Impact of WWI on International Political Economy - Coursework Example

World War I can be described as a war of illusions because of the way it started and escalated into a full-blown war that led to the death of approximately 9 million people. A conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia led to a number of actions that saw most of the central powers join the war because of the treaties they had signed. World War I had a significant impact on international relations because of the losses that were incurred by all the countries that took part in the war. The effects of World War 1 are still being felt in the current international political economy. The level of devastation World War I left on all the participating nations prompted them to sign agreements that would ensure a war of the scale never happens again. The paper examines how World War 1 changed the international political economy, which includes the way it influenced international relations and the way nations view conflicts and differences.

International political economy views international and global issues from the perspective of interdisciplinary tools and theoretical underpinnings. It includes the nature of international trade, finance, relations, transnational corporations and hegemony. The interaction of nations has a significant impact on the economic decisions made by states as evidenced by the trade and peace agreements signed by states in the previous century. International trade relies on nature of the relationships among nations with the most influential nations have the biggest say in most of the decisions. The impact of the first world war on international relations helped in shaping what can be today termed as an international order that strives to maintain peace and prevent the third world war. Also, it promotes cooperation and trade between different states in a bid to eliminate the obstacle of national borders when it comes to trade.

The first world war was started based on the notion that the war would result into a victory that would make everything much better. The liberalists believed that the war would spread freedom but it prompted states to utilize martial law, censorship, and assert control over the economy. The monarchists believed that the war would help make European dynasties but instead it led to the crumbling of the remaining dynasties in Europe. All the nations that participated made sacrifices with the hope that something good would happen after the war ends. The war began with the illusion that the war would make everything better and ended with the illusion of peace that was never taken too seriously by most of the states that participated(Gordon, 1974).

The impact of the first world war on the international political economy starts with the destruction of empires. Europe was home to powerful empires in the form of Britain, German, Austro-Hungarian, and the Ottoman Empire(Berghahn, 2012; Turner, 2014). Central Europe was occupied by Russia, German, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian. Latria, Lithuania, Estonia and the new Poland are among the states that emerged after the first world war after the breakdown of the empires in Central Europe. The states that emerged from the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires include Romania, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Austria-Hungary. The peace conference that followed after the world war was meant to bring some sense of order by granting the new states freedom. A new international order was necessary to replace the German, Ottoman, Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. There was need to liberate the nationality groups that had caused internal strife for many years in a bid to gain independence. The stability of the new states was welcomed by the participating states and were seen as the best way to manage the borderlands of Eastern Europe to help manage the border conflicts that were bound to occur between Germany and Russia.

The Paris Conference was organized to eliminate secret diplomacy and promote open discussions about international issues. It is the attitude that characterizes the current international political economy where states are free to hold open discussions about international issues. The idea was to promote public opinion and undermine the secret agenda of leaders who were inclined towards their personal goals. Imperialistically aligned leaders had to be prevented from causing additional strife by taking a strong stand against that they deem negative. Despite the positive benefits of the move, some of the states that were created this time lacked the economic power and sense to survive. Austria had intentions of uniting with Germany but the peace treaty forbade the union because the peacemakers had to prevent Germany from getting the territory after the war. The problems that were created by the first world war formed the premise for nations like France and Britain to forge strong alliances and the small nations to learn to depend on the powerful ones.

The new international order was supposed to help end the internal strife in Europe by promoting democracy and eliminating the autocratic constraints that the ruling elites used to justify their decision to wage war(Kennedy-Pipe, 2000; Gorman, 2005). Some of the demands included ensuring that the German parliament was elected by universal suffrage with the government bearing the responsibility to make this happen. A nationalism movement General Mustafa Kemal in Turkey helped turn the country into a European nation, which meant Turkey had to democratize all institutions like Europe and France. As a result, Turkey remained in good terms with Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia making possible to counter the fascist threat that was on the rise. The implementation of the international order by the League had a positive impact on international relations. It introduced the concept of discussion and dialogue as a way of solving conflicts with the war remaining as the last resolve. The establishment of independent nations and democratic institutions paved for a liberal approach in solving conflicts.

The war had left the belligerent states with a lot of problems, which included the inability to counter revolutionary strains. There was the fear that Bolsheviks would succeed and establish their government in Russia. The success of the Bolsheviks helped bring the nations together because communism became a common enemy to German and the Allied nations. Germany stepped forward to work with the Allied Nations to counter the spread of communism. The way of government promoted by the Bolsheviks was a perceived as a threat to the democratization of Europe that was being promoted by the Allied Nations. It is a significant impact considering that Germany did not have a good relationship with the Allied Nations at this time. The creation of a common enemy paved the way for the cooperation that lasted until the second world war.

The leadership change initiated the League of Nations helped reduce the tensions that had been there before 1924. Some of the nations were not happy with the way they had been treated in the peace settlement. The Turkish people were not happy for losing large territories and the Italians took back Flume that had been given to Yugoslavia. The nature of the peace agreement was questionable given that the leaders that designed the agreement were from the victorious nations. The leadership from France insisted that France had to be favored because it had suffered too much losses because of the war. The defeated nations were not welcomed to the table to negotiate but only directed to sign documents. The nature of the peace agreement set the tone for the second world war. Some historians have described the peace agreement as dictated peace and not negotiated peace. The heavy punishment meted out on Germany created an opportunity for groups like Nazi to convince the people that Germany had been wronged. It paved the way for the Germany to prepare to take over the world, which led to the second world war. The outcome of the first world war created the conditions that would later lead to the second world war.

