Chapter 21

1. Chapter 21 The Contemporary Western World

2. Section 1 – Decline of the Soviet Union • QOD – How and why did the Cold War end? • Objective – Discuss the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

3. From Post-War to Cold War • By the 1970s, United States-Soviet relations had reached détente—a relaxation of tension and improved relations. By 1979, however, a new period of East-West confrontation began when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. They wanted to restore a pro-Soviet regime there. The United States viewed this as an act of expansion.

4. From Post-War to Cold War • In 1980, President Ronald Reagan began a military buildup and a new arms race with the Soviet Union. Reagan gave military aid to the Afghan rebels to fight the Soviets. • In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union. His willingness to rethink Soviet foreign policy led to a dramatic end to the Cold War. In 1987 Gorbachev made an agreement with the United States—the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty—to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

5. From Post-War to Cold War • Gorbachev changed Soviet policy by stopping military support to Communist governments in Eastern Europe. This led to the overthrow of Communist regimes in these countries. • Germany was reunified in 1990– signaling the end of the Cold War. • In 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved.

6. From Post-War to Cold War • In 1964, Nikita Khrushchev was removed from office. Alexei Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev replaced him. During the 1970s, Brezhnev became the main Soviet leader. He wanted to keep Eastern Europe as Communist states. He issued the Brezhnev Doctrine which asserted that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene if communism was threatened in another Communist state.

7. From Post-War to Cold War • Under Brezhnev, the Soviet Union was allowed more access to Western culture. Dissidents—people who spoke out against the regime—however, were still punished. • The Soviet Union’s economy continued to emphasize heavy industry. The Soviet economy was weakened by the government’s bureaucracy that discouraged efficiency and encouraged indifference. Collective farmers had no incentive to work hard in the collective work brigades. By the 1970s, the Communist ruling class had become corrupt. By 1980, the Soviet economy was seriously declining.

8. From Post-War to Cold War • In 1985, the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen to lead the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s basis of reform was perestroika, or restructuring, of the Soviet economy and government. Gorbachev created a new state presidency. Gorbachev began a new era of glastnost, or openness, in public discussion of Soviet problems.

9. From Post-War to Cold War • As the Soviet government eased its control, ethnic tensions emerged throughout the Soviet republics. During 1990 and 1991, several of these republics called for independence from Soviet control. In 1991, conservative leaders arrested Gorbachev and tried to seize power. Boris Yeltsin and others defeated their attempt. Soviet republics moved for independence, and the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus declared the Soviet Union dissolved. Gorbachev resigned in December 1991.

10. From Post-War to Cold War • Boris Yeltsin became president of the new Russia. He worked to introduce a free market economy in Russia. Chechens tried to secede from Russia and form their own independent republic. Yeltsin used brutal force against the Chechens. • In 1999 Yeltsin resigned and in 2000 Vladimir Putin was elected president. Putin’s economic reforms have led to budget surpluses and a growing economy.

11. Section 2 – Eastern Europe • QOD – What caused the East German government to open its border in 1989? • Objective – Describe the changes and revolutions of Eastern Europe in the late twentieth century.

12. Revolutions in Eastern Europe • Workers’ protests led to demands for change in Poland. In 1980, Lech Walesa organized a national trade union in Poland known as Solidarity. In 1988, the Polish regime agreed to free parliamentary elections—the first free election in Eastern Europe in 40 years. In 1990, Walesa was elected president of Poland. Poland’s rapid free-market reforms led to severe unemployment and discontent. Today Poland’s free-market economy is becoming increasingly prosperous.

13. Revolutions in Eastern Europe • In 1968, Soviet troops crushed the reform movement in Czechoslovakia. In 1988 and 1989, mass demonstrations throughout Czechoslovakia led to the collapse of the Communist government. In December 1989, Václav Havel, a dissident against the Communist government, became president. In 1993 ethnic conflicts between Czechs and Slovaks led to the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

14. Revolutions in Eastern Europe • In 1965, Communist leader NicolaeCeausescu and his wife Elena led a dictatorial regime in Romania. His actions angered Romanian people. The army refused to support his repressive regime and, in December 1989, Ceausescu and his wife were executed. A new government was formed. • In 1988 unrest led many East Germans to flee their Communist country. In 1989, mass demonstrations against the Communist regime broke out. By November, the Communist government tore down the Berlin Wall and opened its border with the West. Large numbers of East Germans crossed the border. In 1990, East and West Germany were reunited to form one Germany.

15. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia • At the end of the 1980s, Yugoslavia was caught up in the reform movements of Eastern Europe. By 1990, new political parties had emerged and the Communist Party had collapsed. • In 1990, the Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia worked for independence. Slobodan Milosevic´, leader of Serbia, rejected independence. In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence. In September 1991, the Yugoslavian army attacked Croatia.

16. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia • In 1992, the Serbs attacked Bosnia-Herzegovina. Many Bosnians were Muslims. The Serbs followed a policy of ethnic cleansing—killing them or forcibly removing them from their lands. In 1995 air strikes by NATO bombers helped Bosnian and Croatian forces regain territory lost to Serbia. On December 14, the Serbs signed a formal peace treaty splitting Bosnia into a loose union of a Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation.

17. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia • In 1998, a war began over Kosovo. In 1974, Tito had made Kosovo an autonomous, or self-governing, province within Yugoslavia. In 1989, Milosevic´ took away Kosovo’s autonomous status. Albanians fought against Serbian rule in Kosovo. Serbian forces massacred ethnic Albanians. The United States and NATO tried to arrange a settlement. In the fall elections of 2000, Milosevic´ was ousted from power, and tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice for his role in the massacre of Kosovo civilians. In 2003, Serbia and Montenegro formed a republic.

18. Section 3 – Europe and North America • QOD – What problems faced Western Europe after 1980? • Objective – Discuss the European Union and domestic affairs of Western nations in the late twentieth century.

19. Winds of Change in Western Europe • After 1970, Western European countries had greater economic unity. The European Economic Community (EEC) greatly expanded between 1973 and 1995. By 1992 the European Community (EC) made up the world’s largest single trading bloc. • In 1994, the EC became the principle organization within the European Union (EU). Most EU nations planned to abandon their currency in favor of the common European currency, the euro, by January 2002.

20. Winds of Change in Western Europe • France’s economy declined in the 1970s. By 1981, the Socialists had become the main party in the National Assembly. Socialist president François Mitterand began measures to aid workers. He nationalized many businesses. Socialist policies failed, however, and France’s economy continued to decline. In 1993, politics in France became conservative. In May 1995, conservative Jacques Chirac was elected president of France. • Willy Brandt was the first Social Democrat chancellor of West Germany. He received the Nobel Prize in 1971 for his work on a treaty with East Germany that led to greater contact and interaction between the two countries. In 1982, Helmut Kohl formed a new, more conservative government.

21. Winds of Change in Western Europe • Reunification of the new Germany in 1989 made it the leading power in Europe. Reunification, however, led to economic problems. Eastern Germany needed to be rebuilt and the economy of eastern Germany collapsed. There was high unemployment and severe discontent. This led to attacks against foreigners by right-wing extremists. • Between 1964 and 1979, Great Britain’s government faced the intense fighting between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, an ailing economy, and frequent labor strikes. In 1979, Conservative Margaret Thatcher became prime minister. She limited the social welfare system, broke the power of the labor unions, and controlled inflation. Thatcher’s economic policy was known as Thatcherism. Thatcher introduced an unpopular flat-rate tax paid by every adult. In 1997, Labour Party candidate, Tony Blair, won the election for prime minister.

22. The U.S. Domestic Scene • Richard Nixon became president of the United States in 1968. Nixon’s campaign for “law and order” and a slowdown of racial desegregation appealed to southern whites. The South began a new allegiance to the Republican Party. • Nixon used illegal methods to gain information about his political opponents, which led to the Watergate scandal. On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned as president instead of facing possible impeachment.

23. The U.S. Domestic Scene • Vice-President Gerald Ford became president after Nixon’s resignation. Jimmy Carter beat Ford in the 1976 election. Carter’s administration faced high inflation rates and a drop in the American standard of living. Carter was unable to gain the release of American hostages held by the Iranian government. He lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan. • The Reagan Revolution changed years of U.S. policy. He cut back on the welfare state and greatly increased the military buildup. Spending by Reagan’s administration produced a record government budget deficit—spending more money than collected in revenues.

