Topic 6

The end of the Cold War and a new world order 1989 to the

present

How has the world changed since the 1960s?

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The end of the Cold War: The events of 1989

• Gorbachev’s reforms in the Soviet Union;• Eastern Europe:- events in Poland – significance of ‘Solidarity’; - The significance of events in Poland for the decline of

the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe; and - Germany: The fall of the Berlin Wall; • The disintegration of the Soviet Union – to what

extent were Gorbachev’s reforms responsible?; and • A turning point in South Africa – the impact of the

Soviet Union and its impact on SA. 2

A New World Order

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People, ideas and goods have become integrated, mobile and connected

Defining GlobalisationThe worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration. Globalisation implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of capital, goods, and services across national frontiers. However, it does not include unhindered movement of labour and, as suggested by some economists, may hurt smaller or fragile economies if applied indiscriminately.

(Definition from BusinessDictionary.com)

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Balance of Power and the impact on Africa

North – South Relations• Historically the flow of labour has been from southern

hemisphere to northern hemisphere (eg: trans-Atlantic slave trade).

• European countries (North) colonised large parts of Asia, Africa and South America (South). North enriched at the expense of South.

• Terms of trade continue to favour industrialised nations (‘north’) over developing nations (‘south’).

South – South Relations• Opposition to the dominance of the ‘north’ has come from

organisations such as World Social Forum (est. 1999).

Dominance of Western Capitalism• After World War II the USA and West established new

economic organisations.• Bretton Woods: (1944) Established a ‘Free Trade’ system

which benefitted the western economies.• International Monetary Fund: Based in Washington. Created

to restore international trade and stabilise world’s economic system. Established the US dollar as the most powerful currency. Gives short-term loans.

• World Bank: Loaned money used to re-build Europe after WWII. Capitalist agenda. Aims to reduce world poverty.

• World Trade Organisation: (est. 1995) liberalised trade.

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Civil Society resistance to Global Capitalism

Opposition in Ireland to IMF loans (2010)

An Indonesian activist during an anti – IMF/ World Bank protest.

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Many developing countries (and now European countries as well) see IMF ‘aid’ as a new form of imperialism because of the harsh terms and ‘structural adjustment’ which is demanded by the IMF in return for their loans.

Information Technology Revolution• Cellphones, personal computers,

the www and internet have increased the speed of communication across the world.

• People can read about, see images of and react to events happening across the world as they happen.

• The world has been described as a ‘global village’.

• BUT the gap between those people and countries with access to ICT and those without ICT has created a digital divide.

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)

• 2009: 1st formal BRIC summit.• 2010: South Africa invited to join

BRIC – became BRICS.• BRICS is an associations of

emerging economies.• All BRICS countries are developing

countries with fast-growing economies.

• BRICS encourage commercial, political and cultural co-operation between member nations.

• BRICS are committed to creating a ‘development bank’ which can rival the western dominated IMF and World Bank.

Facts and Figures about BRICS:•BRICS countries occupy 30% of the world.•BRICS countries are home to 43% of world’s population.•BRICS contribution to global economic growth over last decade reached 50%.

South Africa’s success in avoiding outright civil war

• Mandela’s policy of reconciliation. (The TRC has provided a model of reconciliation for other post-conflict societies.)

• Process of liberation is unfinished:- Challenges of poverty and gross inequality (SA has the

largest gap between rich and poor in the world).- A Developmental State: Some believe that South Africa

would benefit from a stronger central government, such as in the economically successful East Asian countries and Botswana.

- In 1996, SA abandoned the more socialist RDP in favour of the neo-liberal GEAR which favours free market capitalism.

Responses to Globalisation• Opposition to globalisation has emerged in the form of global

social justice movements calling for fair-trade and sustainable development for all.

• Increasing opposition to the power of multi-national corporations, and the de-regulation of financial markets which undermine democratic institutions and the power of nations to make decisions in the best interest of local people.

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The Landless People’s Movement in South Africa is an example of a grass roots organisation which opposes global capitalism and neo-liberal economic policies which do not benefit the poorest people in society.

Responses to Globalisation9/11/2001 The War on Terror

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On 9 September (9/11) 2001 al-Qaeda launched a series of four attacks on targets in the USA. In one of these attacks two passenger planes were hijacked and flown into the Twin Towers in New York City. Almost 3000 people died in these attacks.

In response to the 9/11 attacks, US President Bush initiated a ‘War on Terror’. To date this has involved the USA waging war in Iraq, Afghanistan and carrying out the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader.

Environmental Movements

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Founded in the late 1960s to co-ordinate opposition to the testing of nuclear weapons. Greenpeace is an international and non-aligned environmental organisation. NGO which works to publicise, oppose and eliminate the environmental problems facing the world.

South African born, Kumi Naidoo is the first African to become the head of Greenpeace.

Kenyan born Wangari Maathai established the Green Belt Movement. This movement, which became famous for its tree planting projects in East Africa, works with rural communities to help them address their need for essential basic services such as water, fertile soil and health ecosystems. On receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, Maathai said: “We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk.”

Climate change, deforestation, global warming, population growth and resource depletion are the key challenges facing the world in the 21st century.

Thank you!

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Activity 4.10: AssessmentInstructions:• Make use of the sources provided in the Resource Pack.• Consider the weighting of cognitive levels in Grade 12. (p. 33).• Select at least four sources (from those provided). • Formulate a key question that is aligned to the selected sources.• Set a formal source-based test (50 marks).• Provide a Marking Guideline for the task set. For each answer

indicate the skill/s tested (eg: L1-extract evidence from sources).• Draw a grid analysis to verify and ensure compliance with

weighting of cognitive levels.• Report Back and Discussion.

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