Contemporary Time
The period ( time , or history ) contemporary is the last great period of the History. Its name indicates that it treats current world - with the direction where the events which it covers have of the direct consequences on the current world, although these events could occur here several centuries. It covers the 19th century, 20th century and the beginning of the 21e century. The Western periodisation makes begin this chapter of the History to the French revolution because of its international consequences. (See also: modern Time.)
End of the Old Mode, empires colonial and industrialization
The contemporary period begins on the political plan and for the France with the consequences from the French revolution or, according to the Historians, with the First Empire français.It is marked by the end of the Ancien Mode: to the absolute monarchies will succeed the imperial attempts and the attempt at constitutional monarchy (the Restauration). Nevertheless, the revolution of 1848 and transitory the Commune of Paris show the aspiration of the people to a different mode. It is towards the end of the 19th century, with the Third Republic born from the defeat of Sedan and the loss of the Alsace and the Lorraine, but as of repression against the communards, deportees with the bagne, as the Republic settles durably in the consciences.
But, on the socio-economic level, the contemporary time is before any girl of the second Industrial revolution: the domination without division of the British Empire on the world, favoured at the beginning of the period by the early disappearance of the French rival with the First Empire, results itself from this revolution and completes the process of competition engaged between the two powers at the 17th century.
Thus, in 1880, the the United Kingdom ensures him only two thirds of the world industrial production. It is joined soon by the other European nations: it is the birth of the modern industrial society.
Nevertheless, the competition between these nations is not finished: concerning France and the United Kingdom, it continues through the colonial adventure. This one leads the French to seize the major part of Western Africa and the Maghreb, mainly after the first third of the 19th century, whereas the British are Masters of the major part of Asia, in particular of India, and Proche-Orient.
It is at this period that the whole world “is Europeanized”, against its liking, for nearly one century: thus it of the Ivory Coast goes from there, bought some powder barrels and tens of rifles under Louis-Philippe.
The non-European empires, the such Ottoman Empire or later the China (the Empire of the Medium), are unable to adapt and disappear during first half of the 20th century. Which contrast then with the Japan, which opens with the western world as of 1868 and becomes an important power, victorious on sea against the Russia tsarist in 1905.
Modern states, industrial society and ideologies
Europe, it, is marked at the 19th century by the birth of the “modern States” (not to be confused with the States of the modern time), birth which translates the technical changes, economic and social important of the second revolution industrielle.The unit of the Italy (1870), then of the Germany (1871) are followed, later because them resistances of the capacity to modernity, by the revolution of October to Russia (1917).
The inequalities of the Old Mode succeed of news, founded on the capital. The economic changes, especially, led prosperous urban social layers to want to take part in the capacity. But beside them, a working proletariat which is him also - new fact - urban, develops. The social action is initially the fact of certain owners, concerned of the wellbeing of their workmen: they are the roots of the “European Christian Democrat”. As a whole, the social progress is important but in on this side hopes of the people. It is especially the rise of the Syndicalisme which makes it possible the latter to attenuate the difficulties of the existence.
Political expansion towards the people is as for it long to come: it is, in France, the history of the conquest of the Vote for all. In France, also, is born the idea from the separation of the Church and the State, consumed at the beginning of the XXe century and that of a laic company , which would release the individual of part of the weight of the company.
New ideas, also, carry the hopes or frustrations of the populations. Whereas the great ideologies of the XXe century - Capitalism, Marxism, Anarchism even - are defined and constitute movements, the such Internationale, the borders of the European States move to find their form actuelle.
This generally implies the war, justified by the Nationalisme S and more loophole that it had never been it: this tendency finds its result with the World wars at the 20th century.
