The Contemporary Western World, 1970-Present

Decline of the Soviet Union Eastern Europe Europe and North America Western Society and Culture

Decline of the Soviet Union

Objectives: 1.Discuss how the Cold War ended after leadership changed in the Soviet Union 2. Identify policies of Gorbachev that contributed to the disintegration of the Soviet Union 3. Explain how conversion from a socialist to a free-market economy created many problems in the former Soviet states

From Cold War to PostCold War By the 1970s, AmericanSoviet relations had entered a new phrase, known as *dentente relaxation of tensions and improved relations between the two superpowers 1979new period of EastWest confrontation

Soviet Union invaded *Afghanistanwanted to restore a pro-Soviet regime there, which the United States viewed as an act of expansion Jimmy Carter placed an embargo on the Soviets *Ronald Reagan (1980) evil empire and a military buildup and a new arms race and gave military aid to the Afghan rebels

The Cold War Intensies

End of the Cold War The accession of *Mikhail Gorbachev New Thinking His willingness to rethink Soviet foreign policyled to stunning changes Agreement with the United States in 1987 (Intermediaterange Nuclear Force Treaty) to eliminate intermediaterange nuclear weapons

By 1990, both countries knew that their military budgets would cause internal problems Peaceful revolutionary movement swept through Eastern Europe in 1989 Reunication of Germany on Oct. 3, 1990 a symbol of the Cold War

Upheaval in the Soviet Union

The Brezhnev Era

Alexei Kosygin and *Leonid Brezhnev replaced him The right of the Soviet Union to intervene if communism was threatened in another Communist state (*Brezhnev Doctrine) The Soviet Union began to allow more access to Western styles of music, dress, and art *dissidentsspoke out against the regimewere still punished

Continued to emphasize heavy industry Collective farmers had no incentive to work hard Unequal system: Party and state leaders leaders of the army and secret police (KGB) enjoyed a high standard of living

Gorbachev and Perestroika

Gorbachev began a new era of glasnost, or openness in public discussions of Soviet problems The basis of these reforms was *perestroika, or restructuringan economic policy

Communist Party conference elected a parliament (1988) Congress of Peoples Deputies Allowed non-Communist parties to organize. Constitutional provision for Communist Party as leading role Soviet Union Presidency

The End of the Soviet Union

92 ethnic groups and 112 different languages Nationalist movement emerged throughout the republics of the Soviet Union Army, government, KGB, and military industries the possible breakup of the Soviet Union would mean an end to their privileges

Arrested Gorbachev (1991) Russian Republic formed for complete independence *Boris Yeltsin, the new president and was committed to a free market economy (2 terms) *Vladimir Putin (2000) launched reforms to boost growth and budget revenues

Objectives: 1.Discuss how the Cold War ended after leadership changed in the Soviet Union 2. Identify policies of Gorbachev that contributed to the disintegration of the Soviet Union 3. Explain how conversion from a socialist to a free-market economy created many problems in the former Soviet states

COLD WAR

Eastern Europe

Objectives: 1. Describe Gorbachevs policy of not giving military support to Communist governments and how it created the opportunity for revolution 2. Characterize the massive demonstrations that peacefully ended some Communist regimes and the violence that ended others

Revolutions in Eastern Europe After Gorbachev refused to intervene militarily in Eastern Europe, revolutions broke out throughout Eastern Europe

Poland
In 1980, a worker named *Lech Walesa organized a national trade union known as Solidarity After a new wave of demonstrations in 1988, the Polish regime agreed to free parliamentary elections A new government was elected, ending 45 years of Communist rule in Poland

1990, Walesa was chosen as presidentRapid freemarket reforms led to severe unemployment and popular discontent 1995, Aleksander Kwasniewski (a former Communist) defeated Walesa and became presidentcontinued movement to free market

Czechoslovakia Soviet troops crushed the reform movement in Czechoslovakia in 1968 1988 and 89, mass demonstrations took place throughout Czechoslovakia In December 1989, the Communist government collapsed

*Vaclav Havel, a writer who had played an important role in bringing down the Communist government became new president Czechoslovakia faced old ethnic conictsCzechs and Slovaks agreed to peaceful division of the Country Czech Republic and Slovakia

Romania

Nicolae Ceausescu ruled Romania with an iron grip, using secret police to crush all dissent He pushed for rapid urbanization, especially a program that called for bulldozing of entire villages In 1989, the secret police murdered thousands of men, women, and children who were peacefully demonstrating Ceausescu was captured and executednew government was quickly formed

German Reunication

Communist government surrendered to popular pressure by opening its entire border with the West The Berlin Wall was torn downa symbol of the Cold War

The Disintegration of Yugoslavia At the end of the 1980s, Yugoslavia was caught up in the reform movements sweeping Eastern Europe

Calls for Independence

In 1990, the Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, *BosniaHerzegovina, Macedonia began to lobby for independence *Slobodan Milosevic who became leader of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia in 1987 Serb minorities persisted Yugoslavian army began a full assault against Croatia

The War in Bosnia

Early in 1992, the Serbs turned their guns on Bosnia-Herzegovina Many Bosnians were Muslims and thus experienced *ethnic cleansing By 1995, 250,000 Bosnians had been killed and two million others were left homeless; 1995, NATO began bombing Bosnian and Croatian forces Serbs signed a formal peace treaty, splitting Bosnia into a loose union of a Serb republic and a MuslimCroat federation

