End of Chapter 31, most of Chapter 32

1. 1968,
Liberalization,
and the end of the
Cold War

2. Major Events of 1968
Latin America – in the lead up to the 1968 Olympics being held in the city, students begin
widespread protests against the violent and repressive PRI government in Mexico City. Student
protests against repressive governments also occur in Argentina and Brazil.
At the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their
fists in a political statement for human rights on the podium after winning first and third place in the
200 meter race. This resulted in the loss of their medals and further discrimination once they
returned home.
America – protests against the Vietnam War and for Civil Rights are widespread. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. is assassinated in April in Memphis. Later that year, Robert F. Kennedy (JFK’s brother, a
Senator, and presidential candidate) was also assassinated. President LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act
of 1968.
Eastern Europe: After a reform leader, Alexander Dubcek, is elected in communist Czechoslovakia,
he begins putting in place liberal reforms. This is called the Prague Spring. It was crushed with
troops from the Warsaw Pact, and would result in the Brezhnev Doctrine. Leonid Brezhnev, leader of
the USSR, made it clear that any communist countries trying to reform would be subject to military
intervention. This would not stop further student protests across Eastern Bloc countries, however. 2

3. Aftermath of 1968
Latin America – Protests had continued after the summer Olympics in Mexico, with the PRI
government becoming increasingly violent in their response. The Tlatelolco Massacre occurred in
October of 1968 when the army fired on protesters listening to speeches. This marked the beginning
of widespread public distrust of the party, though they remained in power for over three more
decades.
America – after significant gains, the Civil Rights movement continued to strive for the application of
the new laws throughout the US.
Eastern Europe: The crushing of the Prague Spring with Warsaw Pact troops signaled to the
reformers of Eastern Bloc countries that they could no longer hope to reform their communist
parties from the inside. They now looked at social movements as their only way to improve their
lives. In Czechoslovakia this meant a groups would push to reform civil society, rather than the
government.
The promise of change felt by so many worldwide at the end of the 1960s was suppressed and
delayed for the time being.
3

4. History of the Arab-
Israeli Conflict
This Crash Course video explains the origins and progression of the issues
in Palestine/Israel from the 1940s to near the present day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wo2TLlMhiw

5. Oil and the Global Economy in the
1960s-1990s
5
In 1960, oil exporting countries formed an economic cartel called OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) to counterbalance American and Western conglomerates in an effort for their
countries to better benefit from the increasing global dependence on fossil fuels. Iran, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, and Venezuela were founding members. Today OPEC controls 44% of global oil
production, and holds over 80% of the world’s oil reserves.
In 1973 OPEC placed an embargo on the US and Western Europe. This was in response to Western
support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Oil and gas prices skyrocketed in the US and Western
Europe. This was followed by another embargo in 1979, which combined with conservative domestic
economic policies pushed the US into a recession dubbed “stagflation.”
Eventually, the economic boom for OPEC countries resulted in international banks issuing loans to
developing countries which by the 1990s resulted in many countries in Africa and Latin America
being in debt to major US and European banks, shifting the economic balance back to the West.

6. Ugly CarsIn the US, the steep jump in oil prices put a halt to the production of larger
vehicles with big engines, resulting in the increase of more fuel efficient cars
from Japanese companies (like Honda and Toyota), and the abominations of
the 1980s domestic brands. I mean, really, it was like they thought cars had to
be ugly to be more fuel efficient…
6

7. Egypt, Iraq, and Iran
⬩ Egypt emerged as the leader of the Arab world after the 1960s
⬩ Under the leadership of Anwar Sadat, then his successor, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt received large
amounts of aid from the US for helping to “stabilize” the region.
⬩ Increasingly under Mubarak the government became corrupt, and most of this aid was taken by
government officials, 40% of Egyptians lived in poverty.
⬩ Mubarak, like other authoritarian leaders in the region, fell during the Arab Spring in 2010-2011.
⬩ In Iran, a US and British backed shah (king) ruled from 1953 to 1979 when fundamental Islamic
revolutionaries (led by Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, a cleric) took over the country and began forming
an Islamic state.
▫ Today, Iran suffers from major sanctions because continued nuclear programs (most of which
provide power, but would also enable the production of nuclear weapons).
⬩ From 1980 to 1988, Iraq and Iran fought a war. It began when Saddam Hussein, concerned about the
spread of Shiite fundamentalism, attacked Iran.
▫ Both the US and the USSR supported Iraq in their efforts against Iran, and looked the other way
as Hussein used chemical weapons and conducted pogroms against Kurds within Iraq.
▫ Though Iran is viewed as the winner of the war, it resulted in virtually no change geopolitically. 7

