台北書緣 (39)：The Spectre of War by Jonathan Haslam《戰爭幽靈》：第二次世界大戰的根源：各大洲普遍存在的共產主義的恐懼。《後革命時代的中國》。Biden warns Putin against threatening Ukraine

 

《後革命時代的中國》

Princeton University Press 

For the history buff on your Holiday Shopping list, The Spectre of War by Jonathan Haslam offers a bold new history showing that the fear of Communism was a major factor in the outbreak of World War II. https://hubs.ly/Q010h8NM0

The Spectre of War looks at a subject we thought we knew—the roots of the Second World War—and upends our assumptions with a masterful new interpretation. Looking beyond traditional explanations based on diplomatic failures or military might, Jonathan Haslam explores the neglected thread connecting them all: the fear of Communism prevalent across continents during the interwar period. Marshalling an array of archival sources, including records from the Communist International, Haslam transforms our understanding of the deep-seated origins of World War II, its conflicts, and its legacy.

Haslam offers a panoramic view of Europe and northeast Asia during the 1920s and 1930s, connecting fascism’s emergence with the impact of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. World War I had economically destabilized many nations, and the threat of Communist revolt loomed large in the ensuing social unrest. As Moscow supported Communist efforts in France, Spain, China, and beyond, opponents such as the British feared for the stability of their global empire, and viewed fascism as the only force standing between them and the Communist overthrow of the existing order. The appeasement and political misreading of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy that followed held back the spectre of rebellion—only to usher in the later advent of war.

Illuminating ideological differences in the decades before World War II, and the continuous role of pre- and postwar Communism, The Spectre of War provides unprecedented context for one of the most momentous calamities of the twentieth century.

《戰爭幽靈》著眼於我們自以為知道的主題——第二次世界大戰的根源——並以精湛的新解釋顛覆了我們的假設。超越基於外交失敗或軍事實力的傳統解釋，喬納森·哈斯拉姆探索了將它們聯繫在一起的被忽視的線索：在兩次世界大戰期間，對各大洲普遍存在的共產主義的恐懼。哈斯拉姆整理了一系列檔案資料，包括共產國際的記錄，改變了我們對二戰根源、衝突和遺產的理解。

哈斯拉姆提供了 1920 年代和 1930 年代歐洲和東北亞的全景，將法西斯主義的出現與 1917 年布爾什維克革命的影響聯繫起來。第一次世界大戰在經濟上破壞了許多國家的穩定，在隨之而來的社會動盪中，共產主義叛亂的威脅迫在眉睫。由於莫斯科支持共產主義在法國、西班牙、中國等地的努力，英國等反對者擔心其全球帝國的穩定，並認為法西斯主義是他們與共產主義推翻現有秩序的唯一力量。隨之而來的納粹德國和法西斯意大利的綏靖和政治誤讀阻止了叛亂的幽靈——只會導致後來戰爭的到來。

二戰前幾十年的意識形態差異，以及戰前和戰後共產主義的持續作用，戰爭幽靈為二十世紀最重大的災難之一提供了前所未有的背景。

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After speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden was expected to hold a call with European allies.Doug Mills/The New York Times

Biden warns Putin against threatening Ukraine

President Biden spoke with President Vladimir Putin of Russia via video chat and warned him that there would be economic consequences if he continued to increase Russia’s troop presence around Ukraine, according to the White House.

The meeting came at a high-stakes moment as tens of thousands of Russian troops have gathered along the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an invasion. Biden has tasked himself with protecting Ukraine, a democratic ally whose security U.S. officials have promised to defend.

Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, declined to go into detail about the consequences facing Russia.

“I will look you in the eye and tell you as President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today that things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now,” Sullivan said. In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

On the ground: Ukrainian soldiers have seen little evidence of escalation, but after eight years in the trenches, they wearily anticipate that the Russian military will come sooner or later.

Related: U.S. officials told Congress that Germany had agreed to shut down its gas pipeline that runs through Russia if Putin’s troops invade Ukraine, according to Reuters.