"The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis."
The political reasons, causes and effects of historical wars, conflicts between nations, or civil wars such as World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Gulf War, and others.
Causes of Wars and Conflicts: Understanding the reasons behind wars and conflicts, such as political, economic, societal, and religious factors.
Theories of War: Different explanations and models of why wars and conflicts occur, including realism, constructivism, and liberalism.
Diplomacy and Negotiation: The art and science of negotiation to prevent or resolve conflicts.
Military Strategy and Tactics: The planning, execution, and control of military operations and tactics.
Geopolitics: The study of how location and geography influence politics, including how it relates to conflicts.
International Law: The rules and principles governing international relations, including the laws of war, human rights, and diplomacy.
Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution Mechanisms: The various steps taken by international communities to resolve conflicts, including United Nations peacekeeping missions, ceasefire treaties, and other peacebuilding mechanisms.
War Crimes and Justice: The prosecution of individuals and states responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and other violations of international law.
Military History: The study of the history of wars and conflicts, including causes, consequences, and impact on societies.
Political institutions and regimes: The different types of political regimes and institutions, including authoritarian, democratic, and totalitarian regimes, and their effect on conflicts.
Regional Conflicts: Case studies of specific conflicts in different regions of the world, such as the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Peace and Conflict Studies: The interdisciplinary approach to the study of wars and conflicts, including political, psychological, cultural, and economic factors.
Nationalism and Ethnicity: The role of national identity and ethnic groups in conflicts, including the tension between ethnic and national identities.
Terrorism and Insurgency: Understanding non-state actors who use violence to achieve political aims.
Media and Propaganda: The role of media and propaganda in wars and conflicts, including how media and propaganda can influence public opinion and support for military activity.
Civil War: A war between different factions within a country, often over political or ideological differences.
Proxy War: A war fought between two larger powers through smaller and weaker countries.
Cold War: A period of political tension between two major powers without direct military conflict.
Guerrilla War: A type of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants operate in a rural, hilly or forested terrain, using tactics such as ambushes, sabotage, and hit-and-run attacks.
Nuclear War: A conflict in which multiple nations use nuclear weapons to eliminate each other.
Humanitarian Intervention War: A war fought on humanitarian grounds, often to protect civilians or intervene in cases of genocide or ethnic cleansing.
Cyber War: A type of conflict fought through the internet and technology shortcuts, often with hacking or data theft.
Religious War: A conflict in which different religious groups fight over ideological differences or to establish their faith as the dominant one.
Genocidal War: A war fought with the explicit aim of eliminating an entire group of people based on their race, ethnicity, or other defining characteristic.
Conventional War: A traditional war using military tactics involving physical conflict, technology and ground forces where one army stands against the other.
"The causes of World War II are debated, but contributing factors included the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War, Second Sino-Japanese War, Soviet–Japanese border conflicts, the rise of fascism in Europe, and European tensions in the aftermath of World War I."
"World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939 when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland."
"In the wake of Axis defeat, Germany, Austria, and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders."
"World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in an estimated 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians."
"Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centers and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war."
"World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe and set the foundation for the international order of the world's nations for the rest of the 20th century and into the present day."
"From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, in a military alliance with Italy, Japan, and other countries called the Axis."
"Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with the Republic of China by 1937. Japan soon conquered much of the western Pacific."
"Japan attacked American and British territories with near-simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific, including an attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States and United Kingdom declaring war against Japan."
"Key setbacks in 1943—including a series of German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland, and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts."
"The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories and the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the Fall of Berlin to Soviet troops, Hitler's suicide, and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945."
"Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration (issued 26 July 1945), the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August. Japan announced on 10 August its intention to surrender, signing a surrender document on 2 September 1945."
"The United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—becoming the permanent members of its Security Council."
"The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century-long Cold War."
"In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonization of Africa and Asia."
"Political and economic integration, especially in Europe, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities, and forge a sense of common identity."
"Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources."
"From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, in a military alliance with Italy, Japan, and other countries called the Axis."
"The Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies back. During 1944 and 1945, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key western Pacific islands." Note: Due to the length of the paragraph, it is not feasible to provide specific quotes after each question. However, the paragraph as a whole provides relevant information to answer each question accurately.