World War I will be analyzed as a breakthrough phenomenon that ignited the era of dictatorships and the end of liberal civilization. The Russian revolution and the formation and consolidation of Soviet communism are treated as a singular response in the European context, albeit influencing the course of political regimes in the West.

The "Roaring Twenties," the Great Depression and the New Deal will be studied within the framework of American exceptionality. Lastly, the Spanish Civil War and the European and global tensions of the 1930s will be contextualized as preludes to World War II.