The term ''short 20th century'', originally proposed by
Iván Berend
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
(Hungarian Academy of Sciences) but defined by
Eric Hobsbawm, a British
Marxist historian and author, refers to the period of 78 years between the years 1914 and 1991. The convention is an answer to the
long nineteenth and
eighteenth centuries, in which it is an attempt to use a more natural approach to historical periods. The period begins with the start of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and ends with the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. The chain of events represented such significant changes in world history as to redefine the era.
The First World War caused the end of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Ottoman,
Austro-Hungarian and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
empires. The
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
was greatly influenced by the outcome of the First World War. The
Cold War was a result of the Second World War and ended with the fall of the Soviet Union.
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See also
*
American Century
The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the period 1815–19 ...
*''
The Age of Extremes
''The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991'' is a book by Eric Hobsbawm, published in 1994. In it, Hobsbawm comments on what he sees as the disastrous failures of state socialism, capitalism, and nationalism; he offers an eq ...
''
*
Long War (20th century)
''The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History'' is a historico-philosophical work by Philip Bobbitt. It was first published in 2002 by Alfred Knopf in the US and Penguin in the UK.
Theses
The work consists of two volumes, each ...
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
1990s neologisms
20th century
Historical eras
Periodization
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