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The World Is Starting To Feel Like 1936 (Not Good)
A healthy dose of expanding conflicts, global instability, and militarism
One of the things that is largely lost in the shadow of World War II was the state of the world in the lead-up to the start of the war. While most people know about the rise of fascism in Europe and the territorial ambitions of Nazi Germany, few people have put together a complete mental picture of the overall state of the world during this critical time. The years preceding World War II were filled with conflict and strife paired with dubious leadership on all sides. The results speak for themselves, but it is concerning to think that 2023 (and the rapidly approaching 2024) are starting to feel a lot like 1936.
Numerous conflicts were ongoing in 1936, including the Spanish Civil War (which dragged arms and money from numerous foreign actors), the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and the Arab Revolt in the Middle East. 1936 also saw Germany violate the Treaty of Versailles and start to rearm in the Rhineland. The world stage in 1936 was chaos. The geopolitical landscape today is very similar to that of 1936.
Today, there is a major proxy war going on in Ukraine, which has echoes of the Spanish Civil War, with two sides pouring money and materials into the…
