Summary of Richard Haass's The World

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 The history of the modern international system spans roughly three centuries, from the seventeenth century to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It includes the rise of the modern international state system, the colonial period, the demise of several empires, the opening of Japan and Germany, and the American Civil War and the rise of the United States as a great power.

#2 The modern international system was created in seventeenth-century Europe. It was a system dominated by countries and the principle of sovereignty, which states that countries should not use force to change other countries’ borders or policies, and that they should not interfere in other countries’ affairs.

#3 The Concert of Europe was a system of alliances between European countries that lasted from the middle of the nineteenth century until World War I. It was centered on Europe, but it nonetheless constituted much of the international order of its day given the dominant position of Europe and Europeans in the world at the start of the nineteenth century.

#4 The nineteenth century was a period of foreign aggression against China, which led to the Opium Wars and a series of economic concessions from China that were widely unpopular. This led to a successful political challenge to the ruling shogun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669351177

IRB Media

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Insights on Richard Haass's The World

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The history of the modern international system spans roughly three centuries, from the seventeenth century to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It includes the rise of the modern international state system, the colonial period, the demise of several empires, the opening of Japan and Germany, and the American Civil War and the rise of the United States as a great power.

#2

The modern international system was created in seventeenth-century Europe. It was a system dominated by countries and the principle of sovereignty, which states that countries should not use force to change other countries’ borders or policies, and that they should not interfere in other countries’ affairs.

#3

The Concert of Europe was a system of alliances between European countries that lasted from the middle of the nineteenth century until World War I. It was centered on Europe, but it nonetheless constituted much of the international order of its day given the dominant position of Europe and Europeans in the world at the start of the nineteenth century.

#4

The nineteenth century was a period of foreign aggression against China, which led to the Opium Wars and a series of economic concessions from China that were widely unpopular. This led to a successful political challenge to the ruling shogun.

#5

The United States, having been established as a nation in 1776, grew into a major agricultural, industrial, trading, financial, and military power. Its decisions and actions had a major impact on the rest of the world.

#6

World War I was a result of the interplay between the rising and declining entities of Europe, as well as the competition among the former to who would prevail in the coming era.

#7

The rise of nationalism, the belief that war was inevitable, and the poor statecraft of governments contributed to the alliances that were forged without thinking through their implications.

#8

The war was devastating both physically and mentally. It was a war that resolved very little, and it was a precursor to a much larger conflict.

#9

Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States, wanted to create a standing international organization to prevent future wars. However, France, Germany’s