1. The Contemporary Western World Since 1973
Chapter 29
The Contemporary Western World
Since 1973

2. Timeline

3. Hungarian-Austrian Border, August 1989
Berlin Wall
November 12
1989
Hungarian-Austrian Border, August 1989

4. Map 29.1: The New Europe

5. The Revolutionary Era in the Soviet Union
The Brezhnev Years
The Brezhnev Doctrine:
Détente -- USSR on par w/ U.S. in nukes
External security
Some relaxation of authoritarian rule
Economic emphasis on heavy industry
Industrial decline
Central planning = complex bureaucracy
No incentives, apathy, absenteeism, drunkenness
Consumer goods shortages
Patronage system -- Party members privileged
By the early 1980s, the Soviet Union was in poor shape
Some reformers: Yuri Andropov ( ) KGB head
Brezhnev dies Nov 1982
Sucessor: an ailing Yuri Andropov: supports Mikhail Gorbachev
Andropov dies Feb 1984
Sucessor: an ailing Konstantin Chernenko ( )
Chernenko dies March 1985
Sucessor: a young, healthy, reform-minded Mikhail Gorbachev

6. Chernenko Funeral March 1985 Remaining Section of Berlin Wall
Brezhnev w/ E. Ger. Leader Erich Honecker, 1979
Konstantin
Chernenko
Leonid Brezhnev
Mikhail
Gorbachev
Oct. 1985
Andropov Funeral
Feb 1984
Andropov (left)
Brezhnev Funeral Nov 1982

7. The Revolutionary Era in the Soviet Union
The Gorbachev Era – Mikhail Gorbachev (b. 1931)
Problems of rigid and centralized planning
Perestroika (restructuring) – Economic Reform
↓ Central Planning
Market Economy w/ limited free enterprise
Glasnost (openness) – free speech/press
Political reforms
Call for a new Soviet parliament, 1988
Congress of People’s Deputies elected 1989
nationalist movements erupt – USSR = empire inherited from the Tsar & expanded
92 nationalities; 112 languages
Nationalism/ethnic concerns: Georgia, Baltics, Moldavia, etc.
Lithuania declares independence, 1990

9. The End of the Soviet Union
Gorbachev arrested, August 19, 1991; coup fails
Ukraine votes for independence, December 1991, others follow
December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigns and turns power over to Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia
Yeltsin introduces a free market economy
Yeltsin wins the presidency of Russia in 1996 but resigns in 1999
Free markets, but… Oligarchy, Mafia, Unemployment, Debased Pensions, etc…
Brutal war against Chechnya
Vladimir Putin (b.1952) replaced Yeltsin when he resigned
Vows to return breakaway state of Chechnya
In 2001 launches reforms including unrestricted sale and purchase of land
Reform did not resolve Russia’s economic problems
Currently: economy booming (for some) due to price of Oil, Natural Gas

11. Vladimir
Putin
2000

12. Chechnya

13. Chechenya: War and destruction of Grosny
2nd Invasion: Grosny February 2000
Grosny, Capital of Chechnya, April 1995

14. Eastern Europe: The Collapse of the Communist Order in Poland
Edward Gierek becomes Poland’s leader in 1971
Economic problems -- Western Loans
1980: protests erupt in response to increased food prices
Solidarity -- Independent Labor union
10m of 35m Poles represented
Lech Walesa (b. 1943)
Dec 1981: Walesa + arrested, Solidarity baned, Martial Law
Importance of Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła)
Free parliamentary elections, 1988: 1st in 40 yrs!
December, 1990; Walesa elected President
Free Market reforms  unemployment, discontent
November, 1995; Alexander Kwasniewski elected President: former communist, but same reforms

15. Solidarity Supporters greeting Pope JP2 1987
Gdansk Naval Shipyards, 1980
Lech Walesa
In new union offices,
Lenin Shipyard
Gdansk
Walesa, Gdansk 1980