World wars and totalitarianisms
The 20th century, the First World War started by Austria-Hungary following the attack of Sarajevo, succeeds the Second world war quickly born from the consequences of the economic crisis of 1929 in Germany and from the bitterness caused by the requirements of the Traité of Versailles. These conflicts upset the whole world and complete to exhaust Europe which loses its domination with the profit of the the United States and of the Soviet Union.The period is also marked by great totalitarianisms of any edge: the Italian Fascism of the Years 1930, the Francoism in Spain, the Stalinism in Soviet Union, or the Maccarthisme with the the United States during the Years 1950. Paroxysm of the “inhumanized” modes, the National-socialisme which triumphs in Germany with the arrival over Adolf Hitler with the capacity in 1933, which works out and puts into practice the first systematic doctrines of elimination of populations with the Shoah. This one has like direct consequences the exodus of the Jews out of Europe and, after the Second war, the creation of the State of Israel.
Technological advances nourish the conflicts and accelerate with them: the modern armament is pressed on the tanks and soon, on the domination of the sky. First chemical weapons, used by the States French majors and German in 1914 - 1918 are the gases. The nuclear bomb, development during the Second world war and explained by the theory of the relativity of Albert Einstein, constitute the first weapon of capable massive destruction to make any life impossible on planet.
The First World War
- See the detailed article First World War
Inter-war period
- See the detailed article Inter-war period
The Second world war
- See the detailed article Second world war
The Second world war opposes the “Alliés” (the United States, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Soviet Union…) with the “Axis” (Germany, Japan…). It is completed in 1945, initially in Europe after the Soviet victory with the Bataille of Berlin and commits suicide it of Hitler, then definitively with the capitulation of Japan following the nuclear bombardments American on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world is seen then equipped with a new balance, dominated by the the United States and the Soviet Union.
Cold war, emancipation of the Third world, and birth of Europe
- See the detailed article Cold war
Doctrines of the blocks and European construction
The Speech of Fulton in the United States and the installation of the people's democracies as well as the Rapport Jdanov on the Soviet side set up the doctrines of the blocks which divide the world into two camps - opposing to the “Free world” pro-American and the “Communist bloc” pro-Soviet, separate one of the other by the “Iron curtain”. The West militarily organizes with the Traité of the North Atlantic, which the East answers quickly by the Warsaw Pact. The two blocks are engaged in the “Cold war”; delivered to a Arms race until reaching the balance of terror, they make prevail the indirect Nuclear deterrence and conflicts, by interposed States.In parallel, Western Europe, under the protection of the Américano-British, innovates with the first political attempt at bringing together between rival States to sit peace. It is the birth of the European Union, which is the fact of the France, of the Italy and the Germany with ECSC, on the initiative of the Christian-Democrats.
Decolonization and the emergence of the Third world
The dispute of the Colonialisme by the populations placed under supervision is born during the Entre-deux-guerres (Abd el-Krim with the Morocco, Gandhi in India). But the setting with evil of the metropolises during the Second world war supports this independence movement considerably.The wave of emancipation in Asia (the Indonesia with Soekarno, the Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh…) extends in Africa (the Tunisia with Bourguiba, the Morocco with the nationalist party Istiqlal, British colonies of the Sudan, Ghana, the Belgian Congo, the Mali, the Chad, the Cameroun…)
The leaders of the lately independent countries, indicated under the term Third world by the Occident as from 1952, are combined since 1955 (Conférence of Bandung) to affirm their place on the international scene and to preach the non-alignment, while their victory with the Guerre of Suez (1956) and the American fiasco of the Guerre of Vietnam (1965-1973) discredit the image of superiority of the great powers.
The Israeli-Arab conflict
The discovery of the holocaust causes a wave of sympathy to the cause Zionist. The State of Israel is created but the division of Palestine of 1947, from which it rises, is refused by the Arab population. The the Arab League, PLO, is as many alliances anti-Zionists intended to fight against the Jewish State. The engagements start as of December 1947. The borders of the territories Israeli and Palestinian fluctuate with the liking of the Israeli-Arab wars.Within the Arab League OPEC is constituted, using of the oil weapon to make yield the Occident and in particular person in charge of the economic crisis of 73 following the embargo of exports towards the powers allied to Israel.
