Post-Cold War World, 1990-Present | Chapter 30 (AMSCO)

Introduction:
-Reagan’s appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev came two years before the Berlin Wall fell
in 1989
-Two years later, the Soviet Union collapsed, but Communist governments still remained in
China, North Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam
-Political alliances changed, and economic interactions among nations expanded
-The post-Cold War world had to grapple with new democracies, vast economic inequality,
ethnic conflict and genocide, terrorism, environmental degradation, and global epidemics

Economic Globalization:
-Globalization is the process of interaction among peoples, governments, and companies of
different nations around the world
-Term usually refers to the increased integration of the global economy since the 1970s
-Eastern Bloc nations under Soviet control suddenly could trade freely with capitalist countries
-There was a renewed emphasis on market-oriented policy advocated by leaders such as Ronald
Reagan in the US and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain
-Advocated cutting taxes, regulations, and government assistance to the poor as a way to
promote economic growth
-Corporations used the shift in emphasis to move jobs to countries with lower wages, lower
taxes, and fewer regulations
-Globalization led to labor exploitation and environmental damage

Rise of Japan:
-Japan implemented economic policies similar to eighteenth-century mercantilist policies
designed to increase exports and decrease imports
-Government coordinated its finance and labor policies with large corporations and gave them
subsidies to allow them to keep their costs low
-Government used high tariffs and other trade restrictions on goods made abroad
-Low-wage workers producing items for foreign markets couldn’t afford what they were making
-A weak government response to a financial panic in the 1990s and a combined earthquake and
tsunami in 2011 created drags on growth
The Tigers and China:
-Closely following Japan’s economic model were four smaller states known as the Asian Tigers
(Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan) and the world’s most populous country, China
-China’s growth began after Deng Xiaoping became the country’s leader in 1978
-He reopened the Shanghai stock market and allowed private ownership of some businesses
-Success raised hundreds of millions of people out of dire poverty

India, Brazil, and Russia:

-Early 1990s, India opened its markets and allowed in more foreign imports
-India developed a software and information powerhouse
-Multinational corporations such as Microsoft and Google also invested in the Indian economy
-Government had not provided the basic infrastructure needed for growth, such as roads, clean
water, health care, and education
-Brazil was another rapidly growing country, but its urban poor continued to live in dire
conditions in favelas, or slums, on the outskirts of major cities such as Rio de Janeiro
-Russia’s oil wealth markedly expanded its economy after the end of the Cold War
-However, when the price of oil dropped, the economies of these countries declined rapidly

Trade and Economic Development:

-Some countries joined regional organizations such as the European Economic Union, Mercosur
(South America), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
-Many countries signed an international record, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT), which lifted barriers to trade
-Protective tariffs, taxes on foreign imports, had been at a world average rate of 40% prior to
GATT
-Agreement promoted international trade and helped restore economic prosperity to war-ravaged
Europe
-World Trade Organization (WTO) took over GATT’s operations in 1995, and made rules that
governed more than 90% of all international trade

Resistance to Globalization:
-Large global corporations often ignored the rights of workers, disregarded environmental
impacts, and forced small businesses into bankruptcy
-WTO’s meeting in Seattle was shut down by a variety of interest groups, including labor unions,
environmental groups, and family farmers

Globalization and Technology:

-The Internet, first developed for the US Defense Department during the Cold War, became a
regular tool of communication for the public by the late 1990s
-Distance and national borders nearly disappeared as barriers to the flow of ideas
-As people built stronger ties to others around the world who shared their values, their identities
based on where they lived would weaken

Technology and Revolution:

-Mobile technologies such as cellphones and other portable devices put the tools of information
creation and dissemination into the hands of individuals around the world
-Videos taken on phones of police shooting or assaulting African-American men sparked
outrage, inquiries into racial profiling, and riots against injustices in the US

Upheaval in Muslim Countries:

-A series of popular uprisings in many Arab countries known as the Arab Spring were sparked
when a man in Tunisia set himself on fire to protest the confiscation of his fruit stand by police
-These and other similar uprisings revealed the power of new social media technologies

