FALL OF COMMUNISM IN EASTERN EUROPE.   Term Paper ID:28936 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Contends 1989 was a watershed year in international relations with the end of Cold War. Offers cultural & political theories incl. Postmodernism, liberalism & realism to help understand new (post Cold War) international acts.... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 5 sources, 25 Citations, APA Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Contends 1989 was a watershed year in international relations with the end of Cold War. Offers cultural & political theories incl. Postmodernism, liberalism & realism to help understand new (post Cold War) international acts. Paper Introduction: International Crises Many theorists in the field of international relations maintain that 1989 was a watershed year. In fact, they argue that 1989 stands out as "a dramatic divide in contemporary history, in some respects comparable to the French Revolution two hundred years earlier" (Simensen, 1999, p. 391). Thus, Jarle Simensen asserts that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union inaugurated a new era in international relations (Simensen, 1999, p. p. 3). The significance of the Cold War to the development of international relations cannot be overstated. In fact, Simensen notes that international relations as a subdiscipline of political science developed during the Cold War (1999, p. 395). On the other hand, the Persian Gulf War demonstrates that no long Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. On the other hand, the Persian Gulf War demonstratesthat no longer can one theory explain all aspects of internationalrelations. 395). However, realism does not go far enough toexplain why Iraq appears to act as a unit. The significance of the Cold War to the development of internationalrelations cannot be overstated. 31).Thus, a liberal approach to the Gulf War can be helpful to the extent thatone can contrast the lack of individual liberty experienced by the Iraqipeople against liberalism's idea of individual liberty. Thus, in thepostmodern view, contests of power and meaning range across any number ofdifferences, but especially differences of race, gender, and sexuality,which Mohr calls "the postmodern trinity" (Mohr, 1995, p. It is not enough to say that itdoes without examining the factors that make it so. The armament buildup between the United States and the Soviet Unionduring the 198 s proved the economic and technological superiority of theUnited States and forced Soviet military leaders to consider that theyneeded to enact internal reform if they wanted to ensure their status as asuperpower (Simensen, 1999, p. However, the relationship to the social context is adynamic one, in that the social context affects the culture, which thenaffects the social context. Thus, postmodernism helps to explain the apparent willingness of theIraqi people to accept a government that does not seem to act in their self-interest because they have positioned themselves as "types," that is,Islamic fundamentalists who see their world view as universalizing.Furthermore, the multi-vocal approach that postmodernism offers isattractive even as a political theory because the forces of globalizationare among the most potent at work within late twentieth-centuryinternational relations (Fidler, 1997, p. Liberalism appears to offer the least insight into the Gulf War.Liberalism in international relations theory asserts "that internationalrelations is not fundamentally about obtaining power as a shield againstanarchy as realism argues, but rather that international relations isconcerned with protecting individual liberty at home while fosteringindividual liberty overseas (Fidler, 1997, p. Thus, in contrast torealism's primary focus on the state, liberalism's primary unit of analysisis the individual. At the international level,liberalism seeks to advance individual liberty by supporting free trade,promoting international law and international organizations as ways tofoster state interaction in the international system and seeking to fosterdemocratic governments free market economics in other countries (Fidler,1997, p. And third, it seeks to replace theemphasis on the subject and consciousness with an emphasis on language asintersubjective (Locher, 1999). Second, itseeks to link claims about social life, human nature, and criteria of truthand validity with strategies of power. First, it seeks to reject all-encompassing theories of human history and social change that wereassociated with Enlightenment ideals of reason and progress. Despite repeatedwarnings from the international community, Iraq did not withdraw fromKuwait. Nonetheless, Fidler also points out that unlike realism, liberalism isinterested in the type of government and economy states have because suchfactors affect their true commitment to individual liberty (1997, p. Postmodernists maintain that culture or personality is not one uniformthing but an "ever-changing thing" with multiple meanings and identitiesand varying sites of knowledge and power (Mohr, 1995, p. Given the particular nature of Iraq as a nation state, realism doesoffer some understanding of the Gulf War. The Gulf War was an international conflict triggered by Iraqi leaderSaddam Hussien's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 199 with the apparentintention of acquiring Kuwait's substantial oil reserves. At the start of its development, the school of realism dominatedinternational relations (Simensen, 1999, p. At the domestic level, liberalism seeks to promoteindividual liberty by advocating for democratic government and a free-market private-property economic