1990s and 2000s

International Politics

· Downfall of Soviet Union; End of the Cold-War

· Extension of Democracy

· Rise of Anti-Americanism and Dissolution of Trans-Atlantic Alliances

· United Nations and the International Community

· Population and Migration

· Nuclear Proliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

· International Conflicts

Downfall of Soviet Union; End of the Cold-War

Effects

· Third world countries can no longer secure loans by aligning with the US or USSR, but must become self-sufficient

· The US & Russia could no longer justify high taxes for defense spending.

· Causes many border disputes: Yugoslavia (Kosovo), Russia/Chechnya, Indonesia.

· U.S. is seen as the last remaining super-power, which leads to more conflict with European allies who worry about US hegemony

· Over half the population in the Soviet Union is impoverished in a country where poverty was non-existent; life expectancy drops drastically; and GDP is halved.

· A period of unprecedented prosperity in the West, especially in the United States, ensues

· A wave of democratization occurs throughout Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

· Cold War institutions such as NATO found new roles.

· Space exploration is decreased in both the United States and Russia as a result of the competitive pressure of the space race

· 1990 U.S.-Soviet summit reaches accord on armaments. Western Alliance ends cold war and proposes joint action with Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Leaders of 34 nations in Europe and North America proclaim a united Europe

· 1991 Warsaw Pact dissolves. Bush and Gorbachev negotiate a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (STARTII).

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