The end of the Cold War between the US and the USSR is a multi-varied equation. The two camps for this debate - ideational vs. material - bring out the role of Mikhail Gorbachev and the role of western financial institutions, respectively, in ending the hostility. This presentation provides an overview of these two camps that explains 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