WriCraft

What is mean by Eurozone & how to join ---Eurozone a) It comprises of 17 nations (out of total 28) who have adopted Euro as the common currency. Euro as a single currency was launched in 1999. b) Britain and Denmark have voluntarily kept out of it - the 'opt-out' states- for reasons of economic sovereignty. c) 'Derogation states' are the EU member nations who are taking steps to adopt Euro. All EU member nations except ‘opt-out states’ have to adopt Euro, though each member is given time to take measures to be eligible to adopt Euro i.e. They are given time to meet the Convergence Criteria. d) The monetary policy for Euro is the sole prerogative of European Central Bank i.e. after joining Eurozone the control of Monetary policy passes on to ECB. Euro Area vs Economic & Monetary Union: All EU Member States are part of Economic and Monetary Union, which means they coordinate their economic policies for the benefit of the EU as a whole. However, not all EU Member S...

How to join EUROPEAN Union: ---- Any European nation can join, subject to, if they demonstrate that they would be complying with all the EU's standards and rules. It must respect and be committed to promotion of democratic values of EU. Applicant must get the consent of the EU institutions and EU member states. It should also get consent of their citizens through resolution in National Parliament or by Referendum. Applicant should meet the “Copenhagen Criteria” established in 1993 for accession which include: 1. Stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and protection of minorities; 2. A functioning market economy and ability to cope with competition and market forces in the EU; 3. The ability to implement the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. 4. The EU rules that the applicant must adopt are non-negotiable. Only the timing and manner of implementation are negotiated.

Terms like Capitalism, Socialism and Communism are frequently used in general parlance, but it is important to understand the underlying meaning and philosophies behind these terms. These terms collectively denote the different socio-economic systems in use across the world. For greater clarity, general principles of these political philosophies have been explained below. A) Capitalism :--Capitalist system of organizing the state and society is based on the principles that- there should be private ownership of country’s wealth, the economy works on the principle of Laissez Faire i.e. the market forces determine the economic policies and there is no command economy. The State does not tell the industry what to produce, when to produce and how to produce. Also, under the Capitalist system, there is no special protection provided to the working class. The worker is just another factor of production like capital and land (Factors of production are the inputs required for producing the fin...

Major events before WW I :--- 1. Moroccan Crisis (1905-6):-- In 1904-5 Britain and France had signed Entente Cordiale with a clause that Britain’s control over Sudan and Egypt would be recognized by France and the special rights of France over Morocco would be recognized by Britain. Morocco (African country) Germany became anxious of increasing French influence in Morocco. It pledged to maintain independence of Morocco and called a conference. But Italy, Spain, Russia and Britain supported France in the conference and the latter got control over Moroccan Banks and Police. This was a diplomatic defeat for Germany. 2. Britain-Russia Agreement of 1907: --- It ended their disputes in Asia. Afghanistan and Tibet were recognized as British spheres of influence and Iran was divided into three zones with the North recognized as Russian zone, the central area as a buffer and the South as British zone. Russia hoped to get British investments for its industrial development after t...

Two Opium Wars (1840-2 and 1858 ):----- In the 19th century, China had a weak government in form of Manchu dynasty. Britain had become a major trade partner but it had a huge trade deficit as China was self sufficient and imported little from the West. The British were facing the burden of this trade deficit as the Chinese accepted only precious metals like Gold as payment for exports to Britain (especially Tea and Silk). Opium War As a solution to this problem, the British started exchanging Opium as payment. This was opposed by China and resulted in Opium Wars in 1840-2 and 1858. After the first Opium war, British took over Hong Kong and extracted trade concessions from China. They also established British sovereignty over the trading centers. China was coerced into giving up the opposition to trade with the West. Major ports of China were opened to British trade and residence. Free trade was imposed on China. This meant that British could trade with any Chinese trader and custom dut...

• UNIFICATION OF ITALY :--- Unification of Italy was a two-step process. In the first step, it had to gain independence from Austria and secondly, it had to unite the consequent independent Italian states into a single unit. Garibaldi Mazzini and Garibaldi were revolutionaries who played an important role in this process. Mazzini had formed an organization named Young Italy in 1831 for unification of Italy. From 1831 onwards, Young Italy repeatedly attempted revolts against the Monarchy but all of them failed to establish a democratic and united Italy. Yet, Young Italy enthused the people for a united Italy under a liberal government. Unification of Italy •ROLE OF 1848 REVOLTS:--- THE 1848 revolts were led by intellectuals and liberals who were against the reactionary Austrian control and wanted a liberal government. These revolts did usher in democratic reforms, but neither did these result in independence from Austria nor the consolidation of the states into a united Ital...

• UNIFICATION OF GERMANY : - --One of the major events of 19th  century Europe was struggle for national unification and independence. Greece and Belgium became independent in this century and Germany and Italy rose as united independent states . • SOCIO--ECONOMIC CONDITIONS:- -- The social conditions were similar to those witnessed in any Feudal society. In Germany, the landlords were called Junkers, who dominated the affairs of the state. Economically, the division of Germany into multiple states resulted in poor economic development because of restrictions these states brought on free movement of goods. The backward socio-political system also contributed to the poor economic situation. • ROLE OF NAPOLEONIC WARS & FRENCH REVOLUTION IN 18th CENTURY :-- was divided into many states. The Napoleonic wars ended the artificial boundaries of many states and united them, but still 38 states remained. Prussia was the biggest and the most powerful of them. After ...