The 20th Century and Beyond

Ch 36: The Final Chapter

I. The end of the Cold War

Reagan Doctrine- US assist in any anticommunist resistance

Afghanistan

Soviet Union’s military was stretchedVarious satellite nations soon split off

I. The End of the Cold War

Mikhail GorbachevInstituted many reforms

Anti-Stalinism

Glasnost (openness)- “freedom to criticize)

Limitations on nuclear weapons

Perestroika (economic restructuring)- decentralization of industry

Government not all powerful

Social reforms

People eventually became unhappy with too much

change

Soviet Union stated to collapse between 1989-1990

II. Post Soviet Union

Boris YeltsinTook over in 1991 which became the end of the Soviet Union

President of Russia

Renounced Communism- brought in a free-market economy

Used military force to overthrow the Soviet Parliament

Vladimir PutinReplace Yeltsin in 1999

Freedom of Press?

Democracy and Freedom?

III. The Middle EastArea of conflict

Persian Gulf War 1991Saddam Hussein (Iraq) invades Kuwait

United States gets involved (admittedly for oil reasons)

War on TerrorismResult of 9/11 attacks

Resulted in a War in Afghanistan and War in Iraq

Major power comes from oil

IV. Globalization

Globalization- The interconnectedness of the WorldDescribes how the world has become smaller due to communication and transportation

Describes how one issue in one part of the world has a significant impact in another

Level of globalization increases dramatically everyday

1990- Tim Berns “creates the internet”

2001- 25% of world has internet

2010- between 30-40%

IV. Globalization

BusinessMultinational corporations

Outsourcing

Various businesses have different departments or locations around the world

Sometimes more powerful than the host company

Force improvements in communication and transportation

IV. GlobalizationMigration

“Guest Workers”

Immigration increases with ease of transportation

Brings about language barriers

Multiculturalism

Cultural GlobalizationAmericanization

McDonalds

Usually includes native variations

Science and artsWorking together around the world

IV. Globalization

United NationsOriginally started to keep peace

Provides aid

Works on health and human rights issues

Issues with religionsSpread of world cultures sometimes runs against fundamental religious groups

Ex. Islam in the Middle East

Results in conflict

V. Global Problems

Spread of DiseaseEase of travel makes the threat of pandemics a larger problem

Swine Flu, SARS, AIDS etc.

Upside: worldwide efforts towards eradicating these diseases

Environmental issuesWorldwide Concern

Awareness of how local issues can be a worldwide issue

Problem can be compounded as a result of rapid growth in developing countries

Usually encouraged by industrial countries

VI. Wrap Up

Globalization has its positives and negatives

Everything in history has lead us to this point in time

The EndThe Space Marines have been

defeated and the world is now a “safe and peaceful” place…

Or is it?