Week 8: Intervention and the end of the Cold War Last Lecture! Exam on Thursday! We all know how the Cold War ended... We all know how the Cold War ended... We all know how the Cold War ended... We all know how the Cold War ended... Rocky’s speech inspires peace Rocky’s speech inspires peace Really, though... Really, though... It starts with Soviet Union suffering from economic and political stagnation in the 1970s and 1980s. Soviet GDP growth slows; debt increases Leadership stagnant; often ill Andropov (1984) Brezhnev (1982) Chernenko (1985) Gorbachev takes over in 1985 Introduction of Reforms Perestroika Glasnost ● Market reforms ● Increased freedom and transparency. ● Multi-candidate elections in CPSU. ● Less censorship. 1986: Chernobyl Better relations with the West ● Arms Control ● Withdrawal from Afghanistan. ● End of Brezhnev Doctrine Eastern Europe reacts ● 1988: Solidarity regains legal status. ● April 1989: Polish gov’t agrees for limited multi- party elections. ● May 1989: Hungary removes border fence. June 1989: Solidarity wins all contested seats ● June 1989: Hungarian communists rehabilitate Imre Nagy. ● August 1989: Polish Sejm elects non- communist prime minister. September-October 1989: Leipzig Meetings ● October 1989: Honecker deposed. ● November 1989: Berlin Wall torn down. ● Germanies reunited in 1990. November-December 1989: Revolutions in Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia Dissent Spreads to USSR ● Protests in Baltic Republics starting in 1987. ● Ethnic violence in Nagorno-Karabakh (1988). ● Protests in Armenia and Georgia. ● Ethnic riots in Central Asia. 1990: Elections in each constituent Soviet Republic 1991: Yeltsin elected Russian president Solution: New Union Treaty to be signed in August of 1991 August 1991: Coup attempt fails After coup, Gorbachev loses authority; resigns on December 25, 1991. Why did the USSR collapse? War in Afghanistan, “Star Wars,” Helsinki Accords, Economic collapse, Flaws of communism, Spirit of Rebellion, Bureaucratic inefficiency, pattern of reform, etc. War in Afghanistan? War in Afghanistan? ● Emboldened nationalism in Soviet republics. ● Demilitarization of Soviet society. ● Loss of legitimacy in periphery. ● Precursor to glasnost. Foreign intervention ● “Star Wars” (SDI) ● Helsinki Accords? Internal Soviet Politics ● Economic stagnation. Internal Soviet Politics ● Economic stagnation. ● Flawed Economic System (Verdery) Internal Soviet Politics ● Economic stagnation. ● Flawed Economic System (Verdery) ● Flawed Political System ○ Bureaucrats desired stability (Roeder). ○ Bureaucrats stole everything (Solnick). Pattern of Reform ● Tough structural changes and political liberalization lead to unrest. ● Contrast with China. Discussion Which explanation is most credible? Why? Takeaway Politics of Intervention today On Thursday... Comprehensive Exam.