Europe after the Cold War - Essay Example

Europe after the Cold War Introduction The Cold War had numerous effects on the past society as well as the current society for instance; Russia experiences a huge cut in military spending (Lieberman, 2010). The ramifications of this were huge since the military and industrial sectors had previously given employment to one out of every seven adults in the USSR. Therefore, the disintegration of the Soviets left a big part of the population across the entire former Union without any form of employment. The legacy of the Cold War persisted after the war was over through continually influencing global affairs. After the Soviet Union disintegrated, the post-Cold War world is broadly seems as unipolar and the US remains the only remaining super power. The Cold War was instrumental in defining the political rule of numerous states including the US after the WW2, and as of 1989, the US had military alliances with more than fifty states while having almost one and a half million troops deployed abroad in more than one hundred nations. The cold war was also integral in institutionalizing worldwide commitment to large, lasting peacetime military and industrial complexes along with large-scale funding for science by militaries. Europe after the cold war The occurrences of 1989 along with the fall of the Berlin wall demonstrated in the short term to be enormously undermining as they resulted in the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a United Germany as well as an expanded NATO while unleashing volatile forces, although the instability was not permanent (Engel, 2009). The European continent after the Cold War has demonstrated to be comparatively stable; nonetheless, judgments have to be reserved as the ramifications of these events continue to be felt. For instance, the current crisis in the Eurozone is directly connected to the greater integration of the EU, which can be attributed to the fall of the Berlin wall. The Cold War period provided a certain level of stability for governments in the European continent, as they were aware of their status quo and the sides they supported. Boundaries and conflicts had clear definitions with the key to making the system stable being a lack of interest in changing the status quo on both sides. It may also be contended that this status quo was not sustainable with the communist bloc directing huge amounts of money to the purchase of arms while daily lives behind the Iron Curtain were being marked by a high degree of hardship. Presently, in retrospection it appears clear that the fall of the berlin wall had a positive effect on Europe. President Obama stated in 2008 that the tearing down of the Berlin was a source of new hope, but in 1989, no one had predicted how things would have turned out. Things moved too fast with the fall of the Berlin Wall taking most of the people by surprise since they had no expectation of GDR authorities opening the border. This opened the floodgates and in a span of a year, the fate of East Germany became clear; to united with West Germany and become a united country. There have been arguments that the unification of Germany was unavoidable and that the outcome can be greatly attributed to the part that was played by the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl. This is particularly true since Kohl emerged as the single most important leader who influenced the construction of post-Cold War Europe more than Bush and Reagan. The Chancellor was the core advocate of a united Germany when other leaders had skepticism and opposition. He was able to obtain backing of Bush of the US, France’s President as well as Mikhail Gorbachev who lead the Soviets. Margaret Thatcher, who was the British prime minister sturdily opposed this and was ultimately left isolated (Engel, 2009). The unification of East and West Germany in a short time implied that this may have been a big destabilizing aspect, but it proved otherwise and become a stabilizing dynamic. West Germany possessed the wealth and was willing to support the comparatively underdeveloped economy of East Germany with Kohl managing to neutralize any form of antagonism to this unification in his country. Among the main ramifications of the end of the Cold War was reinforcement of NATO, and since it had exited as a result of opposition to the Soviet Union, it was probable that the disintegration of the Soviet Union could have led to an end of this alliance. Nonetheless, with support from President Bush, Kohl was of the opinion that the new and united Germany was supposed to maintain its position in NATO. East Germany being allowed to join NATO implied that in future other nations in Eastern Europe such as Poland and the Czech Republic would also become members eventually (Engel, 2009). The strengthening of NATO towards the East had stabilizing and destabilizing consequences as it stabilized the nations that were members of NATO while leaving Russia in isolation and with resentment. There existed a lack of considerable efforts to create a connection between Russia and Europe. The effects of this are clear presently with the leaders being unhappy that Gorbachev permitted East Germany to become part of NATO. President Putin of Russia had a strong feeling that NATO was hindering Russia from exploiting its full potential in Europe where in his argument, he stated that irrespective of where the people of Russia lived, in the East or in the south, they were Europeans. A different consequence of the fall of the Berlin wall was the expansion of the EU, as it was previously believed that a united Germany would go a long way in strengthening the EU. Consequently, this led to a European Germany instead of a German Europe with Mitterrand playing a considerable part through associating his backing for the unification of Germany to the aspect of integration for nations in the European continent. Additionally, he harbored concerns that is European agenda might not be successful. He associated unification of the two German sides with the hastened integration of nations in Europe and this brought changes to the balance of power in the continent making Germany and France dominant while leaving Russia and Britain marginalized. Even though the strength of the German and France has provided some form of stability, Britain and Russia being isolated may end up being devastating in the longer term. Conclusion NATO was turned into some form of political alliance after the Cold War ended since it was able to survive and thrive as a result of resolute efforts to improve its political dimension through politics instead of military missions such as the creation of Europe wholly and freely. It may be considered that this commitment to the promotion of liberal democratic values in the continent of Europe inexorably resulted in an ambition towards the promotion of these values in areas outside Europe through military intervention in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq. NATO missions have also been considered as projecting stability but it remains debatable if this interest for intervention has a stabilizing effect for Europe or not. References Engel, J. (2009). The fall of the Berlin Wall. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lieberman, R. (2010). The strangest dream. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub. Read More