Global Popular Culture:

-As multinational corporations advertised and distributed their products around the world, people
everywhere became familiar with global brands
-A style of Japanese animation known as anime became hugely popular among Western youth,
and Indian musical made in Bollywood (popular name for industry in Mumbai) enjoyed
worldwide popularity
-Through Americanization, people the world over learned more about the United States than
Americans learned of the rest of the world

Sports:
-The establishment of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 reflected an early sense of
internationalism
-Soccer emerged as the most popular sport in the world; international leagues such as the World
Cup and the NBA

Religion:
-Former Beatles band member George Harrison released a song containing the words of a Hindu
mantra, which launched the popularity of the Hari Krishna movement, which was based on
traditional Hindu scriptures
-New Age religions, forms of Buddhism, shamanism, Sufism, and other religious traditions were
revived and adapted for a largely Western audience

Struggles for Democracy:

South Africa’s Apartheid:
-South Africa’s system of apartheid, instituted in 1948, tried to separate whites and blacks as
much as possible
-Pass laws required black South Africans to carry identity documents when entering white areas,
which they often had to do when traveling to their jobs

Challenges to Apartheid:
-Nelson Mandela, a leader of the African National Congress (ANC), was imprisoned for life for
agitating against apartheid
-The ANC’s primary goals were to end white domination and create a multiracial South Africa
-Black protests in South Africa, which were often peaceful, were crushed violently by the
government’s forces
-As South Africa became a pariah state (undesirable state) in the 1980s, its leadership began to
notice
-F.W. de Klerk became the nation’s acting president; recognized the need for change and
announced Nelson Mandela’s release from prison
-A series of reforms in the 1990s ended apartheid, and in 1994, South Africa held its first free
elections
-May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn in as president, South Africa’s first black leader

Uniting South Africa:

-Immediately the Government of National Unity set up the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC)
-The TRC sought to restore and establish an atmosphere of trust in the new multiracial South
Africa

China’s Citizens Protest for Freedom:

-The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ruled the People’s Republic with an iron fist
-Censored the news industry and controlled what students were taught in schools
-International nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were not free to operate in China unless
they were willing to undergo strict regulation

Tiananmen Square:
-Protesters demanded a chance to speak with Chinese leaders about freedom f the press and other
reforms
-Government declared martial law and sent troops armed with tanks and assault weapons into
Beijing
-Army soon arrived in Tiananmen Square and attacked the unarmed protesters
-Estimates by Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, and the New York Times
indicated that anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand civilians were killed

Minority Rights in China:

-Communist government in China struggled with the demands of its 55 ethnic minorities
-Mongolian people in China protested against the high number of Han who had moved into Inner
Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, and disrupted their pastoral way of life

Environmental Degradation in China:

-Reduced rainfall led to the expansion of the Gobi Desert, which covers large parts of western
China and Mongolia
-All Chinese cities experience air pollution resulting from the increased use of coal to run power
plants and factories and increased the number of motor vehicles on the streets and roads
-Water pollution from the Yellow river was so polluted it couldn’t provide drinking water

Water Problems in China:

-The world’s largest hydroelectric power station was built in the Three Gorges Dam on the
Yangtze River
-Fears developed that the banks of the reservoir were collapsing and that earthquakes could cause
landslides and massive flooding
-Beijing and many other large cities used up the water in nearby aquifers, and water had to be
shipped in from elsewhere
-Construction of one of more large canals to divert water from the Yangtze of the Huang He to
more arid areas and cities in the north was created with the South-North Water Diversion Project

Global Security:
-President George H. W. Bush declared a New World Order, one in which the US would take the
lead in creating a unified and secure world
-A coalition of nations joined in a war against Iraq in 1991 after Saddam Hussein’s forces
invaded Kuwait, which led to the Persian Gulf War and Hussein’s forces leaving Kuwait
-Other countries opposed how the US exerted its influence as the world’s sole superpower
-Clerics in socially conservative societies, particularly those in the Middle East, objected to
American media’s permissive attitudes toward sex and gender roles
-Criticized the US for supporting Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Growth of Terrorism:

