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Video

Was World War I the Error of Modern History?
In this interview, Ferguson discusses whether World War I was a mistake.

Personality and Power: The Case of Otto von Bismarck
This presentation, hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, centers on German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck; Prof. Jonathan Steinberg, the speaker, is the author of a biography of Bismarck.

The League of Nations At Work
The video shows the beginnings of the League of Nations, the idealist organization initially conceived by Pres. Wilson.

1. If the United States had joined the League of Nations, would the international organization have been strengthened to the point they could have stopped WWII?
2. What was the realist argument against the League of Nations?

Sykes Picot
This video demonstrates the importance of the agreement by the major powers to divide the spheres of influence in the Middle East at the end of WWI. Many believe that it led to the Middle East tensions of today. 

1. From a realist point of view, why did the Sykes Picot agreement make sense?
2. If the original borders of the Middle Eastern states had been left, would the tensions in the Middle East be at the present levels?

Web Resources

The Great War

The First World War (BBC)

First World War
These three websites provide multimedia histories of World War I, featuring primary documents, photographs, encyclopedias and glossaries, and memoirs, diaries, and letters.

Milestones: 1914–1920
This page, run by the State Department’s Office of the Historian, gives an overview of World War I and its immediate aftermath (including the Paris Peace Conference and the founding of the League of Nations).