8. You probably know the next part…
8
In 1990, suffering from huge debt incurred fighting against Iran, Saddam Hussein invaded his small,
oil-rich neighbor, Kuwait. This ignited the First Persian Gulf War. A UN coalition, led by the US,
expelled Iraqi forced from Kuwait, but left Hussein in power.
In 2003, alleging that Hussein had continued using chemical and biological weapons (outlawed by the
UN) the US invaded Iraq (the Second Gulf War), overthrowing Hussein and fully occupying the
country until 2011. Currently, US soldiers still remain in Iraq to support Iraqi forces fighting ISIS
insurgents.

9. Latin America
⬩ Central America – many countries in Central America saw civil wars from the 1960s to the 1980s and
the US often trained and backed any leader that opposed socialism/communism. In 1986 the
president of Costa Rica held peace talks with factions in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala,
successfully ending the civil wars in those countries. Opponents began to form political parties to
oppose each other, rather than armed militias. This did not bring prosperity, though, and many people
from Central America still seek opportunity in Mexico and the US.
⬩ In 1970 in Chile, a communist was elected president (Salvador Allende). By 1973, the US supported a
military junta, led by Augusto Pinochet, who would serve as a dictator until 1988.
⬩ In Argentina, after multiple military interventions, Juan Peron was invited to return to rule (he had
been exiled since 1955, but remained popular to the people). He died soon after winning the
presidential election, leaving his wife, Isabelita, in charge (she was VP). A military junta took over, and
ran the country until 1983, when Argentina was defeated in the Falklands War. A succession of reform
minded leaders has followed since then.
⬩ Brazil was dominated by military leadership until 1985, when increasing international debts forced the
election of a civilian. Since then, liberal reforms have kept the country progressing, with only small
increases in quality of life for most Brazilian citizens.

10. Apartheid in South Africa
This video summarizes the system of Apartheid in South Africa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7yvnUz2PLE
In this video Trevor Noah visits his neighborhood in Soweto and talks about
Apartheid with his grandmother:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s5iz6ml-qA
In the 1950s black South Africans mounted peaceful protests, many of which were
met with violent suppression. The African National Congress, a nationalist
organization of black South Africans and their supporters, was outlawed and went
underground. Nelson Mandela, a lawyer, was the leader of this group. He and others
mounted a resistance that largely involved sabotage as a way to undermine
Apartheid. He was tried for treason in 1962, and remained in prison until 1990. After
his release he worked to formalize the end of Apartheid, then became the first black
president in 1994. 10

11. Developments in Asia
11
After the end of WWII, Japan would rebuild and
focus on their economy. The Japanese
government did not have to spend money on
rebuilding a military, and spent little on defense.
Instead, they focused on emerging industries
such as cars, electronics, and computers. By the
1970s and 80s Japan was an economic
powerhouse, rivaling the US.
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore
pursued similar reforms to those in Japan, and
soon became known as the “Asian Tigers,”
competing with the country they were emulating.
Often these reforms came at the expense of
democracy, with governments suppressing any
political dissent.

12. Developments in Asia
12
Calls for democratization increased in China
after the death of Chairman Mao in 1976,
culminating in student demonstrations in 1989. In
central Beijing, protesters gathered in
Tiananmen Square, blocking the entry of soldiers
for two weeks. Then on June 4th tanks entered the
square and the military began firing on the
protestors, over 700 students died in the reprisals
for the protests. Economically, China increasingly
embraced capitalism from 1978 onward, while
politically it is still a one party, communist state.
Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 from
Britain, and Macau in 1999 from Portugal.
Beijing at dusk.