-Individuals unaffiliated with any government formed terrorist networks that intimidated and
murdered civilians
-Among the deadliest of these groups was al-Qaeda; financed by Saudi billionaire Osama bin
Laden, al-Qaeda carried out devastating attacks on the US on September 11, 2001
-Most of the world, even bitter foes of the US such as Iran, rallied to support the US

War in Afghanistan:
-The 9/11 attacks had been orchestrated from bin Laden’s camp in Afghanistan, which was under
the control of another right-wing Islamic group, the Taliban
-US coalition invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban
-In 2011, US forces located bin Laden in a hideout in Pakistan, and killed him

War in Iraq:
-President George W. Bush claimed that Iraq’s brutal dictator Saddam Hussein was connected to
the 9/11 terrorists and was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction
-US and a few allied forces invaded Iraq, beginning the Iraq War
-Hussein was captured and a special Iraqi tribunal prosecuted him for crimes against humanity
and had him executed by hanging
-No links between Hussein and al-Qaeda were found, nor were any weapons of mass destruction
located in Iraq

Confronting Terrorism:
-Defeat of the Taliban and death of bin Laden didn’t end terrorism, other groups emerged
-Countries continued to struggle to defeat terrorism

Genocide and Human Rights:

Bosnia:
-Ethnic conflict drove the genocide in Bosnia
-Yugoslavia was home to Serbians (East Orthodox Christians), Croats and Slovenes (Catholics),
and Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo
-When Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia declared independence, they each defined citizenship in
terms of ethnic background and religion
-Serbian nationalists led by the demagogue Slobodan Milosevic were particularly emphatic about
ethnic purity
-Serb forces, in attempts to dominate states such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, committed
horrific acts of ethnic cleansing against Muslims from Bosnia and Kosovo
-More than 300,000 people in the region perished over the course of Yugoslavia’s balkanization,
or disintegration into separate states

Rwanda:
-Rwanda was the site of one of the worst genocides in modern history
-Belgian colonies had treated the minority Tutsis better than the majority Hutus
-Hutus won control of the government and took revenge on the Tutsis by discriminating against
them
-In 1994 when Rwanda’s president, a Hutu, was killed in an airplane crash, supposedly shot
down by rebel forces
-Between 500,000 and 1,000,000 civilians, mostly Tutsis and some Hutus, were killed
-UN peacekeepers were instructed not to use force to restore order
-Rwandan genocide focused attention on the lack of leadership in the international community

Sudan:
-Another genocide erupted in 2003 in Darfur, a region located in western Sudan
-The government of Sudan was controlled by Arab Muslims
-Darfur rebel groups composed of non-Arabs took arms against the Sudanese government in
response to attacks from nomads
-Sudanese government unleashed Arab militants known as the Janjaweed on the region
-Despite negotiations, appeals, and the International Criminal Court charging Sudan’s President
Omar al-Bashir with war crimes, the genocide continued

Global Challenges:
Hunger:
-Organizations such as CARE and the UN’s World Food Program, which distributed food to
starving people
-Many people looked for more long-term solutions to the problem through economic
development and better farming practices

The Green Revolution:

-The Green Revolution emerged as a possible long-term response to hunger
-New varieties of plants were first developed by crossbreeding (breeding two varieties of plants
to create a hybrid)
-Scientists have used genetic engineering (manipulating a cell or organism to change its basic
characteristics)
-Forests were burned down and the land was plowed for agriculture
-Many small farmers could not afford the new fertilizers or pesticides, reducing their ability to
compete with large landowners
-Heavy applications of chemicals damaged the soil and the environment
-Some argued that a genetic modification designed to give a plant resistance to insects might
inadvertently cause a decline in the population of pollinating insects, such as bees

Environmental Challenges:
-Many environmental problems, including global warming have occurred
-Scientists cited data showing that the emissions of carbon dioxide caused by the burning of
fossil fuels were causing global warning, an increase in the average temp of the world
-If nations did not curb their carbon footprint (the amount of carbon dioxide that each person
produces), global warming would produce catastrophes

