Map Comparison: First World War's Impact on European Borders and Future Geopolitical Changes
Overview
This essay examines how the First World War (1914-1919) redrew the European map through the collapse of major empires and creation of new nation-states. The author argues that understanding these historical border changes provides insight into how future events such as climate change may similarly reshape European borders and geographic boundaries.
What this essay covers
- Historical overview of First World War's impact on European borders and the collapse of Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires
- Analysis of specific territorial changes resulting in new nations including Poland, Finland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, and Turkey
- Exploration of how climate change may produce comparable future border transformations through desertification, flooding, and environmental displacement
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Map Comparison
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Map Comparison
In the past centuries, several significant events have changed the world's map. One of the events that had significant impacts on several borders across the globe was the First World War. It is a war that took place between 1914 and 1919 and involved more than 30 nations. Notably, one of the First World War effects was that it redrew the world map and reshaped many borders across Europe (Zhurzhenko, 2011). There are several occurrences in the war that significantly affected the European map. One of them was the collapse of the Russian Empire resulted in the creation of nations such as Poland, Baltics, and Finland (Zhurzhenko, 2011). At the same time, the Austro-Hungarian Empire also dissolved, giving rise to nations like Austria, Yugoslavia, and Hungary while the Ottoman Empire again collapsed and led to the establishment of Turkey (Zhurzhenko, 2011). In this sense, looking at the maps indicates that the First World War was essential in reshaping European nations' borders.
The European border changes witnessed during the First World War can help predict probable changes in the future. One of the concepts learned is that borders are not immutable and can change with time. Similar to the First World War, events such as climate change will have massive impacts on the European borders. One of the likely changes is some parts such as Southern Europe facing massive droughts and later move to central and Western Europe.