IR

After the Cold War

The Cold War 1945-1991

The Arms Race

While the Arms Race was mostly a waste of money, it actually prevented a hot war-the two Super powers never fought in a conventional war because they were afraid of the weapons that the other country had.

Reasons for the Race

Both sides wanted to have more weapons than the other Both sides thought that having more weapons made them superior to the rest of the world The only reason the Cold War was actually cold is because both sides were scared to fight one another-they thought that if they fought, the other side would use nuclear weapons

End of the Cold War

Collapse of the Soviet Empire US as the sole super power

The Soviet Union

While the US was spending at levels the USSR was finding difficult to match, the Soviets were having their own internal problems The Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 after ten years of a failed war many likened to the US experience in Vietnam The Soviet economy and those of its eastern and central European satellites were in serious trouble

The Soviet Union

With economic and political reforms obviously needed, premier Mikhail Gorbachev initiated perestroika (the restructuring or decentralizing of the economy) and glasnost (an opening of the Soviet society to public scrutiny) The reforms proved difficult to implement and unleashed hostility from the old order it threatened, long suppressed criticism, and ethnic and nationalist separatism By the summer of 1990, Gorbachevs reforms had spent themselves

Collapse of the Soviet Empire

The 1989 Romanian Revolution was a violent overthrow of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauescu Revolutions broke out throughout eastern Europe as people overthrow communist dictators in places like Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania and countries such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia broke apart Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989 and East and West Germany united in 1990

Collapse of the Soviet Empire

Beginning in August 1991, Soviet republics began declaring their independence from the USSR Also in August, a group of conspirators representing dissatisfied elements of the Communist Party, the KGB, and the military attempted to seize power while Gorbachev was on vacation Boris Yelstin crushed the coup, but himself replaced Gorbachev By the end of 1991, the USSR had ceased to exist

End of the Bipolar World

The demise of the Soviet Union left the US as the worlds sole superpower Without the danger of a superpower confrontation, the US was now more free to use its military power But, the world never cease to turn.

Main Trends after Cold Wars

Unprecedented expansion of capitalism Formation of the global capitalist class, which has absorbed former communist elites Unprecedented rise of US global influence Ideological dominance of neoliberalism Lack of ideological alternatives to the new status-quo Logic of the market, logic of democracy Steady buildup of tensions and conflicts: from relative peace to a global war mode Discovery of climate change: new stage in the growth of eco-consciousness The global economic crisis

The Post-Cold War World: 3 periods

First Period,1991-2000: Triumph of the West

Russias

transition crisis The Unipolar Moment: US hegemony at its peak The Western expansion Formation of the global neoliberal regime

Second Period, 2001-2008: US Hegemony Tested

The

Islamist challenge and the Bush response Development of a multipolar system Russias resurgence Relative decline of US hegemony

Third Period, 2008-now

The

global economic crisis Gorbama and the American perestroika The rise of China as a global power Europe: from integration to fragmentation? Reset in Russias relations with the West