DeVane Lectures: Power and Politics in Today's World

Jul 14, 2024

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."