In addition, Germany was having problems with the debt payment after making the first payment due to inflation. She requested for a moratorium, which was granted, but the sinking of the mark prompted to ask for a second moratorium until January 1925. Britain and France were divided in opinion on how to handle Germany. Britain wanted Germany to recover because it meant it would regain the ability to purchase commodities from Britain. On the other hand, France was wary of Germany because she believed the problems in Germany were man made by the majority of the Germans who were sending money abroad and allowing the mismanagement of financial institutions to continue. The attitude of France towards German provided the opportunity for Germany and Russia to sign the Repallo Treaty.

The League of Nation has a significant impact on international relations by promoting the signing of treaties and setting the tone for the best way for nations to interact and avoid conflicts. However, the league of nations still failed in its main mandate, which was to prevent another world war. The beginning of the second world war in 1939 marked the biggest failure of the league of nations even though small failures had been visible since the 1920s. The recapturing of Flume by Italy is an example of the smaller failures by the League of Nations. The United Nations and the nature of international relations in the 21st century is informed by the failures of the League of Nations. Therefore, it is clear that the first world war has impacted the current dynamics in the international relations.

The first world war led to the destruction of several European empires, the creation of new states, pushed for independence all across Europe and the forced the United States of America to become the world super power. Also, it is directly responsible for the establishment of Soviet Communism and the rise of Hitler. Some of the agreements made during the war came to haunt Europe later. The devastation that arose from the first world planted the idea of an international order that can make the world a better place by allowing states to coexist and rely on dialogue to solve conflicts. The steps taken by the leaders from the Allied Nations made it difficult to achieve the true dream of a new international order but the idea had already been planted. The world had to go to into a second world war before nations realized the need for a revolutionary approach to international relations.

The First World War led to the emergency of the United States as the world super power. Britain and France are examples that borrowed so much from the United States to finance the war in Europe. By the end of the war, most of these states were deeply in debt and the hope of repaying was grim given the state of their economies. Currently, United States and her ideologies have a big impact on trade, economic reforms and diplomatic relations. It is pertinent to understand that the United States had a role to play in the breakout of the second world war because of the way it handled her European debtors. Americans demanded France pay her debts to them but pressed France to give Germany some space. The depression in 1920 affected the American consumer market at a time when Europe needed it the most for its recovery. The first world war turned the United States into the largest creditor in the world and the custodian of the gold standard. It is a position that the United States has used to influence politics across the globe even after the second world war.

The decisions made by the United States to peg foreign currencies to a new gold standard that saw the values of the currencies reduce as the dollar strengthened led to a major crisis. The decision to make the dollar stronger led to problems like the flooding of the American market with cheap imports from Europe. The United States leadership in the 1920s learned from this mistake and rejected the idea of undervaluing currencies to pave a way for them to pay back what they owed the United States. The move led to a series of actions that helped Germany to correct its balance sheet. However, the United States failed to fix the crazy system where nations were borrowing from each other to pay debts to one country. The depression led to changes that include the coming up new leaders who were not ready to accept the American way of doing things like Hitler. It paved the way for the second world war that helped revolutionize international relations by changing the way countries relate.

The American protection is responsible for the rise of the new European era after the second world war. The economic power of the United States that was gained because of the first world war gave it the power to influence decision and push for the creation of international organizations and treaties that would keep Europe from going to war. The new modern era is responsible for the creation of the European Union, the United Nations, World Bank and other international organizations meant to facilitate world trade and improve diplomatic relations. They are the key members in the United Nations, which gives them the power to impose sanctions and dictate the way smaller countries relate. The liberal and democratic Europe has significant impact on world trade and politics. The rise of the USA as the world superpower is directly responsible for the promotion of democracy as the best form of governance. The support from the countries that owed the United States billions of dollars increased the influence of the new world superpower. Also, it shaped the makeup of the current international political economy where democracy is the preferred way of handling issues.

Some of the alliances forged after the first world war have lasted up to date. The strong relationship between Britain, France, United States, and Germany have been influenced by the alliances that started after the second world war and resumed after the second world war. The way the USA handled the situation handled things after the first world war did not well with many countries but it provided the motivation for these countries to push for reforms after the second world war. The strong connection between the United States and Europe has played a significant role in controlling the influence of China and Russia. It influences the nature of trade treaties and the way conflicts are handled at the international level.

Since the first world war is directly responsible for the rise of communism, it is possible to associated it with the cold war. It might seem like the fight against communism is over but the current alignment of the powerful nations in the world implies the battle between democracy and communism is far from over. The democratically aligned nations tend to side with United States in most instances while the China, Russia and North Korea tend to be one side. A good example is the way China is handling the North Korea crisis as the risk of. war breakout increases on a daily basis. The reluctance of the United States to attack North Korea is the possibility that Russia and China might it use it as opportunity to protect their interests. The current alignment of the nations in the international system is partly because of the effects of the first world war.

In conclusion, the first world has helped in shaping the current international political economy because of the impact it had on the world economy and politics. It created the opportunity for the United States to rise as the world superpower, a position that granted the US the opportunity to promote democracy as the preferred form of governance(Kennedy-Pipe, 2000). It causes the rise of communism that led to the cold war and affected the current state of Russia. The mistakes made after the first world war informed the decision to promote a new international order that has been instrumental in promoting world trade and maintaining peace. The devastating effects of the first war led to the first idea of an international order that would help manage conflicts between states. The breakup of the European empires changed the international political economy to what it is today. The nature of relations in the world would be different if the empires of Europe had not been disintegrated.