The Cold War 1980’s-1990’s Essay -- World History

Upon hearing the mention of â€Å"The Cold War† most people begin to imagine and think of a time focused on political and military tensions between two main powers, the United States of the Western world and The Soviet Union of the Communist world. The context of the Cold War has traditionally been seen this way, as a nontraditional war without any engagement of battle, as a nuclear arms race between to profoundly different political and economic ideologies. Though being accurate this view of the Cold War is not complete. The Cold War was not just a nonviolent war between the United States and the Soviet Union but one affecting the entire planet in different fashions and on multiple plains. It is for these reasons that while events during the 1980’s-1990’s seemingly led to the conventional end of conflict, they ironically only facilitated the existence and continuance of the Cold War even until today. Probably one of the most recognized events of the 1980’s is the collapse of communism but first it is important to look at events that leading up to this collapse to provide a better context of events post collapse. One very significant period of time was the mid 1980’s when it seemed all eyes were on Africa in its entirety. The release of the song â€Å"We are the World† in 1985, the â€Å"Break the Chains† campaign of 1987, and the focus on the influential figure, Desmond Tutu, during 1986 are all examples of how the United States and other countries were focused on providing aid to africa. In her book, Enlightened Aid: U.S. Development as Foreign Policy in Ethiopia, Amanda McVety explains this aid and how United Sates foreign aid was a cold war project, â€Å"It offered a Cold War weapon that was not a weapon and promised peace through peaceful me... ... 8.4 (2006): 29-56. Print. McVety, Amanda Kay. Enlightened Aid: U.S. Development as Foreign Aid Policy in Ethiopia. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print. "Suppression of Communism Act, No. 44 of 1950 Approved in Parliament | South African History Online." South African History Online. Web. 03 May 2012. no-44-1950-approved-parliament>. Totten, Samuel, and Rifiki Ubaldo. We Cannot Forget. ; Interviews with Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. Rutgers UP, 2011. Print. "TED KENNEDY’S AFRICAN LEGACY." Africa Is a Country. Web. 03 May 2012. . Ye, Weili, and Xiaodong Ma. Growing up in the People's Republic: Conversations between Two Daughters of China's Revolution. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Print.