From the eighteenth century to the twenty-first century, the world’s people advocated and organized to reconstruct the world in ways different than they had inherited—for example, through the abolition movement, through nations, through the “Pan-" movements we discussed, through international agreements and institutions, through revolutions, through “swaraj,” through establishment of universal rights. Select three or more of these initiatives to explain what sort of world order their advocates conceived of establishing, how they advocated bringing that about, and what resulted—to what extent and in what ways did they change the world?

The Communist Revolution in Russia sought to bring about a world governed by Marxist principles. These principles would see the transfer of business ownership to the people and the equalizing of most peoples' station in life. Ultimately, it would do away with nations and governments, leading to a singular communist authority that would plan for and provide the needs of every person in the world. Advocates disagreed on how to accomplish this. In Russia, the Communists came to power through revolution. The Russian Communists provided funding, support, and guidance to Communist parties in other European countries in an attempt to either gain control of a country by proxy or to weaken the country through gridlock, thus empowering the Communist message. In less developed countries, the Communists sought to use force and conquest. In the end, the Soviet Union fell, but its impact can be seen in the world today. The corruption of the Russian government, the American military empire, the existence of NATO and other treaty organizations, and the specter of nuclear war are all results of the Communist Revolution in Russia.
The abolition movement sought to end the practice of slavery. Individual abolition movements were mostly interested in ending the practice of slavery in a specific country, though the broader ethos focused on ending the practice of slavery worldwide. Methods were varied: many abolitionists used moral suasion to try to convince slaveholders and society of the evils of slavery, while others focused on political power as a means to force the end of slavery. A minority thought that force was the preferable option and attempted to arm slaves and encourage rebellions. In the United States, this ultimately led to the Civil War, which ended with Reconstruction and the violent backlash against Reconstruction that led to the creation of Jim Crow laws. Much of the American division between Northern and Southern states can be traced back to this. The abolition movement also gave moral arguments to European powers seeking to colonize Africa, as they generally led with the charge that they were seeking to stop the Arab slave trade.
Several different groups have sought to use international agreements to end the continuous cycles of war that have rocked Europe through most of its history. The treaty of Westphalia was likely the first major effort of this type, though the first truly international effort that encompassed more than Europe was the League of Nations. The advocates of these agreements believed that they would allow for the peaceful coexistence of nations and the improvement of humankind. They advocated attaining these goals through peaceful diplomacy and, where war was unavoidable, through the marshaling of troops from many nations against an aggressor. These treaties created webs of alliances and delineated colonial allotments, thus exacerbating colonial ambitions and setting the stage for World War I. The League of Nations was insufficient for its task and ultimately failed to prevent World War II. The United Nations has been better, though it was largely unable to prevent proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the later half of the twentieth century. Ultimately, the impacts of these agreements are best seen in economic and diplomatic integration. Major power war has been prevented, so the aims have been largely successful here—however, other goals related to a larger peace have been unattainable so far.