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CHAPTER TWO
Perspectives on World History
World history, for a realist, is largely a cyclical phenomenon. Over the past 5,000 years, human society has swung back and forth between empire and equilibrium. Realists point to the rise and fall of great civilizations like the those of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Aztecs to illustrate this principle. The last 500 years have seen a greater tendency toward equilibrium than empire, as the rise of the modern nation-state has led to a decentralized system with an emphasis on state sovereignty. Liberals, on the other hand, view history as more of a linear progression. Rather than seeing it as an endless cycle between empire and equilibrium, they point toward the ever-increasing complexity of human society to demonstrate the emergence of a genuine global village. The last few centuries, with the Industrial and Information Revolutions, have witnessed the continuation of this trend. Finally, the identity perspective emphasizes the development of ideas. It looks at humanity's intellectual evolution, from mythology to the Renaissance to the Enlightenment and beyond, and how these ideational traditions have impacted the course of history.
Study Questions
- Starting at 3000 BCE, name at least one empire or major civilization for each millennium. How long did each last, approximately?
- Compare and contrast the realists' view of history with the liberals' view of history. What evidence do the two possess to substantiate their interpretations?
- What historical phenomena does the identity perspective highlight? Does it, like the liberal perspective, believe in the progression of history?
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