20th Century
Meiji Restoration: Summary, Causes & Consequences
The Meiji Restoration was the process that began with a challenge to Tokugawa rule and ended with Japan’s rise as an industrial imperial power.
Treaty of Versailles: Terms, Reparations, and Why It Failed
What the Treaty of Versailles did to Germany, why reparations and enforcement failed, and how the settlement destabilized Europe.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger — Chapter 31 — The New World Order Reconsidered
This chapter discusses the state of international relations and American foreign policy after the Cold War’s end.
Mexican Revolution: Causes, Timeline, Leaders and Consequences
The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 against Porfirio Díaz and reshaped Mexico through civil war, land demands and the Constitution of 1917.
Biography of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Adolf Hitler turned German crisis, racial ideology, and dictatorship into Nazi rule, World War II, and the Holocaust.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger — Chapter 29 — Detente
This chapter discusses Nixon’s foreign policy for the Cold War and its repercussions in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger — Chapter 28 — Nixon’s Triangular Diplomacy
This chapter discusses Nixon’s pragmatic approach to relations with China and the USSR, which were undermined by the Watergate scandal.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 27 – Vietnam: Nixon
This chapter discusses the end of the Vietnam War, during Nixon’s presidency in the United States.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 26 – Vietnam: Kennedy and Johnson
This chapter discusses the increased American participation in the Vietnam War, culminating in the administration of Lyndon Johnson.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 25 - Vietnam: Truman and Eisenhower
This chapter examines how the United States began its involvement in Vietnam, aiming to contain Communist ideology despite the complexities of local dynamics.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 24 - Concepts of Western Unity
This chapter discusses the different strategies of American, British and French statesmen to face the expansionism of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 23 - The Berlin Crisis
This chapter discusses the controversy regarding the status of Berlin during the Cold War, when the Soviets reacted to Western presence in Germany.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 22 - Hungary
This chapter discusses the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, when university students attempted to resist Soviet domination, but were repressed by the Warsaw Pact.
The History of Fordism and Post-Fordism
Fordism was a rigid production system introduced in 1914, and Post-Fordism is a flexible production system that has prevailed since the 1970s.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 21 - The Suez Crisis
This chapter discusses the British, French and Israeli intervention after the Suez Canal was nationalized by Egypt.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 20 - Negotiating with the Communists
This chapter discusses the negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union prior to the death of Joseph Stalin.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 19 - The Korean War
This chapter discusses the Korean War and its role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 18 - The Success and the Pain of Containment
This chapter discusses the development of the containment doctrine — the American strategy to win the Cold War.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 17 - The Beginning of the Cold War
This chapter discusses the disagreements between the United States and the Soviet Union that would lead to the Cold War.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger - Chapter 16 - Three Approaches to Peace
This chapter discusses peace negotiations in the final months of World War II.
Brazilian Economy Under the Kubitschek Administration
The JK government industrialized Brazil quickly, but debt, inflation, and regional inequality left a difficult legacy.
Imperialism: Definition, Causes, and Consequences in Africa and Asia
Definition, causes, and consequences of imperialism in Africa and Asia, from European rivalries to colonization and resistance.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 15 – America Re-enters the Arena
This chapter discusses the role of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in turning World War II in favor of the Allies.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 14 – The Nazi-Soviet Pact
This chapter discusses the beginning of World War II, focusing on Stalin’s failed attempt to appease Hitler.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 13 – Stalin’s Bazaar
This chapter discusses the maneuvers of Joseph Stalin’s USSR in the lead-up to World War II.
Brazilian Economy in the Café Filho Administration
Café Filho’s government moved from orthodox contraction to credit expansion while easing capital-goods imports.
Brazilian Economy During the Second Vargas Administration (1951-1954)
Vargas’s second administration combined development policy with inflation, fiscal strain, and foreign-exchange crisis.
Industrial Revolutions: Summary, Causes, Consequences & Inventions
Since the 19th century, beginning in Britain, a series of inventions have profoundly revolutionized the world economy.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 12 – The End of Illusion
This chapter discusses the failure of the Treaty of Versailles, which enabled the rise of Hitler’s Nazism and Mussolini’s Fascism in Germany and Italy.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 11 – Stresemann and the Re-emergence of the Vanquished
This chapter discusses European politics in the interwar period, with a focus on the role of Gustav Stresemann to reinsert Germany in power politics.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 10 – The Dilemmas of the Victors
This chapter discusses the challenges affecting the European international order in the aftermath of World War I.
Brazilian Economy in the Dutra Administration
The Dutra administration moved from orthodox trade liberalism to heterodox protectionism as inflation and currency pressures grew.
Brazilian Economy in the Vargas Era (1930-1945)
The Vargas Era began during the Great Depression and promoted intensive industrial growth in Brazil.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 9 – The New Face of Diplomacy
This chapter discusses the transition from the First World War to the Treaty of Versailles, influenced by Woodrow Wilson, that established a fragile peace.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 8 – Into the Vortex
This chapter discusses the short-term causes for the outbreak of World War I after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Summary: Diplomacy by Kissinger – Chapter 7 – A Political Doomsday Machine
This chapter discusses the long-term tensions between Germany, Russia, Great Britain and France that led to World War I.
Brazilian Economy in the First Republic
During the First Republic, Brazil experienced significant economic transformations but remained dependent on coffee exports.