16. The Collapse of the Communist Order: Hungary & Czechoslovakia
János Kádár in power for more than 30 years
Goulash Communism: economic properity/consumer goods in exchange for domestic tranquility
Funded by Western loans --  econ. late 80s
Moves slowly toward legalizing small private enterprises: too little, too late
1989: E. Ger. asylees allowed into Austria!!!!
The Democratic Forum won the elections of 1990
Were committed to a democratic government and free market economy
Econ. growth, but uneven prosperity + deficits

17. Hungary & Lake Balaton

18. The Collapse of the Communist Order: Hungary & Czechoslovakia
Post-68 Repression
Demonstrations
Civic Forum opposition group
Communist government collapsed in “Velvet Revolution”
Vaclav Havel was in control of the government
Ethnic problems will lead to a peaceful division -- Slovakia splits from Czech Republic
Czech Republic prosperous, stable
Slovakia NOT!

19. Prague 28 October 1989: 70th Anniversary Czechoslovakia
Prague 23 Nov 1989
25 November 1989

20. Collapse of the Communist Order
Romania – Only Violent Revolution
Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu established dictatorial regime
Suppression of Hungarian minority
Forced Urbanization
Securitate = brutal Secret Police
Efforts to  debt through exports =  living standards
Crushed demonstrations in Timişoara that led to other demonstrations (started by a Hungarian preacher!)
Army will not support Ceauşescu -- Securitate resists
Ceausescu & co attempt to flee
Ceauşescu and his wife were arrested, tried and executed 25 December 1989 – 1,200 Dead
Political instability, corruption, economic difficulties

21. Timisoara 22 December 1989
Nikolae
Ceauşescu
1989
Bucharest 23 December
Bucarest 24 December

22. Collapse of the Communist Order
Bulgaria
Todor Zhivkov (leader of Bulgarian Communist Party, 1954 – 1989)
Protests result in Zhivkov’s ouster
1991: election of new government led by the United Democratic Front
Slow movement to market econ.
The Reunification of Germany
Unrest due to economic problems
Hungarian border opens Aug 89 – Berlin Wall opens Nov 9 – crowds dismantle it
Communist government falls, November 1989
Berlin Wall comes down
Politically unified, October 3, 1990

23. Gorbachev, Honecker in East Berlin, 17 Oct 1989
Hungarian-Austrian Border Fence, June 1989
June 87: “Mr. Gorbachev, bring down this wall!”

24. What to do with the Past? Lenin’s Tomb, 2005 Budapest Statue Park
Sofyia, Bulgaria, Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum
Dimitrov Mausoleum August 1999
Lenin’s Mausoleum, May Day 1924

25. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
Death of Tito in 1980
League of Communists
In 1990 republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Macedonia worked toward a federal structure
Slobodan Milosevic rejects these efforts without new border arrangements to accommodate Serb minorities
Slovenia and Croatia declare independence
Yugoslavian army sent to attack Croatia
Army becoming more and more a Serbian Army
1992 Serbs turn on Bosnia-Herzegovina after March Referendum & April Independence
Siege of Sarajevo April 92-Feb ,000 dead (85% civilians)
Ethnic cleansing & Concentration Camps-- Massacre at Srebrenica (8,000 dead)
NATO strikes back -- Dayton Accords Nov. 1995

26. Yugoslav Tank, Slovenia June 1991 Croatian Militia Aug 1992
Croatian Militia Oct 91
Sarajevo Parliament
Building, Aug 1992
Yugoslav Tank, Slovenia June 1991
Croatian Militia Aug 1992
Sarajevo Winter Olympics 1984
Yugoslav Tanks Approach Slovenia 1991
Slovenian Militia 1991
Vukovar, Croatia nov 1991

27. Former Yugo-slavia

28. War in Kosovo War erupted in 1999 Ethnic Albanians
Stripped of autonomous status in 1989
Kosovo Liberation Army
US and NATO intervene
Milosevic refused to sign agreement and NATO resumes air strikes
Milosovic ousted from office in fall elections, 2000
Brought to trial by an international tribunal for war crimes against humanity – died during trial
February 2008 = Independence?