The War in Kosovo

A new war erupted in 1998 over *Kosovo. In 1974, the communist leader Tito had made Kosovo an *autonomous or self-governing province within Yugoslavia In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic stripped Kosovo of its autonomyKosovo Liberation Army (KLA) Serb forces began to massacre of ethnic Albanians

Objectives: 1. Describe Gorbachevs policy of not giving military support to Communist governments and how it created the opportunity for revolution 2. Characterize the massive demonstrations that peacefully ended some Communist regimes and the violence that ended others

Europe and North America

Objectives: 1. Discuss how Western European nations moved to united their economies after 1970 2. Identify the domestic problems that arose in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Canada

Winds of Change in Western Europe Between the early 1950s and late 1970s, Western Europe experienced virtually full employment By the early 1980s, an economic downturn led to dramatic increase in the price of oil following the Arab-Israeli conictinstability in the Middle-east

The Western European nations moved toward a greater union of their economiesEEC expanded including dozens of other countries In 1994, the EEC turned into the principle organization within the even more solidied European Union (EU) and use of the Euro

Uncertainties in France
Frances deteriorating economic situation in the 70s led to a shift to the left politically The Socialist leader, Francois Mitterrand led this change; In 1993, French unemployment stood at 10.6 percent The move to the right in France was strengthened when the conservative mayor of Paris

From West Germany to Germany

In 1969, the Social Democrats (Moderate Socialist party), replaced the Christian Democrats as the leading party in West Germany With a population of 79 million people, the new Germany became the leading power in Europe Eastern Germany cost more money to rebuild than the Western portion originally believed

The collapse of the economy also led to increasing attacks on foreigners In 1992, over 440,000 immigrants came to Germany seeking refuge Attacks against foreigners by right-wing extremists especially young neoNazis who believed in Hitlers idea of pure Aryan race

Great Britain and Thatcherism Between 1964 and 79, Great Britains Conservative Party and Labour Party alternated being in power Intense ghting between Catholics and Protestants in *Northern Ireland In 1979, the Conservatives came to power under *Margaret Thatcher *Thatcherism improved the British economic situationattempt at a at-rate tax

The US Domestic Scene Nixon and Watergate

*Richard Nixon (1968) believed that law and order issues and a slowdown in racial desegregation would appeal to southern whites Used illegal methods to gain political information about his opponentsNixons zeal led to the Watergate scandal (installing electronic listening devices)

The Carter Administration

Vice President Gerald Ford became president when Nixon resigned Jimmy Carter was elected following the Nixon debacle Crisis erupted when 52 Americans were held hostage by Iranian government of Ayatollah Khomeini He was unable to gain the release of the American hostages

The Reagan Revolution

Reagan cut back on the welfare state by decreasing spending on food stamps, school lunch programs, and job programs Led to the largest peacetime military buildup in US history The spending policies of the Reagan administration produced record government budget decits*budget decit

The Clinton and Bush Years

George Bush, Reagans vice president, succeeded him as president Democrat Bill Clinton to be elected president in 1992 but his second term was overshadowed by changes of presidential misconduct George W. Bush, son of the rst President Bush, won the presidency in 2000 in a very close election following 2001, he directed his attention to ghting terrorism

Canada In 1993, Canada approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with the United States and Mexico The purpose was to make trade easier and more protable by establishing guidelines for cooperation between the countries

Objectives: 1. Discuss how Western European nations moved to united their economies after 1970 2. Identify the domestic problems that arose in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Canada

Western Society and Culture

Objectives: 1. Relate how technological and scientic advances have created a global society 2. Discuss artistic trends that reect how the emerging global society led to a blending of cultural forms and ideas

Changes in Womens Lives

Since 1970, the number of women in the work force has continued to rise Greater access to universities enabled more women to pursue careers in such elds as law, medicine, and government 1960s and 70s, the womens liberation movement Gender stereotyping, Contraception, and social and economic equality

Women joined the antinuclear movement chaining themselves to the fence of an American military base In the 1990s, backlash advocated a return to traditional values and gender roles feminism

The Growth of Terrorism

Acts of terror have become a regular aspect if modern Western society; killing civilians to achieve their political goals Militant nationalists who want to create their own state or expand national territory Irish Republic Army (IRA), whose goal is to unite *Northern Ireland which was under the control of Great Britain

State-sponsored terrorism occurs when one state openly supports terrorism against another: Iraq, Syria, North Korea Some states secretly nance organizations or provide a safe place for terrorists to hide or train September 11, 2001al-Qaeda and the four hijacked plane Osama bin Laden; strict interpretation of the Quran trying to create a pure Islamic society

George W. Bush vowed to ght terrorism and led a coalition of nations in a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan Afghan forces opposed to the Taliban led the ground attack and and helped force it out of the capital, Kabul The united nations sponsored talks among rival Afghan groups to decide a new government

The Department of Homeland Security created to protect the united States from terrorism and respond to any future attacks During 2002, the Bush administration focused on the dangers from *weapons of mass destruction nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons Iraq had repeatedly violated the required UN resolutions

Saddam Hussein had to give up the nations weapons of mass destruction in the early 90s and had to submit to inspections in 2003 Iraq was not meeting the UNs terms, resulting in the war in Iraq Baghdad fell quickly; the prolonged stay by American and British troops to establish a interim government and combat guerrilla warfare embittered some

Objectives: 1. Relate how technological and scientic advances have created a global society 2. Discuss artistic trends that reect how the emerging global society led to a blending of cultural forms and ideas