DeVane Lectures: Power and Politics in Today's World

Introduction

• The DeVane Lectures serve as a Yale course for credit and are open to the public.
• Focus: Power and politics over the 30 years since 1989.
• This period is marked by significant change, unlike the relative stability of the 40 years post-WWII.

Context: The 40 Years Post-WWII

• Relative stability in advanced capitalist democracies.
• Period of great prosperity; reconstruction in Europe via the Marshall Plan.
• Political stability due to demographics and international stability due to the Cold War.
• Notable events: Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War (proxy wars rather than direct conflicts).

The Period Since 1989

• Marked by rapid change and significant events.
• Some people experienced these events first-hand, but many younger individuals see it all as history.

1989 in Berlin & the Fall of the Berlin Wall

• Major event: Berlin Wall comes down, marked by celebrations and symbolic freedom.
• Shift in Eastern Europe: Soviet Union losing grip, resulting in democratic movements.
• Exception: China's Tiananmen Square protests result in a crackdown.

Impact Post-1989

• Democratization in Eastern Europe, South Africa, Northern Ireland, and attempts in Israel-Palestine.
• Early 1990s: High enthusiasm for democracy; Francis Fukuyama's "end of history."