A Retrospective on 150 Years of World Politics

With the funding of Opus Magnum,approved in November 2024 by the Volkswagen Foundation, Prof. Dr. Jan Eckel, chair of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Freiburg’s History Department and member of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Constitution as Practice in Times of Transformation (ConTrans)’, will receive to cover the costs of a full professorship replacement for a period of 18 months, during which time he will focus on his academic publication project Die Geschichte der Weltpolitik seit dem späten 19. Jahrhundert (The History of World Politics since the Late 19th Century). The book project is the first attempt to examine the history of international and transnational politics of the past 150 years from a global perspective and in five thematic sections: the history of conflict and violence; the expansion and dissolution of colonial rule; transnational attempts at governance; the relationship between the economy and the global political order; and contemporary interpretations of world politics.

What motivated you to tackle the book project? Do you have a particular research interest?

“Since the 1990s, the concept of the political in historical studies has expanded considerably. In these years, the field of research has produced a wealth of insightful studies that have shown, through the analysis of smaller periods and regions, how complex and condensed processes of international politics are. However, new overarching interpretations in this field have been rare so far. With the help of a synthetic view of world politics since the late 19th century, I hope to combine the diverse research that has profoundly changed the image of world political developments in recent years. At the same time, the project responds to the need to place current events in the context of longer-term historical developments. New, long-term perspectives may help to place current events in a larger picture.”

How has the political concept of history expanded in recent decades?

“In this period, a series of inherited historical interpretative patterns have lost their power of persuasion. These include the narrow focus on state relations and Europe-centred perspectives, but also strongly determined ideas of the all-determining formative power of the world wars and the Cold War. However, if we want to understand transregional entanglements, we must recognise both the Global South as a decisive player in the struggle for international order and non-state actors such as multinational companies, international organisations like the United Nations (UN) or the global trading system, NGOs or religious institutions like the Catholic Church.”

The last 150 years have been characterised by international and transnational interdependence – which factors and dynamics have particularly influenced political action during this period?

“In the late 19th century, the structural conditions of international politics changed, with consequences for everything from the waging of war and expansion to economic systems. During this period, strong centralised governments emerged in the global North, with increasing military, economic and administrative control options – there was an abrupt increase in the political power of states. In connection with this, many regions in the Global South were colonised or made economically dependent in the course of imperial expansion. These power imbalances continue to have an impact today in the wake of decolonisation. Particularly in the 20th century, international interdependence intensified, not only between states, but also in the form of alliances with non-state actors, which have a significant influence on economic, social and political processes. After both world wars, for example, the UN, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were founded. The idea that global problems can only be overcome if cross-border rules and principles apply to institutions, markets and societies – later to be referred to as ‘globalisation’ – is influential in this context. Interdependence was therefore also a reaction to conflicts and wars or arose in the face of major human problems.”

How have conflicts changed since the end of the 19th century?

“A global political struggle for supremacy is underway, which in some cases continues to this day. The Cold War is one of the most formative phases of this. But it is not only the struggle between world powers that is part of this, but also conflicts over the formation of nations, such as in the Balkans in the 1890s, in Eastern Europe during the age of the world wars or in the post-colonial world since the 1960s. These are usually very violent disputes over the political, economic, territorial and social order of a particular state. Many conflicts can only be understood if their multidimensional character is recognised. Domestic disputes are often complex and are further intertwined with international antagonisms. They are influenced by both state and non-state actors. One example is the Russian Civil War at the end of the First World War: in addition to the struggle between revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, the Bolshevik state waged a territorial war with Poland. Furthermore, the Western Allies and Japan sent troops into the country. Around the same time, there were huge peasant uprisings against the Bolshevik reorganisation of the rural areas, the suppression of which degenerated into full-blown guerrilla warfare. However, similarly complex conflicts also occurred during the Cold War and in the Global South.”

What does the funding mean for you and your day-to-day work?

“Time is precious in the daily life of a professor. For me, the funding is an extraordinary opportunity to realise such a comprehensive and time-consuming book project and to be able to devote myself to the topic without major distractions. The aim is to produce a book that is primarily aimed at a specialist audience, but also at people interested in politics outside the field of historical studies.”