the American a financial edge over the Europe by using the loans and its repayment as a diplomatic tool in influencing European politics and economy. Also, prior to the war, Europe was the major trading partner of regions such as Latin America and Asia as it was then the most developed economy and had the largest importing power of raw materials and agricultural products thanks to the Industrial Revolution. After the war however it lost its number one position as its own economy lay in ruins. This allowed America to step in as the new economic powerhouse taking over its trade especially with Latin America due to its proximity .
Another important development that came out of the Great War was American President Woodrow Wilson’s vision of a League of Nations:
“A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small nations alike.”
America itself however was not part of the League of Nations, as the American Congress did not give its approval to join the League of Nations, without which President Wilson could not proceed. And without the Americans in the League, the League does not have the financial and military backing necessary to carry out carry out whatever sanctions or decision it makes against its member nations that had defied collective League decisions. This is evident in the years preceding World War II when the Germans and the Japanese refused to adhere to League decisions concerning their militarisation and military expansion in Europe and East Asia respectively. Nonetheless, the League of Nations provided the foundations and precedent for the present day United Nations, which has carried out economic and political sanctions against renegade countries that in their view threaten global peace and stability, for example North Korea and Iran. This is important, as it is an example of modern imperialism whereby the strong country, or countries, exert influence upon the behaviour another independent country through economic and political means.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above-mentioned definition of modern imperialism was chosen for the analysis of this paper, though it must be noted that it is not the only definition. The discussion of the fall of the empires with regards to the Great War reveals that both the fall of the empires and the Great War itself had effects on the trajectory of imperialism. They are however insufficient to bring about the decline of imperialism or imperialistic developments as evident in the presence of many forms of imperialistic events that occurred from the end of the war to present day.
Bibliography
Cohen, Benjamin J. “The Question of Imperialism: The Political Economy of Dominance and Dependence”. London and Basingstoke: The MacMillan Press Ltd, 1974
Duiker, William J. “Twentieth-Century World History”. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005
Hollister, C. Warren, McGee J. Sears, Stoke Gale. “The West Transformed: A History of Western Civilisation”. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers,2000
“Revision-notes.co.uk: The Peace Settlement After World War 1”. <>
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