Browsing by Subject "First World War"

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Open Access
Depicting the enemy : Russians and Ottomans in the press during the First World War
(2007) Zardykhan, Zharmukhamed
The intricate course of events that led both the Russian and Ottoman Empires towards the Great War had been the culmination of long-lasting domestic and international developments, which were reflected in their policies towards the other side. However, despite the ardent hatred and evident enmity that prevailed over the Russo-Ottoman relations for centuries, both of these empires were faced with similar problems of political, socioeconomic and national character that distinguished them from the rest of Europe and Asia. Whether out of hopelessness, inevitability, greater expectations or simply as a precious opportunity to rehabilitate their former reputation, seriously damaged after iv the humiliating Russo-Japanese and Balkan wars, the levying of war against their historical enemies deeply affected each countries' entire population. The effect was particularly strong because of the advanced and elaborate total war propaganda techniques employed primarily by the press, while the religious, nationalistic and historical aspects of the confrontation made the propaganda warfare a diverse and complicated battlefield. The main objective of this work is the presentation, comparison and analysis of a great variety of controversial pieces of information related to the Russo-Ottoman confrontation prior to and during the First World War. This information reveals personal prejudice, ethnic, religious and political affiliation of the authors, as well as deliberate attempts to spread misinformation and propaganda.
Open Access
An investigation of the weights of pattern 1907 bayonets made in the UK around the First World War period
(Routledge, 2017) Ballard, J. M.; Bennett, J.
The standard issue bayonet of the British Army immediately preceding and during the First World War was the Pattern 1907. This was manufactured at different times and in varying numbers during that period by one official body, the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, and by five private contractors. These bayonets were made according to published official specifications issued by the War Department and based on a ‘pattern example’ provided by the Royal Small Arms Factory. The specifications indicate, inter alia, the quality of metal used in making the bayonets, methods of inspection and proofing, and the required maximum and minimum weight range of the completed bayonet. However, examination of a series of these bayonets in a private collection suggested that their weights varied considerably from the mid-point values of the allowed weight ranges in the original and amended specifications (16.5 oz. and 17 oz., respectively). To establish if this was a common feature among this class of bayonet as opposed to a chance factor, the weights of other surviving Pattern 1907 bayonets were determined and compared to establish the degree of variance from the official specifications as originally set out by the Royal Small Arms Factory. Seventy-six percent of the 142 bayonets surveyed were found to be above the mid-point of the allowed weight range given in the amended manufacturing specifications, with many being at the upper end of the allowed range. This is a statistically unusual result. It is speculated that the target weight may have been deliberately set higher by the individual manufacturers to eliminate the possibility of rejection of any underweight bayonets by the Royal Small Arms Factory inspectors and so a refusal of acceptance and payment for the work
Open Access
Revisiting the British Idealist theory of rights: the younger generation of British Idealists and their internationalist approach to human rights
(2018-09) Kaymaz, Nazlı Pınar
This dissertation aims to put forward a historical account of the younger generation of British Idealists’ approach to international relations and human rights. By focusing on pre-Great War and post-Great War periods it reveals the shift that occurred in their approbation of T. H. Green’s theory of rights. It argues that the Great War served as a deterrent for the younger generation of British Idealists, as it did for other liberal British intellectuals, from perceiving the empire as a plausible and/or sustainable international order. Realizing the incompatibility of the paternalistic approach to supposedly ‘savage’ peoples with the basic tenets of British Idealist political philosophy, they redirected their attention to extending Green’s understanding of rights to international sphere. Thus, a close reading of their work, especially on the post-Great War period reveals an early attempt of translating Green’s theory of rights into a human rights theory. When contemporary attempts to develop a British Idealist theory of human rights is considered, this study not only contributes to a better and ‘more nuanced’ understanding of British Idealists’ approach to international relations but also draws attention to a pristine British Idealist theory of human rights developed in the post-Great War era.
Open Access
"Wilson VS. Lenin" revisited: The contending ideas of a new world order
(2018-06) Deniz, Mert
The Great War brought destruction and death when it got unleashed with the bullet of an assassin in 1914. Yet, this was also the beginning of a New Order as much as being the end of the Old Order. The forerunners of this New Era carne from two distinct corners of the world, namely America and Russia when Thomas Woodrow Wilson and Vladimir Ilyich "Lenin" Ulyanov proposed their peace formulae with the Fourteen Points of January 1918 and the Soviet Peace Decree of October 1917. This study provides an analysis of the differences and parallels between these formulae. In order to meet this objective, the individual biographies of Wilson and Lenin, and the histories of the United States and Russia are examined in detail as it is argued that the given features of these declarations were the consequences of the different personal experiences and cultural backgrounds of these two leaders as well as the domestic issues and histories of their countries. The study is structured around the main argument that Wilson and Lenin recognized the Great War as the ultimate crisis of the Old World with their parallel arguments. They saw the end of the Imperial Era, and in this matter, they offered new military, diplomatic and economic norms of the New World. Nevertheless, Wilson and Lenin had very different reasons, methods and designs for the New Order. These different discourses were the origins of both order and disorder of the New Era.