Power, Politics, and Conflict: World History, 1990-2014
Power, Politics, and Conflict
A human rights activist in Guatemala highlighted the importance of international assistance for the survival and development of their organization in the face of government repression during the 1980s.
Contacts and information dissemination were vital for preventing disappearances and killings.
Learning Objectives
Understanding the main results of Gorbachev's policies in Russia, Central Asia, and East-Central Europe.
Identifying factors explaining the spread of political democracy from the late 20th century.
Comparing the cases of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda as examples of genocide.
Recognizing the main limits to U.S. power after the Cold War.
Central American Regimes in the 1980s
Repressive regimes faced local agitation for democracy and international pressure.
International human rights organizations, church groups, and labor organizations publicized abuses.
These pressures led the U.S. to change its policies, fostering democratic regimes.
Enthusiasm for International Political Rights
New international counterweight emerged, publicizing abuse and preventing its concealment.
Ruling groups in conflict-torn regions of Africa resisted international criticism and human rights efforts.
Global History in the Late 20th Century
The collapse of the Soviet Union and communist regimes ended the Cold War.
Expanding democracy emerged in this era.
Regional conflicts persisted, and the U.S. became a sole superpower along with its pluses and minuses.
By 2008, limitations on the democratic current became visible.
Transition to a Post-Cold War Framework
Transition defined leading themes in world history from the mid-1980s into the early 21st century.
Political and diplomatic changes held center stage, alongside a resurgence of terrorism.
The end of the Cold War redefined the global power balance that would replace 19th-century Western dominance and monarchies/empires.
Political/diplomatic patterns influenced globalization, impacting culture and environment.
The End of the Cold War
The Cold War lasted 30 years before its context shifted.
Russian empire had been expanding for 500 years with a brief interlude during World War I and phases of the Russian Revolution before resuming its growth.
Factors in Soviet Decline
Leadership: Conservative Soviet leadership advanced mediocre bureaucrats who protected the status quo.
Reassertion of Initiative: Despite superpower pressures, the world around the Soviet Union demonstrated initiative.
Islamic Fervor: The Iranian Revolution of 1979 heightened anxiety in the Soviet Union due to its large Muslim minority.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979): Aimed to reduce Islamic threat, led to international disapproval and proved difficult and unpopular.
Western Europe's Economic Success: Pushed communism into a defensive posture throughout Eastern Europe.
Free Trade Union Movement in Poland: Linked to the Catholic Church. Although repressed, it increased stress on the Soviet empire.
Changes in Chinese policy: China separated itself from Soviet tutelage in the 1960s, choosing to participate in the world economy with market forces. While no relaxation of political controls occurred, the Chinese economy differed dramatically from the Soviet Union, resulting in rapid growth and investment.
U.S. Diplomatic Policy: While Carter advocated human rights, Reagan denounced the Soviet Union and increased U.S. defense spending, putting pressure on the Soviets.
The Explosion of the 1980s and 1990s
From 1985: The Soviet Union entered intensive reform, leading to the dismantling of the Soviet empire.
Trigger: Deteriorating Soviet economic performance was intensified by military rivalry with the United States.
Soviet Pride: Public attitudes were shaped by satisfaction with Soviet world prestige and improvements in education and welfare.
Economic Standstill: But the Soviet economy was grinding to a standstill, with environmental deterioration, ecological disaster regions, and rising infant mortality rates.
Industrial Stagnation: Industrial production dropped due to rigid planning, health problems, and poor worker morale.
Military Allocation: As economic growth stopped, a third of national income went to military production.
The Age of Reform
The Soviet system could respond to problems beyond renewed repression.
Mikhail Gorbachev: In 1985 he renewed attacks on Stalinist rigidity and conveyed a more Western style.
Policy of Glasnost: Gorbachev proclaimed "glasnost" (openness), allowing for criticism and debate.
Economic Restructuring: Encouraged decentralized decision making and market incentives.
Modified Cold War Stance: Urged reduction in nuclear armament and ended the war in Afghanistan.
Impact of Gorbachev's Policies
Glasnost: Policy of openness or political liberation in the Soviet Union, put forward by Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s.
Reduced Soviet isolation while criticizing Western political/social structures.
Hoped to use Western management techniques but maintain communist state control.
Sought fuller participation in the world economy.
Symbolic Changes: Opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow and new contacts between Soviet citizens and foreigners.
Perestroika
Keynote of the reform program was "perestroika" (economic restructuring), which involved more leeway for private ownership and decentralized control in industry and agriculture.
Farmers could lease land for 50 years, and industrial concerns could buy from private or state operations.
Foreign investment was encouraged.
Military Commitments: Gorbachev pressed for reductions to free resources for consumer goods industries.
Political Reform: New constitution in 1988 gave power to a new parliament, abolishing the Communist monopoly on elections.
Unrest: Reform amid economic stagnation provoked agitation among minority nationalities within the Soviet Union.
Dismantling the Soviet Empire
Gorbachev's approach and desire for better relations with Western powers prompted definitive results outside the Soviet Union.
Smaller states of Eastern Europe uniformly pushed for greater independence and internal reforms.
Eastern European reforms: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia.
Despite contributing to several political upheavals mass demonstrations were common but only in Romania was there outright violence.
Amid Rapid Change
Prospects for the future were unpredictable.
Governments did not fully define constitutional structure.
Eastern European States suffered from sluggish production, pollution, and economic problems.
Withdrawn state controls led to Polish tensions over market economy, with rising unemployment and price increases.
Soviet Policy Change: Gorbachev reversed postwar Russian imperialism, stating that "any nation has the right to decide its fate by itself."
Renewed Turmoil in the 1990s
Uncertainties within the Soviet Union were confirmed in the summer of 1991 with the help of popular demonstrations.