End of the cold war, globalisation and resistances
The immediate History begins at the end from the Soviet empire which, weakened by the Glasnost and the Perestroïka undertaken at the end of the Années 1980 by Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, effrondre with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) then with the disappearance of the the USSR (1991). The United States, from now on only super power, proclaims the “Nouvel world order”. But the hope of peace is quickly disappointed; the war of Kuwait is a show of force of the new Master of the world.
Economic crises and policies
The economic difficulties worsened imbalances between the industrialized countries and the others, then within the industrialized countries themselves. The Globalisation economic and cultural causes resistances and its left for account. The ideology of the Néolibéralisme, only after the fall of the Eastern bloc and the economic “liberalization” of the China leaves the free field to the multinational firms in the Années 1990. The Latin America enters their dependence, whereas the Africa pay the price not to be there. This neoliberalism is disputed by the movement of the Altermondialisme and by the “antimondialists”.In Europe and on the national plan, the disaffection of the political powers in the Western democracies causes a retreat of the traditional parties of the center-left or center-right to the profit of the extremes or governments populist. In France, the first and second Cohabitation show the incapacity of the executive to satisfy the voters. On the economic plan, unemployment is endemic and touches in the neighborhoods of ten per hundreds of the active population.
International interventionism, identity fold in the Middle East, and war against terrorism
On the international plan, while the doctrines which preach the Interventionnisme in the name of the Human rights, carried a time by the United Nations, fail to solve the last European conflicts in Bosnia-Herzégovine, then with the Kosovo, the United States widens the missions of NATO in 1997 and only acts as “gendarmes of the world”, under the influence of the lobby Néoconservateur. In the world arabo-Moslem, for which the report/ratio of the Programme of the United Nations for the development (UNDP) indicates in 2002 that less works are printed there in Arab language in one year than in only the Spain, the religion had initially been instrumentalisée with the service of resistance to colonialism through nationalism side-Arabic.The development of the religious integrism, like identity factor of fold, then like political clout protestor with regard to modes weakened by corruption and a weak democratic opening, results in particular in the civil war into Algérie (1992 - 2001). But the networks created which preach the strict application of the Charia, i.e. of a law inspired of a Islam Rigoriste with the Middle Ages and applied in particular in Saudi Arabia, are also transnational. They make international terrorism a new force to export their political ambitions. After the takeover of the Taliban S in Afghanistan in 1997 in the general indifference, the organization Al-Qaïda striking violently the United States in 2001 ( Attentats of September 11th, 2001 ). Consequently, the United States and their allies, under the impulse of the Néoconservateur S with the capacity in Washington, denounce the “Axe of the Evil” and place the islamist Terrorisme like new enemy of the Occident. They intend to stop it by all the means, founding the concept of “Guerre against terrorism”. It is in this new geopolitical vision that are registered the war of Afghanistan (2001) and that of the Iraq (2003-…).
- See also Chronology of the war against terrorism .
Sources
From a point of view historical, and to a certain extent as at the time the preceding one, the contemporary period implies a superabundance of sources, in particular economic, statistical and demographic.To the 20th century, are added the audio-visual sources who transform the discipline. The Historian must operate strategic choices with regard to the angle of study of a subject. The specialization of the studies is more important and the necessary research of objectivity is pressing.
Among these sources, the data of INSEE, the articles of the daily press or the files of INA occupy for France a privileged place.
External bonds
-
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/culture/france/biblio/folio/essai/03.html “To think the French revolution” France-Diplomacy, editor.
To see too
contemporary|contemporary- Albert Soboul, History of the French revolution , 2 vol., (T. 1, Of the Bastille in the Gironde; T. 2, Of the Mountain with Brumaire), social Editions, 1962, Gallimard, coll Ideas, 1972,1976
- Albert Soboul, the Civilization of the French revolution , T. 1, the crisis of the Old Mode, Arthaud, 1970; II. The French revolution, Paris, Arthaud, 1982.
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