Difference between revisions 35257406 and 38252719 on enwiki

Historians already try to make a '''survey of the twentieth century'''. One purpose of history is to see long periods as a whole or at least to discover some overall trends. In general there is agreement about the fact that the twentieth century was an age of extreme tensions and war, especially in Europe or through Europe.  The concrete views differ and there are several attempts to define the past century.

===The European civil war=== 

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On the contrary, the Italian marxist historian [[Giovanni Arrighi]], describes a [[long twentieth century]], one that was characterised by a persistent class struggle, wars and revolutions (1994: ''The Long Twentieth Century''). In [[capitalism]] the world economy has peripheral and central areas. Arrighi defines in capitalist history four long centuries: Genoa's, the Netherlands', the British, and at least the American hegemony, who is now coming to an end.  


===European ''eighty years' war''===
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The idea of another eighty years' war (1914-1995) may cause confusion with the ''[[Eighty Years' War|Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands]]'' (1568-1648). Nevertheless, there are some remarkable similarities. The Dutch war started with irreconcilable tensions between catholics and protestants. It was not won by one of both parties but ended in the [[United Provinces of the Netherlands]], where [[catholicism]] and [[protestantism]] could coexist. The European war ended in a comparable [[European Union]], with coexistance of the former intolerant "[[Left-wing politics|left]]" and "[[Right-wing politics|right]]".

===A turning point===

Others cite as a turning point the end of [[World War II]], dividing the century in half. The [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in particular redefined the paramaters of warfare.

===Important phases (in Europe especially)===  
*[[1914]] Shooting of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Ferdinand]] in [[Sarajevo]]
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==Reference==
*[[Eric Hobsbawm|Hobsbawm, Eric]] ''The Age Of Extremes : A History Of The World, 1914-1991'', New York : Pantheon Books, 1994. 
*[[Ernst Nolte|Nolte, Ernst]] ''Der europäische Bürgerkrieg 1917–1945: Nationalsozialismus und Bolschewismus'' Frankfurt : Proyläen, 1987. 

[[category:20th century]] 
[[Category:War]]
[[nl:Tachtigjarige Oorlog in Europa]]