ABSTRACT
The stability of a regional or world system depends on the intensity of the tensions generated by contradictory forces, and on the capacity of its most influential members to understand the nature and causes of the strains, and control or defuse them. A more peaceful and stable international environment did not follow the end of the First World War. Instead, it gave way to the rise of distinct and cacophonous ideologies, advocated by some of the world's leading powers.
