The Post-Cold War World1990s

The end of the Cold War leads to…

the expansion of democracy across the globe. Why?

an outbreak of ethnic conflict in the former USSR. Why?

the U.S. as the only superpower (hegemon).

Expansion of Democracy

New democracies: Spain Portugal Greece Latin America (except Cuba) Nigeria Etc.

Expanded democracies South Korea Taiwan South Africa Etc.

Example: South Africa

Apartheid: system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa from 1948-1994

Black South Africans were not allowed to vote, obtain certain jobs, travel freely, or even marry without the permission of the government

Does this sound familiar?

South Africa

United States

Opposition to Apartheid

Internal: Nelson Mandela and the ANC (African National Congress) fought for racial equality for decades

External: After decades of condemnation from the UN, many countries passed sanctions against South Africa in the late 1980s. Why now?

Exceptions to the Growth of Democracy

Parts of the Middle East (movements for democracy suppressed)

North Korea

Cuba

China

Example: China Spring 1989 – thousands of pro-democracy protestors killed in

Beijing’s Tiananmen Square

Breakup of the Soviet Union

Violent Conflict in the Former USSR

Chechen War for Independence Chechnya: oil-rich, Muslim province fighting for independence from

Russia (failed – still a part of Russia, with sporadic fighting)

Violent Conflict in the Former USSR

Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994) Ethnic Armenians living in Azerbaijan wanted to unify with the country of

Armenia – ethnic cleansing on both sides – ended in ceasefire in 1994 (still no resolution)

Violent Conflict in the Former USSR

Yugoslavia – country made up of 8 regions/provinces divided on ethnic lines

After end of Cold War, most of the provinces peacefully separated into different republics

Problem: Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosnians were scattered across three different republics – Serbs dominated the former Yugoslav army and sought to create a “Greater Serbia” from land from Croatia and Bosnia – ethnic violence on all sides in the “greatest European conflict since WWII”

Exception: Czechoslovakia

Peacefully dissolved itself into two separate countries along ethnic lines in 1991 Czech Republic Slovak Republic

U.S. as Hegemon – What are we fighting for now?

“What is at stake is more than one small country, it is a big idea — a new world order, where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom, and the rule of law.”

- President George H.W. Bush, 1991

The Gulf War (1990-1991)

a.k.a. Operation Desert Storm

How did it start? Saddam Hussein/Iraq invades oil-rich Kuwait

What happened? UN Security Council – economic sanctions Coalition (group) of nations send military into Iraq

Majority: US Also: Saudi Arabia (paid for 50% of total cost), UK, Egypt

How did it end? Clear military victory for Coalition but, Saddam Hussein was

allowed to stay in power

U.S. Hegemony

Hegemony: leadership or dominance by one country or social group Political hegemony Military hegemony Economic hegemony Cultural hegemony

Does the U.S. still have hegemony today?