After you've read each chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Contrast the cultural and intellectual developments of the fin de siècle with earlier 19th century developments;
2. Explain imperialism's causes and impact on the West and the world;
3. Discuss common problems facing turnofthecentury European democracies and autocracies;
4. Assess the extent to which social factors undermined the Russian regime;
5. Describe contributing factors to the outbreak of war in 1914.