15.5 NOTES

The End of the Cold War

I. The Soviet Union Declines

Command economy stagnates Collective farming

unproductive Consumer goods

inferior quality Government planners

decided what to make Arms race put a large

strain on Soviets Soviets have own

Vietnam in Afghanistan

II. Gorbachev Tries Reform Mikhail Gorbachev- 1985

new Soviet leader Called for glasnost or

“openness” End censorship

Perestroika- restructuring of the government Market based reforms

Reform backfires leads to more economic trouble

Eastern European countries started to leave 1989

1991 Soviet Union breaks up

III. Communism Declines Around The World

East Germany reunites w/ West Germany

China does a mixed economy and has a boom No political reforms

Vietnam opened in 1990’s

North Korea remains isolated

IV. The United States as Sole Superpower

World’s leading military power

Americans unsure if they want to be “the world’s policeman”