13. India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan
⬩ India remained a hotbed of unrest due to the many minority ethnic and religious groups in the
country. Most notably, in 1984 Sikh separatists attempted to breakaway in the northern region of
Punjab, eventually assassinating the prime minister, Indira Ghandi (no relation to Mahatma). This was
followed by violence against Sikhs throughout India. Economically, reforms came in the 1990s
allowing for more development. Currently the country has a strong political leaning towards Hindu
nationalists.
⬩ Pakistan was ruled by the military from 1977 to 1988, and developed close ties with the US. This was
due in large part to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-1989. After 1988 Benazir Bhutto
served from 1988-1990 and again from 1993-1996 as the first female leader of a Muslim country.
Despite this, the military often stepped in and took control, off and on, up until 2008. Since 1998,
when Pakistan developed nuclear arms, India and Pakistan have often seen periods of brinkmanship,
usually diffused by the US, an ally of both countries.
⬩ Upon the Soviet withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989 there was a civil war with the Islamic
fundamentalist Taliban gaining control of the country. After al-Qaeda attacked the US on September
11, 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan and has spent the years since attempting to help the current
government retain control of the country. Relations between the US and Pakistan were strained after
Osama bin Laden was killed, hiding in a compound in northwestern Pakistan in 2011.

14. The End of the Cold War
⬩ In 1977 in Czechoslovakia a group of dissidents led by Vaclav Havel publicly protested the
government’s violation of civil rights, this became known as Charter 77.
⬩ In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up a communist regime. For the next
ten years the war would become the Vietnam of the USSR. Operatives from the CIA were
actively arming and training the resistance, many of whom would eventually become the
Taliban after Soviet withdraw.
⬩ In 1980 a non-communist labor union, Solidarity (Solidarność), formed in Gdansk, Poland,
and quickly spread across the country, leading strikes. This resulted in martial law, and the
imprisonment of the union’s leaders.
⬩ In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR, and announced reforms aimed
at relaxing economic policies (Perestroika) and social policies (Glasnost).
⬩ Though this was intended to reform the Eastern Bloc while keeping communism, the
relaxation is seen by many as an opportunity to push for freedom.
14

15. The End of the Cold War
15
Vaclav Havel, leader of the
Czechoslovak Charter 77 movement
Solidarity protesters in Poland
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev,
who inadvertently began the
collapse of communism in Europe

16. The End of the Cold War
⬩ Solidarity saw a resurgence in Poland after 1986, when it became a legal labor union. They then led
strikes across the country in 1988-89, which eventually resulted in the calling of open elections. Lech
Wałęsa was elected the first non-communist leader of Poland in 1990.
⬩ In 1989 in East Germany protesters began to tear down the Berlin Wall, and soldiers did not stop them.
This would eventually spread to the rest of the country.
⬩ In Czechoslovakia, protests against the government eventually resulted in a peaceful transfer of power to
Vaclav Havel and his group the Civic Forum in Nov/Dec 1989. This is called the Velvet Revolution.
⬩ By 1990 Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and East Germany were convening elections. Only in
Romania was the revolution violent.
⬩ Within the USSR, many republics began to attempt similar reforms starting with the Latvian and
Lithuanian SSRs, these are initially suppressed.
⬩ The military attempts to oust Gorbachev, but he is brought back after three days. During this short coup
many SSRs and regions begin declaring independence and by 1991 Gorbachev resigns and the USSR
dissolves.
⬩ Ultimately, the poor economy, a widespread counterculture movement, and the relaxations enacted by
Gorbachev all contributed to the collapse. Though it was still a shock to many people in the Eastern Bloc.16

17. The End of the Cold War
17
Destruction of the Berlin Wall

18. ⬩ We will examine the geopolitical fallout from the collapse of
communism in Eurasia
⬩ We will look at the development and decline of the EU
⬩ We will examine the immediately recent past and look at
further globalization and social movements since 2000
⬩ This will finish out Chapter 32 and look at Chapter 33
Next Week
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