AP Euro Chapter Terms: Ch. 29 — End of the Cold War

ABM Treaty of 1972

restricted development and deployment of anti-ballistic missiles for US and USSR

Abstract Expressionism

a New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractions

Albert Camus

French writer who portrayed the human condition as isolated in an absurd world; 1913-1960

Andy Warhol

United States artist who was a leader of the pop art movement; 1930-1987

Boris Yeltsin

President of the Russian Republic in 1991; helped end the USSR and force Gorbachev to resign

Brezhnev Doctrine

Soviet Union and its allies had the right to intervene in any socialist country whenever they saw the need

Chechens

Muslim people that desire a homeland from Russia in the Caucasus Mountain region

Chernobyl

nuclear power plant in Russia that had an explosion in 1986 and released radioactive materials into the air

Collapse of the Berlin Wall

symbolic end of the Cold War, 1989

Commonwealth of Independent States

alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991

Consciousness Raising

process of achieving greater awareness, as of one's own needs or of a political or social issue

Dayton Peace Accords

peace agreement ending the war over the former Yugoslavia; between Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia; 1995

Détente

easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations)

EC

international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

Environmentalism

activity of protecting the environment from pollution or destruction

Erich Honecker

East German leader against whose regime began the demonstrations that ended in the fall of the Berlin Wall

Ethnic Cleansing

mass expulsion and killing of one ethnic or religious group in an area by another ethnic or religious group in that area

Euro

basic monetary unit of most members of the European Union (introduced in 1999)

"Evil Empire"

Ronald Reagan's description of Soviet Union because of his fierce anti-communist views and USSR's history of violation of human rights and aggression

Existentialism

philosophy based on idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions

Falklands War

when Argentina attempted to take control of one of Britain's few remaining colonial outposts 300 miles off its coast; British successfully rebuked Argentina; had a great economic cost, lost 225 lives, but had much popular patriotic support for Thatcher; 1982

Folk Culture

culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups

Francois Mitterand

French statesman and president of France from 1981 to 1985; 1916-1996

Glasnost

new policy of openness for USSR

Global Village

term that compares the world to a small village, where fast, modern communication allows news to travel quickly

Green Parties

political organizations throughout Europe that have focused attention on the ecological issues, women's rights, and the need for a greater welfare states

Helmut Kohl

chancellor of East Germany; in favor of unification

Helsinki Agreements

agreements that all major states agreed upon; recognized the Soviet sphere of influence and the importance human rights; 1975

INF Treaty

Reagan and Gorbachev signed this treaty, which provided for the dismantling of all intermediate range nuclear weapons in Russia and all of Europe

IRA

militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerrilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland

Jackson Pollack

painter who spontaneously dripped paint on a canvas which was known to be the essence of America

Jacques Chirac

conservative president of France, cut government spending, allowed popular vote on France's future relationship with a united Europe

Jean Chretien

lawyer, politician, PM of Canada 1990-2003

Jean-Paul Sartre

French existentialist who said that people just "turned up" and that there was no God to help honest people. Also said "man is condemned to be free" and people had to choose their actions

John Major

British statesman who was prime minister from 1990 until 1997; b. 1943

John Paul II

first Pope born in Poland; 1920-2005

Karl Barth

Swiss Protestant theologian; 1886-1968

Karl Rahner

Jesuit theologian; believed we come to know God through the universe; god is absolute mystery ("horizon of our being")

KGB

formerly the predominant security police organization of Soviet Russia

KLA

group that fought against Serbian attempts to control the region of Kosovo in the 1990s

Kosovo

Serbian province in southern Yugoslavia populated predominantly by Albanians

Konstantin Chernenko

replaced Andropov, 1984; predecessor to Gorbachev; 1911-1985

Lech Walesa

Polish labor leader and statesman; b. 1943

Maastricht Treaty

treaty creating the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc; signed in 1992; started move to adopt common currency

Margaret Thatcher

British stateswoman; former UK PM; 1925-2013

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet statesman whose foreign policy brought end to the Cold War; his domestic policy introduced major reforms; 1931-2022

Minimalism

art movement in sculpture and painting that began in the 1950s; emphasized extreme simplification of form and color

New Thinking

Russian Foreign policy involving integration of the USSR into global economy; emphasizing the common challenges facing East and West

New World Order

description of the international system resulting from collapse of the Soviet Union in which the balance of nuclear terror theoretically no longer determined the destinies of states

Non-Governmental Organizations, NGOs

groups not affiliated with any government

Nicolae Ceausescu

militant communist leader of Romania; attempted to keep his power by force; was defeated and sent to the Hague to be executed by demand of a military court

Ostpolitik

Willy Brandt's policy of "opening toward the east" that increased relations between West and East Germany in 1972

Perestroika

economic policy adopted in the former Soviet Union

Popular Culture

culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics

Postmodernism

genre of art and literature and especially architecture in reaction against principles and practices of established modernism

Pravda

official Communist Party newspaper

Samuel Beckett

playwright and novelist; born in Ireland, lived in France

Serialism

20th century music that uses definite order of notes as thematic basis for musical composition

Sinn Fein

Irish republican political movement founded in 1905 to promote independence from England and unification of Ireland

Slobodan Milosevic

key figure in the ethnic conflicts in the Balkans; president of Serbia, 1989 to 1997; president of Yugoslavia, 1997 to 2000

Solidarity

Polish trade union created in 1980 to protest working conditions and political repression; began nationalist opposition to communist rule that led, in 1989, to the fall of communism in eastern Europe

Star Wars

President Reagan's proposed weapons system to destroy Soviet missiles from space

Terrorism

calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature

Theatre of the Absurd

tries to capture the absurdity of the human condition; reflected time of postwar disillusionment with ideological beliefs in politics or religion; sense of world's meaninglessness underscored desolate worldview; man is in charge, god is absent; actors not realistic

Think Globally, Act Locally

to successfully implement a global strategy requires that correct balance between central control and local management be obtained

Tony Blair

British statesman who became prime minister in 1997; b. 1953

Ulster

historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island

USSR

former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia

Vaclav Havel

Czech dramatist and statesman whose plays opposed totalitarianism; president of Czechoslovakia, 1989 to 1992; president of the Czech Republic, 1993-2003; 1936-2011

Vatican Council II

ecumenical or general council of the Roman Catholic Church that Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) convened in 1962 and that continued under Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) until 1965

Vladimir Putin

Russian statesman chosen as president of the Russian Federation in 2000

Willy Brandt

German statesman who as chancellor of West Germany worked to reduce tensions with eastern Europe; 1913-1992

Women's Studies

rests on the premise that changing what we know about women will change women's and men's lives; has origins in the feminist movement; field of study established in the late 1960's and early 1970's to correct the inattention given to women in most academic fields

Yuri Andropov

Brezhnev's successor, 1982; tried to introduce some moderate economic reforms