Post-Cold War Period

1. Post-Cold War Period

2. The Persian Gulf War • Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq • Iraq invaded its wealthy neighbor Kuwait on August 2, 1990 because of an oil dispute. • The U.S. dispatched troops to Saudi Arabia to prevent Iraq expansion. • Desert Shield • The U.N. authorized the use of force to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait. • By January 1991, George Bush had put together a 28 nation coalition

4. The Gulf War • Operation Desert Storm • Air attack began on January 17 against Baghdad • Ground attack began on February 24 and lasted only 4 days • Cease fire on February 28 • Saddam Hussein remained in power. • Continued economic sanctions

5. Recession and Downsizing • The former Cold War Rivals began the process of downsizing the military. • Private businesses also began “restructuring” and “downsizing” • Economic recession • Increased inflation and unemployment and decreased production. • The recession would be short and self-correcting. • “Peace dividend” • The economic situation improved by 1996.

6. Unleashing Globalization • The end of the Cold War removed many impediments to globalization. • With many of the political and ideological obstacles to international integration dissolving, capital, commodities, people, and culture crossed borders with ever-greater freedom. • Tariffs and immigration laws changed.

7. Trade Integration • East Asia • China went from 5 to 12 percent of the world’s GDP • Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong became mini-powerhouses • Over 25 percent by 1989 • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1993) • U.S., Mexico, and Canada • Maastricht Treaty (1991) • The constitution for the European Union, which was to be a fully integrated trading and financial bloc • Single European Currency (the euro)

8. Israeli-Palestinian Arab Conflict • The Palestinian Authority led by Yasir Arafat • Israel led by Yitzhak Rabin • Oslo Agreements (1993-94) • Series of withdrawals by the Israelis and the turnover of land to the Palestinian Authority • Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

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10. Israeli-Palestinian Arab Conflict • Unresolved issues • Status of Jerusalem • Both claimed sovereignty over Jerusalem. • Security issues • Control of water resources • Ultimate status of the Palestinian entity • Palestinians believed the process would lead to complete independence. • Israeli Prime Minister Rabin assassinated in 1995. • Sporadic violence on both sides continues.

11. Yugoslavian Turmoil (The Balkans) • Ethnic and religious conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia • Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Bosnian or Albanian Muslims • “Ethnic Cleansing” • Dayton Accord (1995) • NATO and Peacekeeping mission. • Intervention in Kosovo • Muslim Albanians outnumbered Serbs. • Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic asserted Serbian control through martial law. • NATO launched air strikes in 1999. • Milosevic resigned in 2000.

13. Post-Cold War Shifts in Political Power (Move to Center) • U.S. (1992) • Republican George Bush is defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton • France (1995) • Neo-Gaullist Jacques Chirac was elected to replace the socialist Mitterrand. • Great Britain (1997) • Conservative John Major defeated by the Labour Party and Tony Blair • Germany (1998) • Social Democrat Gerhard Schroder was elected to replace Helmut Kohl’s more conservative party. • Schroder and Blair moved their nations to the political center by advocating a “Third Way” between socialism and capitalism • Russia (2000) • Vladimir Putin wins in 2000 after Yeltsin resigns