The End of the Cold War I. A Country without a Purpose?II. The Soviet Collapseend of cold war1) The stage is set…a) Authoritarianism1. Dictatorships don’t lastb) a weak economy1. repression and corruption breed anger2. inefficient economy to support troops in thecold warc) a bloated militaryd) war in Afghanistane) rampant corruption2) Attempts at Reform by Gorbachev, late 1980sa) Perestroika – economic reformb) Glasnost – free speech, democratization3) Too Little, Too Latea) collapse of the Berlin Wall, 1989b) East Germany dissolves, 1989c) Civil war in Romania, 19891. Anticommunist rebellion2. Romanian leader assassinated by anticommunistsd) The Big One – Soviet Union dissolves, 19911. Rebellions get so bad that Gorbachev resigns and the Russian Republic was borne) Exceptions: China, Cuba, a few others still communistIII. America and the Soviet Collapse1) Reactionsa) Relief – no longer scared of Soviet nuclear attacksb) “We did it!” - An unwarranted ego trip?c) Reagan’s role – only one of several factors1. Claimed his arms buildup was the reason the Soviet Union collapsedd) Some people claimed that the Soviets would have fallen sooner if the US hadn’t put up such a tough fronte) HOWEVER the Soviets fell because of their people and the protests2) Now What? Foreign Policy after the Soviets, and increasing US influence abroada) Stop aiding Afghanistan, El Salvador, and white supremacist gov’t in South Africab) invasion of Panama, 1989; to oust the dictator (Noriega) who was helping ship cocaine into theUSc) the First Gulf War, 1991; invasion of Iraq to stopSaddam Hussein from invading Kuwaitd) Bosnia, mid-1990se) Iraq – 2003-????IV. Clinton and Conservatism/Centrism in the 1990s 1) George H. W. Bush – Reagan lite 2) William J. Clinton and Centrisma) Clinton’s liberalism: Family and Medical Leave Act, AmeriCorps, Earned Income Tax Credit, raising minimum wage, attempts at universal health care, etc.b) Clinton’s conservatism: middle class v. poor, less support for unions, little support for social liberalism(gay rights, feminism, etc), and “welfare reform” such as the end of
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