Attempted coup threatened Gorbachev's presidency; afterwards his authority weakened.
The Baltic states and other minority republics proclaimed independence.
Gorbachev struggled to win agreement on continued economic union.
By the end of 1991, leaders of major republics proclaimed the end of the Soviet Union.
Commonwealth of Independent States
Soviet Union gave way to the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Tensions surfaced about economic coordination, military control, and relationships between republics.
Russian leaders hesitated to convert to a full market system.
During the late 1990's Boris Yeltsin's leadership deteriorated as the economy performed badly; corruption increased; he even grew sick.
Civil war with Chechnya- terrorist acts and military oppression occured.
Vladimir Putin
Named president in 1999- vowed to clean up corruption and install more effective government controls; restricted activities of rival political parties.
Russians agreed that stronger measures were needed.
Reformists voiced concerns as Putin tightened hold on the state and media.
Putin resisted appeals to compromise on the chechnya revolt.
Finishing his second term as president in 2008, Putin arranged still to serve as prime minister, and then was re-elected as president in 2012.
The Spread of Democracy
Refers to the end of the cold war associated with multiparty democracy with free elections.
Economic success in western europe- propelled spain, portugal, and greece.
Wave hit latin america-backed by the united states and western europe support.
Democratic systems gained ground in South Korea and Taiwan in the 1980s
Turkey moved to multiparty democracy.
The democratic current captured the Soviet bloc.
Democracy Change
Africa democratic change spread tot his region by the 1990s.
democracy triumphed over apartheid in South Africa.
Largely peaceful risings in Georgia and Ukraine replaced authoritarian leaders
New risings in Georgia and Ukraine- repressed in Uzbekistan.
Arab Countries- experimented with greater democracy after the American invasion of Iraq but remained dominated by Authoritarian regimes.
Democracy and It's Limits
spread widely amongst different societies.
key regimes resisted change like China (The Chinese regimes vowed to couple rapid economic change with insistence on one-party rule, a major exception to democratic gains).
The link to economic expectations was vulnerable.
The US voices great support for the spread of democary but also allied with authoritarian regimes.
Hugo Chavez recalled populist authoritarians.
Spread of Democracy
2011 gains for democracy in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and other places during the Arab Spring.
New elections brought a strong Muslim majority. Military regimes still unseated those groups amid tension in the streets.
Reelection of Putin in Russia with repression of opposition and desire for greater political freedom among russian population.
The Great Powers and New Disputes
Highlights regional rivalries.
Constrained the spread of democracy.
The Former Soviet Empire
Soviet Union kept a lid on potential internal disputes.
Ethnic and Religious clashes within the new nations.
War between Armenian and Azerbaijan.
Disagreements between Czechs and Slovaks: resulting in their split.
Yugoslavia
The most important post-soviet clash occurred in Yugoslavia.
tensions divided Slavic groups including Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, Serbs, and Muslim Bosnians, and Albanians.
The communist regime held peace under Tito until he died in 1980.
Serbian army applied force to preserve the Yugoslav nation.
intervention of NATO created a new nation Bosnia-Herzegovina.
the acts of ethnic cleansing on Albanian's caused NATO to intervene in air attacks which lead to a more democratic regime.
Endemic Conflicts
The end of the cold war did not cause the most troubling regional conflicts, however the reduction of coldwar tensions contributed to the new region latitude.
Iran and Iraq war: With Saddam pitted against the Islamic revolutionary regime in Iraq.
Israel- palestine tensions- violence revived between 2001 and 2003 with violence between Israelis
Suicide bombings- palestinians targeted Israeli civilians while the Israeli government attacked palestinian cities and refugee camps.India and pakistan escalation- increased testing of nuclear weapons with Hindu Nationalism within india.
Ethnic And Other Conflicts
Up surge of Ethnic conflict- new feature of the post- cold war scene with some groups clearly increasing investment in ethnic identity
Ethnic Groups-- new opportunities for expression as the hold of the classic nation-state declined
immigration in European politics was reduced. Immigrant groups were abused, such as Turks in Germany.
Troubles and Ethnic Conflict
Tribal conflicts between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda causing tremendous slaughter and dislocations.
Ethnic and religious disputes in Sudan and warfare among gangs in countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia involved heavily armed children.
Violence led to renewed acts of genocide that targeted populations of civilians.
In some instances major powers intervened, with policies that offered promise.
The U.S. as Sole Superpower
Decline of Russian power left the U.S. without a clear competitor.
U.S. military commitments remained high, with large spending on defense.
China increased its military arsenal, along with power in the global economy.
Countries like China, Russia, and Iran countered American interests with concerns of a joint military force independent of NATO.
European countries were allied with the U.S.
American's World Power
Provoked resentments but wasn't unseated.
Leaders clearly felt emboldened to tell other parts of the worlds how to organize societies.
Business and political experts argued that the U.S. model of a free market economy should be adopted widely among several medium-sized powers.
United States Became Increasingly Suspicious Of International Agreements.
Anti-American Terrorism and Response
American interests had periodically been the targets of terrorist attacks since 1960s.
Attacks on the World trade center and Pentagon due to the alliance with Israel, and the stationing of troops on sacred ground, created a new level of threat.
These attacks altered U.S. policy and administration which lead to an attack over the Islamic Afghanistan with a need for war against terrorism.
The new military base created near possible centers of terrorist activity- focus turned to Iraq- accusations to amassering weaponry. However evidence proved erroneous.
Global Connections and Critical Themes
The end of the cold war reduced divisions and lowered the danger of nuclear war: also promoting new kinds of global connections.
violence, tragedy, and dislocations argued against optimism with many democracy spreads seeming impossible.