The War of the World
Controversial historian Professor Niall Ferguson believes that instead of two World Wars and a Cold War, there was actually a Hundred Years’ War in the last century.
The conflicts of the century were not fueled by nationalism, but instead, empires. Race was not the driving force of the century’s progress, but ideologies of class or the emergence of socialism.
Ultimately, ethnic conflict fueled 20th-century violence. Ultimately, the west failed as the century progressed. Instead, power moved towards the new empires in the east, gradually.
The clash of empires. Another perspective to the 20th century’s events that offered different explanations for the two world wars and a shifting power balance as the century progressed. He begins by investigating the origins of World War One, he claims that the conflict fueled racial hatred that was then leveraged by nations to their advantage.
A tainted triumph. The final years of World War Two were considered to be extremely disthique, as the Allied nations had to make compromises with their German and Japanese adversaries in order to defeat them. The long-term effects of this conflict were detrimental to the victors.
The Icebox. During what was considered the Cold War, World War Three actually occurred. With the USSR and the U.S unable to directly engage in conflict due to the potential nuclear consequences, Third World nations took on the role of proxies for the superpowers, causing more devastation than World War I.
The Plan. How the U.S. became the world’s envy following the conclusion of World War One, a state that was overturned by the financial crisis in Wall Street. He also studies the effect of the Great Depression on people’s attitudes towards capitalism and democracy, as a result, totalitarian states rose in number.
Killing Space. The development of the Axis powers led to a significant alteration of the global map. He identifies 1942 as a significant year, he considers how the 20th century might have been different had World War Two ended differently, with totalitarian regimes partitioning the planet.
The Fall of the West. Controversial historian Professor Niall Ferguson concludes the series by questioning the popular belief that the downfall of the Berlin Wall represented the triumph of Western values, he cites racial conflict in the final decades of the 20th century. He also theorizes that there could be another global conflict in the future.