system. In fact, they argue that 1989 stands out as "adramatic divide in contemporary history, in some respects comparable to theFrench Revolution two hundred years earlier" (Simensen, 1999, p. 395). New York. 1 ). The fall of theSoviet Union in 1989, however, dealt realism an almost insurmountable blowfor only up to a point can the realist approach explain what happened then(Simensen, 1999, p. However, Simensenpoint out that realist theory, with its concentration on relations betweenstates did not address the domestic reasons for the weakening and finaldissolution of the Soviet Union, most particularly, nationalism, liberalideas and social movements (1999, p. 14 ). Thus, Locher concludes that postmodernismis "a radical departure from historicism, traditionalism, and the idea ofpermanence in any sphere" (Locher, 1999). Thus, Locher summarizes that postmodernism is composedprimarily of three goals (1999). "The Perils of Postmodernism." Harvard Gay &Lesbian Review, 9-13. 11). 1 ). 31). David Fidler notes thatglobalization is evident in telecommunications, international trade,manufacturing strategies and global capital flows. Locher, (1999). Postmodernism offers some insight into this area. p. 14 ). And he asserts thatmany political leaders have seen globalization undermine the sovereigntyand power of the formal apparatus and legitimacy of states like the SovietUnion (Fidler, 1997, p. 395).Thus, this theory maintains that states are unitary actors with coherentsets of objective interests, which they pursue through the employment ofinternational power politics (Goldstein, 4th ed., p. 1 ). Postmodernism can offer answers to questions that realism cannotaddress because of its inability to look beyond the nation -state as aunitary actor. 14 ). In fact, Simensen notes that internationalrelations as a subdiscipline of political science developed during the ColdWar (1999, p. 1/locher.html. The Iraqi government operates asnothing more than the manifestation of Saddam Hussein's personal desires.He uses ideology and religion to craft a political theory that supports hisindividual appetite. However, a realist approach wouldmaintain that the conciliatory policy they then adopted toward the West,symbolized most strongly by Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, implied tothe world that Soviet forces would not be used to protect the regimes ofeast-central Europe, a necessary precondition for the subsequent victory ofthe democratic revolutions (Simensen, 1999, p. Today, Iraq remains to incur international sanctions for itsfailure to abide by rules set by the international community after itsremoval from Kuwait. (Fall 1995). 1 ). As Mohr points out, the postmodernist belief thateverything is dependent on its social context for its meaning and even forits existence, means that there are really not free-standing individualactors. (Fall 1997). 11). In this view the world is composed of socially constructed yetslippery "types" that, since they are social constructs or products ratherthan natural properties, take their meaning from their relations toward andagainst each other and other types, identities, and concepts. Rather, they believeeach nation-state is made of and thus is itself "a multiplicity ofexperiences and perspectives that defy easy categorization" (Goldstein, 4thed., p. Today, all cultural and political theories, includingpostmodernism, liberalism and realism must be combined to even approach anunderstanding of intranational and international acts. 395). "Unacknowledged Roots and Blatant Imitation."Electronic Journal of Sociology. What determines each culture or personality is its social context at thatparticular time. 3). 395). 31). Consequently, one could argue that internationalgovernments must approach his actions as governments approached Sovietactions during the Cold War. International relations (4th ed.). Simensen, J. International Crises Many theorists in the field of international relations maintain that1989 was a watershed year. 391).Thus, Jarle Simensen asserts that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe,the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Unioninaugurated a new era in international relations (Simensen, 1999, p. Nothing has meaning or value in itself, andthe meaning of no "thing" - be it a text, individual, or institution - isstable (Mohr, 1995, p. Goldstein, J. References Fidler, D. "Democracy and Globalization: Nineteen Eighty-nine and the 'Third Wave." Journal of World History, 1 , 2, 391-411. (1999). 395). 395). Consequently, everything is both sociallyconstructed and yet also self-deconstructing (Mohr, 1995, p. Postmodernists contendthat there is no single, objective reality that could be represented by aunitary nation-state (Goldstein, 4th ed., p. Consequently, in January of 1991, the United States led aninternational offensive against Iraq that forced its withdrawal fromKuwait. Mohr, R. Postmodernism isbased on the deconstruction of the unitary model. 1 ). The subsequent "balkanization" of the SovietRepublic offers further support for the postmodernist approach. "The Globalization of Public Health:Emerging Infectious Diseases and International Relations." Indiana Journalof Global Studies, 5, 1, 11-52. Realist theory arguedthat the sovereign nation-state was the basic unit of analysis andemphasized the struggle for power and security in an anarchic internationalsystem determined by mutual threat perceptions (Simensen, 1999, p. Online:www.sociology.org/content/vol 4. In allcases, each actor fulfills multiple roles and is him- or herself"ambiguous," "multiform, strained, even contradictory" (Mohr, 1995, p. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.