Economic, financial and commercial strength, as well as energy resources, are undoubtedly among the most important foundations of the status and influence of individual states and blocs on the global stage, thereby representing major determinants of the hierarchy of power in the new world order. Historically, significant economic events have contributed to shaping major changes in the world system, a prime example being the Great Depression that struck following the collapse of stock prices in Wall Street on October 29, 1929, leading to devastating global consequences. Economic activities stalled, unemployment soared to unprecedented levels and countries moved toward commercial protectionism against imports.

Given the economic chaos that reigned in the aftermath of the Great Depression, it is no surprise to see the emergence of some attendant fanatic, nationalistic, and ethnocentric tendencies—such as the Nazi movement in Germany led by Adolf Hitler. Nazism gained currency in Germany because many Germans felt humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919 following World War I. The treaty imposed harsh economic, political and social sanctions on Germany, as well as a raft of related, punitive economic and security requirements.

It is also not surprising that the Great Depression continued in the United States of America for nearly a decade, which only began to recover after its entry into war against Nazi Germany in 1941 and the massive consequent war spending that created jobs and stimulated the economy.