Efforts to Fight Global Warming:

-Countries disagreed on how to reduce carbon emissions
-Developed nations argued that developing countries such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil,
needed to curb their rapidly increasing output of carbon dioxide
-Developing countries responded that they were trying to provide electricity, automobiles, and a
path out of poverty for citizens, things developed countries did using oil and coal
-First major international agreement was the Kyoto Protocol, but the US refused to sign, and
China and India weren’t required to agree to the strictest terms of the protocol
-The Paris Agreement renewed hopes for progress against global warming

Earth Day:
-Citizens in the US designated April 22 each year as Earth Day, s day for people to focus on
environmental themes

Greenpeace:
-Founded as an organization to advocate for the environment, Greenpeace grew into a
multinational agency with offices in 40 countries
-Engaged in lobbying and education, but it became famous for its direct actions, such as
confronting whaling boats in the ocean

Green Belt Movement:

-National Council of Women of Kenya organized the Green Belt Movement to plant trees to stop
deforestation, to reduce soil erosion, and to provide more fuel for home cooking

Non-fossil Fuel Energy:

-Companies and nations began to invest in alternatives to coal and oil, such as wind, solar, tidal,
and geothermal power
-Nuclear power was a widely used replacement for fossil fuels
Gender Issues:
-Percentage of women who could read and who attended college increased, and in country after
country, women won the right to vote
-UN adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
-Outlined rights such as the right to vote and hold office, the right to freely choose a spouse, the
right to access the same education as men, and the right to access family planning resources and
birth control

Medical Challenges and Breakthroughs:

Antibiotics:
-Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming accidently discovered that a particular fungus produced a
substance that killed bacteria
-Penicillin became the first antibiotic, a useful agent in curing bacterial infections
-By killing off certain strains of a disease, antibiotics allowed the evolution of strains of the
disease unaffected by them

Malaria:
-A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas, malaria killed more than 600,000
people per year
-The NGO Doctors Without Borders treated about 1.7 million people annually with drugs

Tuberculosis:
-A bacteria that affects the lungs causes tuberculosis
-The World Health Organization (WHO) began a worldwide campaign against tuberculosis in
the 2010s

Cholera:
-A bacterial disease that spread through contaminated water, cholera caused more than 100,000
deaths per year
-Like tuberculosis and malaria, cholera affects mainly poor people

Smallpox:
-Smallpox had plagued the ancient Egyptians and devastated the native population of the
Americas and Australia
-WHO conducted a global vaccination campaign to eradicate the disease

Polio:
-Caused by water contaminated by a virus transmitted in fecal matter, polio once infected
100,000 new people per year
-American researcher, Dr. Jonas Salk, announced on April 12, 1955, that an injectable vaccine
against polio had proven effective; an oral vaccine by Dr. Albert Sabin, became available

HIV/AIDS:
-Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which is caused by Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV) killed more than 25 million around the world
-Virus is contracted through the exchange of bodily fluids, usually through unprotected sex,
blood transfusions, or sharing intravenous needles
-Antiretroviral drugs could stop HIV from weakening the immune system, thus allowing a
patient to live with the virus for many years
-The WHO, the US government, and private groups increased funding for AIDS prevention and
treatment in Africa, but the disease remains a serious problem today

Ebola:
-Ebola is a deadly disease caused by a virus that infects the African fruit bat, humans, and other
primates
-A massive outbreak in west Africa caused fear around the world

Diabetes:
-Diabetes, a disease that affects how the body uses blood sugar
-Treatments included an improved diet, regular exercise, weight control, pills, and insulin

Heart Disease:
-Heart disease is associated with lifestyle changes, genetics, and increased longevity
-First major discovery was the heart transplant, first performed by South African Christiaan
Barnard
-An artificial heart was soon developed and was used as a temporary device while the patient
waited for a compatible human heart

Alzheimer’s Disease:
-As people lived longer, a form of dementia known as Alzheimer’s disease that affected elderly
and some middle-aged people became an increasing concern
-Since the disease undermines bodily functions, it leads to death