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Article: Political Geography of the Twentieth Century: A Global Analysis.
- Article from:
- The Geographical Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 American Geographical Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As the nineteenth century ended and the twentieth century dawned, educated Westerners vigorously debated the future of European civilization. The end of the nineteenth century, or fin de siecle, was the zenith of European domination of the world economy. Since the time of Columbus the European-centered world economy had expanded to encompass the entire planet. A large majority of the world population lived in countries ruled from European capitals. Yet fin-de-siecle thinkers were already recognizing the decline of European dominance of the world political economy. European colonial powers were stalemated or defeated in the Spanish-American, Boer, and Russo-Japanese wars. All ...