The Great Powers and the Decline of the European States System, 1914-1945

Ross charts out the main movements in European diplomacy from 1914 to 1945. Prior to this period, there was the "traditional" system of several imperial European powers, interacting through war and peace in modes that had not changed for decades. Perhaps centuries. Yet by considering the two world wars and the interwar years as a whole, Ross depicts how the old imperialisms collapsed. Through the narrative, this trend is played out. With hindsight, we can see the futility of various well meaning efforts, like the diplomacies of the League of Nations. Ultimately, all this culminated in the conflagation of World War 2 and the ascension of the United States and the Soviet Union.