Coconote
AI notes
AI voice & video notes
Export note
Try for free
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."
📄
Full transcript