chapter 29 the contemporary western world since 1973
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 29
The Contemporary Western World
Since 1973
Timeline
Map 29.1: The New Europe
The Revolutionary Era in the Soviet Union
The Brezhnev YearsThe Brezhnev DoctrineDétenteEconomic emphasis on heavy industryPatronage systemBy the early 1980s, the Soviet Union was in poor shape
The Gorbachev EraProblems of rigid and centralized planningPerestroika (restructuring)Glasnost (openness)Political reforms
• Call for a new Soviet parliament, 1988• Congress of People’s Deputies elected 1989
1988-1990 nationalist movements eruptLithuania declares independence, 1990
The End of the Soviet UnionGorbachev arrested, August 19, 1991; coup failsUkraine votes for independence, December 1991, others followDecember 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigns and turns power over to Boris Yeltsin, president of RussiaYeltsin introduces a free market economy
Yeltsin wins the presidency of Russia in 1996 but resigns in 1999Brutal war against Chechnya
Vladimir Putin replaced Yeltsin when he resignedVows to return breakaway state of ChechnyaIn 2001 launches reforms including unrestricted sale and purchase of landReform did not resolve Russia’s economic problems
Chechnya
Eastern Europe: The Collapse of the Communist Order in Poland
Edward Gierek becomes Poland’s leader in 1971Economic problems1980: protests erupt in response to increased food prices
SolidarityLech Walesa (b. 1943)Free parliamentary elections, 1988December, 1990; Walesa elected PresidentNovember, 1995; Alexander Kwasniewski elected President
The Collapse of the Communist Order: Hungary & Czechoslovakia
HungaryJano Kadar in power for more than 30 yearsMoves slowly toward legalizing small private enterprisesThe Democratic Forum won the elections of 1990 Were committed to a democratic government and free market economy
CzechoslovakiaCommunist government collapsed in 1989Vaclav Havel was in control of the governmentEthnic problems will lead to a peaceful division
Collapse of the Communist Order
RomaniaNicolae and Elena Ceausescu established dictatorial regimeCrushed demonstrations in Timisoara that led to other demonstrationsArmy will not support Ceausescu Ceausescu and his wife were arrested, tried and executed
BulgariaTodor Zhivkov (leader of Bulgarian Communist Party, 1954 – 1989)Protests result in Zhivkov’s ouster1991: election of new government led by the United Democratic Front
The Reunification of GermanyUnrest due to economic problemsCommunist government falls, November 1989Berlin Wall comes downPolitically unified, October 3, 1990
The Berlin Wall 1961 -1989
The Disintegration of YugoslaviaDeath of Tito in 1980League of Communists In 1990 republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Macedonia worked toward a federal structureSlbodan Milosevic rejects these efforts without new border arrangements to accommodate Serb minoritiesSlovenia and Croatia declare independence
Yugoslavian army sent to attach CroatiaArmy becoming more and more a Serbian Army
1992 Serbs turn on Bosnia-HerzegovinaEthnic cleansingNATO strikes back
Map 29.2: The Lands of Former Yugoslavia
War in KosovoWar erupted in 1999Ethnic AlbaniansStripped of autonomous status in 1989Kosovo Liberation ArmyUS and NATO interveneMilosevic refused to sign agreement and NATO resumes air strikesMilosovic ousted from office in fall elections, 2000
Brought to trial by an international tribunal for war crimes against humanity
Germany Restored
Willy Brandt (1913-1992), 1969-1974Ostpolitik, “opening toward the east”
Treaty with East Germany, 1972
Helmut Schmide (b. 1918)Technocrat; concerned with economic conditions
Helmut Kohl (b. 1930)Problems of union
Great Britain: Thatcher and Thatcherism
ThatcherismProblems of Northern IrelandDirect rule from London, 1972
Conservatives gain political power, 1979Political changes of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925)
Broke power of the labor unionsAusterity to control inflationHard line toward communismRebuilds the militaryAnti-tax riots force Thatcher to resign, November 1990
Tony Blair (b. 1953), Labour Party, 1957
Uncertainties in France
François Mitterrand (1916-1995) , 1981-1995
Economic difficulties
Socialistic policies
Economic weaknesses of the 1990s
