The roots of resurgence and the end of the Cold War

1. The Roots of Resurgence and the End of the Cold War Matthew Bennett & Nimesh Babu Oli Presented at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University

2. Readings for this week Archie Brown The Gorbachev revolution and the end of the Cold war Fritz Bartel Global Finance and the Search for “New thinking” on the end of the Cold War Logevall and Craig “A New Cold War,” “Endgame,” and “Conclusion”

3. Table of Contents Key Takeaways from the Week 01 Timeline of Events 02 Ideationalists vs. Materialists debate 03 Class Discussion 04

4. Key Takeaways 01 Main ideas from this week’s readings

5. Key Takeaways from the Readings 1. The eastern bloc of Europe/Warsaw Pact are not the same as the Soviet Union and the collapse of these communist regimes were also different 2. The end of the Cold War was caused by a balance of numerous factors, including materialist and ideationalist schools of thought 3. Gorbachev played a crucial role by openly criticizing the domestic policies of his country and actively seeking peaceful relations with the West 4. The economic struggles of Soviet satellite states, and lack of Soviet intervention, forced these states to pursue western economic and later political systems

6. Timeline 02 From the 70s to the 90s

7. End of the Cold War Timeline Gorbachev travels through W. Europe and receives attention as critical of the Soviet system and a reformer Fall of Saigon, economic stagnation, rising oil prices, global doubt of capitalism 1975 1970s Detente, Pugwash Movement, Palme Commission 1983 Reagan announces Star Wars March 1985 Chernenko dies, Gorbachev unanimously rises to power 1985-86 Repeal of Brezhnev Doctrine, “new thinking” grows through Gorbachev’s new appointments Late 1984 Picture credit: History Channel Picture credit: LA Times

8. End of the Cold War Timeline Dec. 1987 DC Summit and the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty 1986 Poland readmitted into IMF May 1988 Moscow Summit symbolizes positive relations between superpowers, ratiﬁcation of INF 1989 Revolutions throughout Eastern Europe, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Malta Summit Feb 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan 1991 Dissolution of the Soviet Union Picture credit: Britannica Picture credit: The Guardian

9. Ideationalism vs Materialism 03 Picture credit: Spreadshirt

10. Gorbachev and “New thinking” Picture credit: Time Magazine (1985) Ideationalism ● Gorbachev’s unique ideas and characteristics had the utmost impact on Soviet society and the peaceful ending of the Cold War ● He was willing to work with the West and leave the Eastern Bloc to their own functional sovereignty, defying previous Soviet doctrine by encouraging “new thinking” ● These new reform-minded ideas and the way they were implemented had differing consequences, leading to the end of the Cold War as well as the Soviet Union

11. Picture credit: Carnegie Endowment Mikhail Gorbachev ● Gorbachev was in power 1985-1991 ● He succeeded three “older” and more hardline communist leaders. He was younger and brought about more idealistic policies to the Kremlin ● Referred to Europe as “our Europe” and declined the option of intervening in the Eastern Europe to exert control and inﬂuence ● Implemented policies leaning towards democratic socialism in an attempt to revive the struggling Soviet system ● His idealism encouraged Reagan to ease his “evil empire” rhetoric and the two powers were better suited to enter agreements ● Does his unanimous election reﬂect pre existing changes happening throughout the Politburo?

12. Picture credit: Washington Post Mikhail Gorbachev● Gorbachev essentially gutted the entire foreign policy arm of Soviet government and appointed like minded reformists like Shevardnadze and Cherniaev ● Gorbachev and many of his closest advisors had spent signiﬁcant time in the West and wondered why their homeland was not thriving in a similar way ● The USSR recognized the struggles at home and throughout its land of inﬂuence and Gorbachev catalyzed changes towards “democratic socialism” ● Gorbachev differed from his hardline predecessors and declared that the eastern bloc and soviet satellite states have the “right to choose its political and economic system” ● The Soviet military greatly shrank and was far more willing to enter arms agreements

13. ● Gorbachev was one variable of a multivariable equation ● Ultimate cause of 1989 revolution was economic and they stemmed from the West rather than the East ● Sovereign Debt, Global Financial mechanisms and communist economic stagnation are some factors ● Eastern European countries faces economic problems and were in dire need of fresh capital Materialism Source: Professor Bartel’s Twitter

14. Source: Professor Bartel’s paper ● Requested aid package from the Soviets but got rejected as the Soviets were also going through economic pressure due to inefﬁcient economy and decrease in oil revenues ● Troubled eastern European economies were forced to reach out to the west for economic relief ● What would have been the course of events if the USSR had come to the rescue of its satellite states? Materialism

15. ● Austerity measures brewed disenchantment and democratization of the society was the only way for the acceptance of such measures ● The economic woes in the East would have culminated in a revolution like in 1989, irrespective of the man in Kremlin ● The West and its ﬁnancial institutions leveraged their power for political and economic reforms in E. Europe ● E. European States compromised their economic and to some extent political structure to receive economic relief/loan from the west ● Poland even held a referendum to seek ‘popular legitimacy and mandate for austerity’ - but voters rejected Materialism Picture Credit: IMF

16. ● Polish opinion polls of 1988 showcase that people were unhappy with the economic situation rather than the political situation because of the rise in inflation and fall in wages ● IMF demanded Poland to build ‘social consensus’ around reforms before providing economic packages ● Poland abides by the IMF and Western pressure to accommodate political reforms ● Because of the economic influence that west had in E. European states, there was no any chance for the USSR to exert control over the region even if it was capable ● The burden of debt, the allure of access to global financial markets, and the challenge of austerity - all related to the West - ensured the downfall of communism and later the ending of the Cold War. Materialism

17. Class Discussion 04 Picture credit: The Times

18. Class Discussion on following questions 1. What had more impact on the fall of the Soviet Union? Materialism or ideationalism? How would you rank various factors that contributed to the end of the Cold War? 2. Would different superpower leaders have significantly prolonged or shortened the cold war? Or the Soviet Union? 3. How has the balance of influence between “exceptional” leaders and the existing environment played out in recent history? Tito in Yugoslavia? Bush 43 in Iraq? 4. What policy lessons should we learn from the Gorbachev period? How can we apply this to the increasing power of China? 5. How significant were the revolutions in Eastern Europe to the standing of the Soviet Union?

19. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik Thanks Professor and the whole class

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