World War I and II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

World War I and II - Essay Example The First World War can be attributed to change in distribution of power in the international system and the many alliances which had been formed prior to the war to protect interests of different states (Dickson, 2011). This enabled all the European states to be drawn into the war making it the greatest war ever fought. However, there are many other causes which led and intensified the war. These include; arms race, nationalism, imperialism and militarism among others. The great powers involved in the war included Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, and the Austria-Hungary Empire. The Second World War on the other hand, was as a result of dissatisfaction with the conditions of the peace treaty signed after the First World War and struggle for power by states. However, there are other important factors that contributed to the war such as the great depression of 1930s, the rise of totalitarianism, policy of appeasement, failure of the League of Nations as well as ideologies such as anti-communism, fascism, nationalism, and militarism among others (Dickson, 2011).... eaders followed social Darwinist ideas which view war as â€Å"the only powerful force of nature through which stronger nations prevail over the weaker ones in an international struggle of the fittest.† The international system culture was also that of tolerance to war; disputes between nations were better settled through war rather than negotiation and this created a good environment for nations to wage war against each other in order to maintain or gain power over others. Dickson (2007) argues that the culture of tolerance enabled European powers to assert their power and influence. This is what led Germany to support Austria-Hungary in its quest for war against Serbia after it failed to honour an ultimatum issued by Austria-Hungary demanding justice. Austria-Hungary had severed relations with Serbia as it had a lot of influence on the Balkans hence had long planned to wage war against Serbia. The war was supposed to be small scale but due to the alliance system, the war esc alated to a great magnitude. The alliance system began with Bismarck’s desire to unify Germany with the confederate states hence the war with Austria in the north and France in the south. The two were defeated by Prussia and the confederate states united to form the German empire. The loss of Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia left France yearning for revenge against Germany and was just waiting for an opportunity to attack. Germany’s desire to become a world power led it into acquiring more states and hence needed protection against the other powers. It thus started forming alliances with other powers so as to guard against any attacks from France or Russia. Germany formed an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Russia but Russia withdrew later hence the dual alliance to aid each other in case of

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture Research Paper

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture - Research Paper Example This tribe did not have any contact with the outside world until the 1950s before which they lived in complete isolation. They were able to adapt themselves to their environment through means of cultural adaptation by following their cultural standards and practices (Trachoma among the Yanomami, Web). The Yanomamo tribe consists of hunters and horticulturists who frequently move to new areas when the soil becomes exhausted. More than half of the Yanomami live within the Amazon forest while some live along the major rivers. Similar to their living conditions, the Yanomamo also follow different rituals and beliefs. Their religious beliefs are also based on the principles of animism. They believe that the forests entail a spiritual existence along with its other uses of food and plants etc (Yanomamo, Varying Adaptations of Foraging Horticulturalists, Web). One of the main cultural practices followed by the Yanomami is Polygny which is the most common form of polygamy. Polygny is a practice in which a man has more than one wife at the same time. In the Yanomamo society, arranged marriages are common and the marriage is often based on survival and other economic factors. The men are given a higher position or role and the women are treated as servants and properties of other members of the society. The female members of this community are not allowed to participate in most of the activities but the preparation is done by the females themselves.