Move to conservatism, Jacques Chirac elected 1995
Confusion in Italy
Coalition Politics
Eurocommunism
Economic recession in the 1970s, economic growth in the 1980s
Political Corruption
Silvio Berlusconi
The Unification of Europe1973: European Economic Community (EEC) becomes European Community (EC) when Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark join2000: EC contains 370 million people1994: EC renames itself European Union (EU) and focuses on political unification2002: Introduction of common currency (euro)ProblemsToward a United Europe: May 2004: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Cyprus join EU
Map 29.3: European Union, 2004
The United States: The American Domestic Scene 1968 - 1981
Richard Nixon (1913-1994) elected in 1968Ends Vietnam war, 1973
Watergate scandal
Resignation, August 9, 1974
Jimmy Carter (b. 1924), 1976-1980Stagflation – high inflation and unemployment
Oil embargo, 1973
53 hostages held by Iran
The United States: The American Domestic Scene 1982 - Present
Ronald Reagan (b. 1911), 1981-1989Reverses the welfare stateMilitary buildupSupply-side economics
George H. Bush (b. 1924), 1989-1993Economic downturn
Bill Clinton elected 1992Misconduct
George W. BushTerrorismEconomic policies
Presidents Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon in Historic Photo
Contemporary Canada
Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000), elected in 1968
Brian Mulroney (b. 1939), elected in 1984
QuebecRené Lévesque
Parti Québécois
The End of the Cold War
During the late 1980s, US and Soviet Union move to slow down arms race1989-1990: Political upheaval in Eastern Europe upset postwar status quoThe Gulf WarSeptember 11, 2001: al-Qaeda attacked United StatesMarch 2003 – : Iraq War
An Age of Terrorism?Terrorist methodsMunich Olympic Games, 1972Left and right wing terrorist groupsMilitant nationalismTerrorist Attack on the United States
September 11, 2001Al-QaidaOsama bin LadenAfghanistan
The West and Islam
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict fueled anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world
Rise of Islamic governments in Iran and elsewhere
Impact of the Persian Gulf War
Impact of the Iraq War
Briefing on Iraq, with Bush Sr.
New Directions and New Problems in Western Society
Transformation in Women’s Lives• Decline in the birthrate
• Rise in the work force
The Women’s MovementAbortion
Women’s studies
Anti-nuclear movement/Ecology
International women’s conferences
Guest Workers and Immigrants
Europe experienced a severe labor shortage in the 1950s and 1960s
Guest Workers
Backlash against foreign workers
1980s: Influx of refugees
Impact of immigrants on social services
New limits on immigration
The Environment and the Green Movements
Problems in the environment
Chernobyl, 1986
Green Parties
Western Culture TodayPostmodern Thought
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 – 1913)Jacques Derrida (1930 – 2004)
ArtRejection of object-based artworksPostmodernismPhotorealism
LiteratureGabriel Garcia Márquez, One Hundred Years of SolitudeMilan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
MusicSerialismMinimalism
Religion & TechnologyVarieties of Religious Life
FundamentalismThe growth of IslamPope John Paul II, 1978-
The World of Science and TechnologyMilitary-Industrial Complex
• German rockets; jets• British work in computers• J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb
ComputersDangers of science and technologyNew conceptions of the Universe
Popular Culture: Image and Globalization
MusicPunk
Music videos
Rap
Film: Fantasy and Epics
The Growth of Mass Sports
Globalization of Popular Culture
Toward a Global Civilization?
Problems are global not just national
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Interdependency
Discussion QuestionsHow might we see Brezhnev as a transition between the old Soviet regime and the changes brought by Gorbachev?What steps did Czechoslovakia take to gain freedom from communism and then a peaceful split of the country?Why did the end of the Cold War prove so painful for Yugoslavia?How does the “war on terrorism” differ from previous international struggles?
Web Links
Gorbachev
The United Nations
Nationmaster: Europe
Europa: Gateway to the European Union
Frontline: Truth, War, and Consequences