Response to Christopher Clarks Sleepwalker
Please read this selection of excerpts from The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by
Christopher Clark. In reference to Clark's conclusions presented in these three excerpts, how would you evaluate the power, authority and wisdom of one or more contemporary or recent leaders in the international sphere? Limit your response to 500 words.
Christopher Clarks (excerpts of the) book „The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914“ presents an uncommon and interesting pathway to understand the genesis of World War I. By choosing the agent-based approach and breaking with illustrations of the narrative perspective in
Part II, the historian unquestioned contributes to see the complexity of the 1914 crisis, which he described as „the most complex [event] of modern times, perhaps of any time so far“.
Arguing, that the events of 1914 only make sense, by focussing on the question „how“ World War I happened, in oder to „illuminate the journey travelled by the key decision-makers“, he indeed gave profound evidence for his observations, that the executive structureshave been „far from being unified“. Additionally, both the power of the foreign ministers to shape foreign policy and the
„traction“ of the three monarchs at this time has been fluctuated. Thus, he came to the conclusion, that the crucial conditions, which unfold the 1914 crisis, are „short-range, contingent realignments“.
In order to make that point, Clark includes the contemporary financial crisis in the Eurozone as a comparable case. Starting with the first commonality, that both the 1914 and the financial crisis are complex events, he argued, that the political actors in both cases have been aware, „that there was a possible outcome that would be generally catastrophic“. However, I believe, that the 1914 actors haven´t been aware about an war of that dimension as a consequence, while the political leaders in the financial crises acted by knowing comparable events from the past.
Christopher Clark. In reference to Clark's conclusions presented in these three excerpts, how would you evaluate the power, authority and wisdom of one or more contemporary or recent leaders in the international sphere? Limit your response to 500 words.
Christopher Clarks (excerpts of the) book „The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914“ presents an uncommon and interesting pathway to understand the genesis of World War I. By choosing the agent-based approach and breaking with illustrations of the narrative perspective in
Part II, the historian unquestioned contributes to see the complexity of the 1914 crisis, which he described as „the most complex [event] of modern times, perhaps of any time so far“.
Arguing, that the events of 1914 only make sense, by focussing on the question „how“ World War I happened, in oder to „illuminate the journey travelled by the key decision-makers“, he indeed gave profound evidence for his observations, that the executive structureshave been „far from being unified“. Additionally, both the power of the foreign ministers to shape foreign policy and the
„traction“ of the three monarchs at this time has been fluctuated. Thus, he came to the conclusion, that the crucial conditions, which unfold the 1914 crisis, are „short-range, contingent realignments“.
In order to make that point, Clark includes the contemporary financial crisis in the Eurozone as a comparable case. Starting with the first commonality, that both the 1914 and the financial crisis are complex events, he argued, that the political actors in both cases have been aware, „that there was a possible outcome that would be generally catastrophic“. However, I believe, that the 1914 actors haven´t been aware about an war of that dimension as a consequence, while the political leaders in the financial crises acted by knowing comparable events from the past.