The Global 1930s (PDF)

Decentering the traditional narrative of American breadlines, Soviet show trials and German fascists, The Global 1930s takes a truly international approach to exploring this turbulent decade. Though nationalism was prevalent throughout this period, Matera and Kent contend that the 1930s are better characterized by the development of internationalist impulses and transnational connections, and this volume illlustrates how the familiar events of this decade shaped and were shaped by a much wider global context.

Thematically organized, this book is divided into four main parts, covering the evolving concept and trappings of modernism, growing political and cultural internationalism, the global economic crisis and challenges to liberalism. Chapters discuss topics such as the rivalry between imperial powers, colonial migration and race relations, rising anti-colonial sentiments, feminism and gender dynamics around the world, the Great Depression and its far-reaching repercussions, the spread of both communist and fascist political ideologies and the descent once more into global warfare.

This book deftly interrogates the western-focused historical tropes of the interwar years, emphasizing the importance and interconnectedness of events in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Wide-ranging and comprehensive, it is essential and fascinating reading for all students of the international history of the 1930s.