World War II

1
World War II

• 1939-1945

2
East Asian Origins of WWII

• Conventional Scholarship as Eurocentric
• Rise of Japanese militarism and aggression
• Tokugawa Shoganate overthrown May 1869 leads to
  rapid modernization along western model
• Western model of modernization includes
  imperialism

3
Japanese Militarism and Expansion

• Sino-Japanese War (1894)
• Russo-Japanese War (1905)
• Treaty of Portsmouth
• Recognizes Japanese interest in Manchuria and
  Korea cedes half Sakhalin islands
• Clears way for expansion in Manchuria and Korea
• Korea declared Japanese protectorate (1905)

4
World War II begins in Asia

• Military Elite wins control of Japanese
  government (1930)
• Mukden Incident (Sept 1931)
• Conquest of Manchuria complete Puyi installed as
  puppet (1932)
• Japan withdraws from League of Nations
• Second Sino-Japanese War (July 1937)

5
Fascism

• A political philosophy or regime that exalts
  nation and often race above the individual and
  that stands for economic centralized autocratic
  government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe
  economic and social regimentation, and forcible
  suppression of opposition.

6
Common Characteristics

• Opposition to Marxism
• Opposition to Democracy
• Opposition to Liberalism
• Totalitarian ambitions
• Imperialist
• Violence
• Extreme Nationalism
• Scapegoating

7
Political Spectrum

• Fascism characterized as right-wing, while
  communism is characterized as left-wing
• Hannah Arendt and Friedrich Hayek
• Both fascism and communism reflect totalitarian
  forms of government and differences are more
  superficial than actual

8
Fascism vs. Communism

• Nationalist
• Totalitarian
• Antidemocratic
• One Party Rule
• Ethnic Pogroms
• Brutal, oppressive, murderous
• State control of economy

• International in theory nationalist in practice
• Totalitarian
• Antidemocratic
• One Party Rule
• Class and ethnic
• Brutal, oppressive, and murderous
• Socialist