29. Germany Restored Willy Brandt (1913-1992), 1969-1974
Ostpolitik, “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

30. Great Britain: Thatcher and Thatcherism
Problems of Northern Ireland
Direct rule from London, 1972
Conservatives gain political power, 1979
Political changes of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925)
Broke power of the labor unions
Austerity to control inflation
Hard line toward communism
Rebuilds the military
Anti-tax riots force Thatcher to resign, November 1990
Tony Blair (b. 1953), Labour Party, 1957

31. Uncertainties in France
François Mitterrand ( ) ,
Economic difficulties
Socialistic policies
Economic weaknesses of the 1990s
Move to conservatism, Jacques Chirac elected 1995

32. Confusion in Italy Coalition Politics Eurocommunism
Economic recession in the 1970s, economic growth in the 1980s
Political Corruption
Silvio Berlusconi

33. The Unification of Europe
1973: European Economic Community (EEC) becomes European Community (EC) when Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark join
2000: EC contains 370 million people
1994: EC renames itself European Union (EU) and focuses on political unification
2002: Introduction of common currency (euro €)
Problems
Toward a United Europe: May 2004: Czech Republic (YAY!), Estonia, Hungary (YAY!), Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Cyprus join EU

34. Map 29.3: European Union, 2004

35. The United States: The American Domestic Scene 1968 - 1981
Richard Nixon ( ) elected in 1968
Ends Vietnam war, 1973
Watergate scandal
Resignation, August 9, 1974
Jimmy Carter (b. 1924),
Stagflation – high inflation and unemployment
Oil embargo, 1973
53 hostages held by Iran

36. The United States: The American Domestic Scene 1982 - Present
Ronald Reagan (b. 1911),
Reverses the welfare state
Military buildup
Supply-side economics
George H. Bush (b. 1924),
Economic downturn
Bill Clinton elected 1992
Misconduct
George W. Bush
Terrorism
Economic policies

37. Presidents Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon in Historic Photo

38. Contemporary Canada Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000), elected in 1968
Brian Mulroney (b. 1939), elected in 1984
Quebec
René Lévesque
Parti Québécois

39. The End of the Cold War
During the late 1980s, US and Soviet Union move to slow down arms race
: Political upheaval in Eastern Europe upset postwar status quo
The Gulf War
September 11, 2001: al-Qaeda attacked United States
March 2003 – : Iraq War

40. An Age of Terrorism? Terrorist methods Munich Olympic Games, 1972
Left and right wing terrorist groups
Militant nationalism
Terrorist Attack on the United States
September 11, 2001
Al-Qaida
Osama bin Laden
Afghanistan

41. 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

42. Briefing on Iraq, with Bush Sr.

43. 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 Movement
Abortion
Women’s studies
Anti-nuclear movement/Ecology
International women’s conferences

44. 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

45. The Environment and the Green Movements
Problems in the environment
Chernobyl, 1986
Green Parties

46. Western Culture Today Postmodern Thought Art Literature Music
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 – 1913)
Jacques Derrida (1930 – 2004)
Art
Rejection of object-based artworks
Postmodernism
Photorealism
Literature
Gabriel Garcia Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Music
Serialism
Minimalism

47. Religion & Technology Varieties of Religious Life
Fundamentalism
The growth of Islam
Pope John Paul II, 1978-
The World of Science and Technology
Military-Industrial Complex
German rockets; jets
British work in computers
J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb
Computers
Dangers of science and technology
New conceptions of the Universe

48. Popular Culture: Image and Globalization
Music
Punk
Music videos
Rap
Film: Fantasy and Epics
The Growth of Mass Sports
Globalization of Popular Culture

49. Toward a Global Civilization?
Problems are global not just national
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Interdependency

50. Discussion Questions
How 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?

51. Web Links Gorbachev The United Nations Nationmaster: Europe
Europa: Gateway to the European Union
Frontline: Truth, War, and Consequences