Must History Repeat the Great Conflicts of This Century?

By: Joseph S. Nye Jr., The Great Courses

Narrated by: Joseph S. Nye Jr.

Twice in the first half of the last century, the great powers engaged in wars that killed nearly 70 million people, with the aftermath of each shaking the international political system, changing the maps of the world, and setting the scene for the next great conflict. And for most of the past 50 years, the Cold War dominated international politics. Is this the history we are condemned to repeat?

This series of eight lectures about international politics will hone your ability to approach that question with knowledge and insight. It reveals how concepts such as the balance of power and the international system interweave with and help shape history, showing you what actually happened in the great conflicts and why. The lectures will help you answer many of the key questions those concerned with creating a stable peace must answer every day; did the end of the Cold War bring peace and harmony or war and chaos? Does the United States play a dominant role in international affairs or is its role declining? Is military power still the key to world leadership, or has economic power become more important? Should the United States attempt to play the role of global police force, or should it withdraw from its overseas military commitments?

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1991 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1991 The Great Courses

Consideration

Someone mentioned that this was a dated course and that we don’t gain anything by the last lecture looking forward. But this ignores something that I think is the best part of this course: we get to take those future predictions and see what was right and what was wrong. We get to take everything in the preceding five hours and discuss, with ourselves or with others, the decades between the class and today. And that’s worth a consideration. That’s worth not discounting.

Excelent !

A great opportunity of hearing a great social politic lecture direct from an undisputed auctority. It's also ver didatic and entretaining.

Great content, but dated.

There is no question that this is packed with knowledge. It would be great to get an update given how old the lecture is.

Great refresher

This course is a great refresher for the casual world history student, in that it assumes the listener has a general base of knowledge.

Dated

Dated—recorded in the early 90s. Principles are good but anything looking forward is cute but not useful.

INTELLIGENT INSIGHTFUL - MOST CRUCIAL LISTEN TODAY

In December 1942 everything changed.
With CP1 "Chicago Pile #1", the first controlled chain reaction, weapons of mass destruction was becoming reality.

There is nothing like war to cause destruction and misery. With every war started we see technological advancements creating even more destruction and misery.

Technological progress can be seen. The moral, ethical, diplomatic, conflict resolution, strategic progress is severely lacking.

Prof. Nye does an absolutely amazing job in answering the most important question for our times: Must History Repeat the Great Conflicts of This Century?

It's a wonderful high-level systems-thinking exposé which will provide deeper insights and principles which enable all of us to learn from the past, to use insights, and apply to current day situations, and extrapolate to potential future consequences. These patterns are supported by crucial historical events that show the how, why and when.

With Russia having invaded Ukraine, and the highly dangerous pundit-smorgasbord of opinions offered (all the same) with moral outrage, and essentially completely lacking strategic thought, I fear for the future of the world.

One thing is sure: In the past, each war has bred resentment and hatred which is fed into the next to become even worse than the previous one. War is about contingent history, a careful web woven by our analysis and actions.

Like Einstein said: We cannot solve our current problems with our old way of thinking.
The same goes for this. If we are to put an end to total destruction of the planet, we had all better sit down and try to learn, and think rationally and strategically about foreign relations.

I fear what is to come.
This Great Courses will be the most important one you listen to in your whole life.
(Hopefully along with others!)

Good audiobook content and narration

The audiobook title is quite misleading. It is mostly about how WW1 and WW2 started and the dynamics. This Great courses is included as "free" in Audible Plus. Good explanation by professor.

“Beware of historians with bad analogies.”

1 Continuity and Change in World Politics

2 What Is an International System?

3 The Balance of Power and Its Problems

4 The Origins of the First World War

5 The Problems and Promise of Collective Security

6 The Origins of the Second World War

7 The Origins of the Cold War

8 Alternatives to the Present International System

This course was first released in 1991 so it was before the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of terrorism in the world, but I found it very enlightening and still relevant for today. I wish President Bush and his cabinet had listened to this course before plunging us in another war with Iraq, but what is happened.

Professor Nye gives a promising scenario for the future of the world and the United States in these lectures. The first three (around 45 minutes in length) lectures explain International politics and systems and how important the Balance of Power is.

The next three explain the origins of the World Wars and the different scenarios that could have happened instead of global conflicts. I have always thought that they were inevitable but through his perspective, I can see how things could have been different.

The seventh chapter takes on the Cold War and how it happened and if it was necessary. I found it fascinating.

My favorite lecture was his last on what the future may hold for us as a nation and the world at large. While he didn’t take on China or terrorism directly, he did show the way to a peaceful future in a global economy. If the world relies on each country for its economic base, than why would we want to fight? If we use democracy as a helpful tool for the poorer nations of the world, it is less likely that democracies fight each other.

This audible edition came with a pdf file with course notes which was very helpful.

I loved these lectures and it helped me understand why the world is so screwed up, but it also showed me why history doesn’t have to repeat itself.

well done by a true expert

balanced, engaging, and thoughtful course. It may be a bit dated, but still very much relevant.

Dated but good.

Very interesting to listen to with the hindsight of over 25 years. The ability to go back and see what people were thinking before the final fall of the Soviet Union is a good reminder of the way the future is not inevitable.