Europe After the Cold War - Article Example

Topic: Europe after the cold war Introduction The cold war is the given to the relationship that arose between the United states of America and the USSR after the end of second world war. The most worrying issue was the increase in mass production of destruction weapons. The profound changes being effected in Europe have been widely viewed as harbingers of a new era of harmony. With the cold war over, the threat of war that has been over Europe for over four decades is eating. Swords can now be changed into plowshares; there can now be harmony among the people of Europe. Central Europe, which long suffered under the powerful forces of the two military blocs, can alter its military bases into playgrounds, industrial parks, and condominiums. Specialists in security affairs can stop their lifeless quarrels over military policy and stabilize assessments and focus their attention on researching on ways to avert global warming and preserve the ozone layer. European leaders can plan how to spend peace bonuses. That is the standard view. This article assesses the optimistic view by exploring in detail the consequences for Europe of an end to the Cold War. Specifically, I examine the effects of a scenario under which the Cold War comes to a complete end. The Soviet Union pulls out all of its militaries from Eastern Europe, leaving the states in that region entirely independent. Voices are thereupon raised in the United States, Britain, and Germany, arguing that American and British military forces in Germany have lost their principal raison d’etre, and these forces are withdrawn from the Continent. NATO and the Warsaw Pact then dissolve; they may persist on paper, but each ceases to function as an alliance. The Cold War had numerous consequences on the past society as well as the current culture for instance; Russia experiences a massive cut in military spending (Lieberman, 2010). The consequential effects of this were huge since the military and industrial sectors had previously employed one in every seven grown-ups in the USSR. Therefore, the dissolution of the Soviets left a significant part of the population across the entire former Union unemployed. 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 seen as unipolar and the US still keeps its position as the only remaining superpower. The Cold War was instrumental in defining the political rule of numerous states including the US after the 2nd World War, 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 also played an integral role in institutionalizing the global commitment to substantial, lasting peacetime military and industrial complexes along with extensive 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 run to be enormously undermining as they led to 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 . J, 2009). The European continent after the Cold War has demonstrated to be comparatively stable; nonetheless, judgments have to be reserved as the effects of these events continue to be felt. For instance, the current crisis in the Eurozone is directly connected to the greater integration of the European Union, which can be associated with the fall of the Berlin wall. The Cold War period provided a certain level of stability for governments on 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 disinterest in changing the current situation 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 impact 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 apparent; 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 significantly attributed to the part that was played by the Chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl (1982-1998). This is particularly true since Kohl emerged as the single most outstanding 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(2001-2009), France’s President as well as Mikhail Gorbachev, who lead the Soviets(1990-1991). Margaret Thatcher, who was the British prime minister, sturdily opposed this and was ultimately left isolated (Engel, 2009). The union of West and East Germany in a short time implied that this may have been a big destabilizing aspect, but it proved otherwise and became 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 Soviet Union’s dissolution 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 like the Czech Republic and Poland would also become members eventually (Engel, 2009). The strengthening of NATO towards the East had stabilized 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 apparent 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 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 are 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 development 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 on Europe or not. There is no doubt that the expenses of the Cold War have been considerable. It imposed oppressive political administrations on the people of Eastern Europe, who were deprived of their fundamental human rights by their involuntary membership in the Soviet empire. It spent national wealth, by giving rise to large defense establishments in both East and West. It led to bloody conflicts in the Third World nations; these produced few casualties for the super-powers, but large ones for the Third World countries. Nonetheless, the net economic and human cost of the Cold War has been much less than the expenses of the European order which was between 1900-1945, with its extensive violence and misery. A Cold War order without hostility would have been preferable to the one that truly developed;then the harmony that the Cold War order formed could have been appreciated without its attendant expenses. Nevertheless, it was East-West antagonism that led to the Cold War order;there would have been no equality, no bipolarity, and no significant American and Soviet nuclear forces in Europe minus it. The expenses of the Cold War came up from the same cause—East-West confrontation—as did its advantages. The worthy could not be had without the unworthy. This article further debates that the end of the Cold War is likely to intensify the probabilities that war and major crises will occur in Europe. Many observers now suggest that a new age of peace is beginning; in fact the contradictory point of it is correct. If whole, the Soviet withdrawal from Eastern Europe proves inevitable, the West is faced with the question of how to uphold peace in a multipolar Europe. 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