24. The U.S. Domestic Scene • Republican George Bush was elected president after Reagan. He was unable to deal with the deficit problems or the economic downturn. • Democrat Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992. He oversaw a lengthy economic revival in the United States. During his second term, he was charged with presidential misconduct, but was acquitted of the charges in the Senate. Clinton’s problems helped George W. Bush to win the presidential election in 2000.

25. Canada • Pierre Trudeau became Canada’s prime minister in 1968. He worked to preserve a united Canada. His government passed the Official Languages Act, allowing both English and French to be used in federal civil service. He worked to increase industrialization in Canada. • Brian Mulroney became prime minister in 1984. His government worked to return some of Canada’s state-run corporations to private owners. In 1993 Canada, the United States, and Mexico approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to make trade easier and more profitable for the countries. Many Canadians thought that NAFTA was too favorable to the United States, and Mulroney lost the 1993 election to Liberal Jean Chrétien. • In 1995, voters in Quebec narrowly defeated a plan that would grant Quebec’s independence from Canada. Quebec’s status continues to divide Canada.

26. Section 4 – Western Society and Culture • QOD – What have been the major social developments since 1970? • Objective – Discuss contemporary Western culture.

27. Changes in Women’s Lives • Since 1970, the number of women in the workforce has continued to rise. Yet women continued to receive lower wages for the same work and fewer chances to advance. • During the 1960s and 1970s, women formed “consciousness-raising” groups to make people aware of women’s issues, such as social and economic inequality. • During the 1980s and 1990s, women became involved in activities that affected the political and the natural environments. • During the 1990s, some women wanted a return to traditional values and gender roles.

28. The Growth of Terrorism • Modern society has been faced with acts of terrorism by bands of terrorists who use violence to draw attention to their demands. They use the killing of civilians (mostly by bombing), the taking of hostages, and the hijacking of airplanes to achieve their goals. • Since the early 1970s, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) terrorist group has killed thousands of people in Northern Ireland. The IRA’s goal is to unite Northern Ireland, which is governed by Great Britain, with the Irish Republic. • State-sponsored terrorism has been involved in international terrorism. Militant governments have helped terrorist organizations with their attacks.

29. The Growth of Terrorism • One of the most destructive acts of terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States. It is believed that the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, hijacked four commercial jet airplanes in Boston, Newark, and Washington, D.C. Two of the airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center Towers in New York City; one airplane was flown into the Pentagon; and one airplane crashed in Pennsylvania. These terrorist acts killed thousands of people. President George W. Bush called for a war on terrorism. • In October 2001, the United States led coalition forces in a war against terrorists in Afghanistan. The Taliban was forced out.

30. Science and Technology • Since World War II, scientific and technological achievements have greatly changed people’s lives. Wartime technology such as computers and jet airplanes was adapted for peacetime uses. • The alliance of science and technology led to a fast rate of change in Western society. • Critics pointed out that some technological advances had far-reaching side effects that were damaging to the environment.

31. Religious Revival • During the twentieth century, a number of religious thinkers and leaders tried to revive Christianity. • Protestant Karl Barth tried to show how the religious insights of the Reformation were still relevant for the modern world. • Two popes—John XXIII and John Paul II—worked to revive Catholicism. Vatican Council II liberalized a number of Catholic practices.

32. Trends in Art • After 1945, New York City became the artistic center of the Western world. Abstractionism was the most popular form of modern art. Jackson Pollock was one famous abstract expressionist artist. • During the 1960s, pop art—which transformed images of popular culture into fine art—emerged. Andy Warhol was the most famous pop artist. • In the 1980s, art styles described as postmodernism—a revival of traditional elements and techniques—emerged. • During the 1980s and 1990s, new technologies, such as digital cameras and computer programs, created new art forms.

33. Popular Culture • Through movies, television, and music, the United States has spread its ideals and values of material prosperity throughout the world. • Jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, rock, and rap—the most popular music forms in the Western world—all had their beginnings in the United States. American singers such as Elvis Presley inspired non-American musicians such as the Beatles. MTV changed the music scene after it was introduced in the early 1980s.

34. Sports, Television, Politics • After World War II, sports became a major product of both popular culture and the leisure industry. • Television transformed sports into a worldwide experience. Sports organizations made enormous revenues from television contracts. • Sports have become big politics because they are used as a vehicle for national feeling. The Olympic Games are an example of the mix of sports and politics.