Dwight Eisenhower’s warnings about the Military-Industrial Complex have proved prophetic in the years since. Addressing the nation on occasion of his tenure’s closure, he reminded Americans about the threat to democratic policy-making posed by this corrupt nexus. Levin-Waldman’s concept of the ‘iron triangle’ closely aligns with Eisenhower’s understanding. Indeed, the former President had to strike…
Tag: Cold War
How true is the claim by some Western scholars that Islam is on a collision course with the West and is inherently inimical to the modern age we live in?
Samuel Huntington’s book The Clash of Civilizations has evoked a broad range of responses from political commentators both in the United States as well as abroad. Huntington asserts that the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 had marked a new beginning in the history of international politics. While prior to the collapse of the Soviet…
Gorbachev’s analysis of the problems confronting the USSR
“Perestroika is a pressing necessity that has arisen out of the profound processes taking place in the course of the development of our socialist society. That society is ripe for change-one might say it has suffered enough. Any delay in pursuing Perestroika could lead in the very near future to a deterioration in the situation…
Comparing Samuel P. Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations’ and Edward W. Said’s ‘The Clash of Ignorance’
Samuel Huntington’s book The Clash of Civilizations has evoked a broad range of responses from political commentators both in the United States as well as abroad. Huntington asserts that the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 had marked a new beginning in the history of international politics. While prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union…
Kosovo & Serbia
The Historical Background: The collapse of Yugoslavia into smaller states is a significant event following the collapse of the Soviet Union. To understand the complexities involved in this outcome, we have to grasp the history of the region going back a millennium. The middle centuries of first millennia AD was a period of continuous change…
Unipolar World Order after the Cold War: Problems and Prospects
Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the balance of power swayed in favour of the United States. While the ruling elite of the United States seem to have benefited from this change in fortune, the rest of the world has had mixed consequences since the end of the Cold War. Political commentators…
How was Ronald Reagan instrumental in the collapse of the Soviet Union?
Many believe Ronald Reagan alone didn’t win the Cold War but say that his policy of peace through strength was most critical in addition to his superb leadership. The Soviet Union collapsed of its own weight, but Reagan’s initiatives accelerated their fall. Reagan described the Soviet Union as an evil empire. With the scare of…
The Cold War in Europe and Asia – A comparison
The aftermath of the Second World War saw the formation of a bi-polar world, with the United States and the Soviet Union dominating their respective hemispheres. Both the powers were equipped with nuclear arsenal and any direct confrontation could have led to the destruction of the species. In this atmosphere where the stakes are very…
Nixon-Kissinger reaction to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war
Discuss the Nixon-Kissinger reaction to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. What issues were at stake, both within the region and the wider Cold War? How would you assess the success and/or consequences of Nixon and Kissinger’s handling of the Middle East crisis? The 1973 War between Israel and the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria is…
The End of the Cold War
The long confrontation between the United States and U.S.S.R. backed proxies in Afghanistan had frustrated and weakened the latter. During the 1980’s the U.S.S.R. was going through a severe economic slump as well. At this juncture, the Soviet Union was no more in a position to strengthen its war machinery, which gave its rival undisputed…