AP Euro Quarter 4 Background Evidence Project #2

European Community (EC) (2 ECD, 4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

After 1970, Western Eu- ropean states continued to pursue the goal of integrating their economies. Beginning with six states in 1957, the European Economic Community expanded in 1973 when Great Britain, Ireland, and Denmark joined what its members now renamed the European Community (EC). Greece joined in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986. The economic integration of the members of the EC led to cooperative efforts in international and political affairs as well. The foreign ministers of the twelve mem- bers consulted frequently and provided a common front in negotiations on important issues.

Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

After Vietnamese forces had defeated their French colo- nial masters in 1954, Vietnam had been divided. A strongly nationalistic regime in the north under Ho Chi Minh received Soviet aid, while American sponsors worked to establish a pro-Western regime in South Viet- nam. President John F. Kennedy maintained Eisenhower's policy of providing military and financial aid to the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem (GOH din DYEM) (1901-1963), the autocratic ruler of South Vietnam. But the Kennedy ad- ministration grew increasingly disenchanted with the Diem regime, which was corrupt and seemed incapable of gaining support from the people. From the American point of view, this lack of support simply undermined the ability of the South Vietnamese government to deal with the Vietcong, the South Vietnamese Communist guerrillas backed by the North Vietnamese. In November 1963, the U.S. government supported a military coup that overthrew the Diem regime.

Presidents Ford and Carter (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

After Watergate, American do- mestic politics focused on economic issues. Vice President Gerald Ford (1913-2006) became president when Nixon resigned, only to lose in the 1976 election to the former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter (b. 1924). Both Ford and Carter faced severe economic problems. The period from 1973 to the mid-1980s was one of economic stag- nation, which came to be known as stagflation—a combination of high inflation and high unemployment. In part, the economic downturn stemmed from a dramatic change in oil prices. Oil was considered a cheap and abundant source of energy in the 1950s, and Americans had grown dependent on imported oil from the Middle East. But an oil embargo and price increases by the Or- ganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a result of the Arab-Israeli War in 1973 quadrupled oil prices. Additional price hikes increased oil prices twenty- fold by the end of the 1970s, encouraging inflationary tendencies throughout the economy. By 1980, the Carter administration faced two devas- tating problems. High inflation and a noticeable decline in average weekly earnings were causing a drop in American living standards. At the same time, a crisis abroad had erupted when fifty-three Americans were taken hostage by the Iranian government of Ayatollah Khomeini (khoh- MAY-nee). Carter's inability to gain the release of the hostages led to perceptions at home that he was a weak president. His overwhelming loss to Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) in the election of 1980 enabled the chief exponent of right-wing Republican policies to assume the presidency and initiate a new political order.

Erich Honecker (1912-1992) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

After building the wall, East Germany succeeded in developing the strongest economy among the Soviet Un- ion's Eastern European satellites. In 1971, Ulbricht was succeeded by Erich Honecker (HOH-nek-uh) (1912-1992), a party hard-liner who made use of the Stasi (SHTAH-see), the secret police, to rule with an iron fist for the next eighteen years. By 1989, there was one Stasi officer for every 165 people in East Germany. Prosperity (by 1980, East Germany had the tenth-largest economy in the world) and repression were the two mainstays of East Germany's stability.

Jacques Chirac (b. 1932) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Although Francois Mitterrand was able to win a second term as president in 1988, France's economic decline continued. In 1993, French unemployment stood at 10.6 percent, and in the elections in March of that year, the Socialists won only 28 percent of the vote as a coalition of conservative parties gained 80 percent of the seats in the National Assembly. The move to the right in France was strengthened when the conservative mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac (ZHAHK shee-RAK) (b. 1932), was elected president in 1995 and reelected in 2002. By 1995, resentment against foreign-born residents had become a growing political reality. Spurred by rising rates of unemployment and large numbers of immigrants from North Africa (often identified in the public mind with terrorist actions committed by militant groups based in the Middle East), many French voters advocated re- strictions on all new immigration. Chirac himself pursued a plan of sending illegal immigrants back to their home countries. He said, ''France cannot accept all of the wretched of the earth'' (see the box on p. 897). In the fall of 2005, however, antiforeign sentiment provoked a backlash of its own, as young Muslims in the crowded suburbs of Paris rioted against dismal living conditions and the lack of employment opportunities for foreign residents in France. After the riots subsided, gov- ernment officials promised to adopt measures to respond to the complaints, but tensions between the Muslim community and the remainder of the French population have become a chronic source of social unrest throughout the country—an unrest that Nicolas Sarkozy (b. 1955), elected as president in 2007, promised to address but without much success. In 2009, unemployment among those under 25 was almost 22 percent, but in the suburbs that are home to many Muslims, youth joblessness ex- ceeded 50 percent.

Pope John Paul II (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Although changes have also oc- curred in the Catholic Church, much of its history in the 1980s and 1990s was dominated by the charismatic Pope John Paul II (1920-2005). Karol Wojtyla (KAH-rul voy- TEE-wah), who had been the archbishop of Krakow in Poland before his elevation to the papacy in 1978, was the first non-Italian to be elected pope since the sixteenth century. Although he alienated a number of people by reasserting traditional Catholic teaching on such issues as birth control, women in the priesthood, and clerical celi- bacy, John Paul's numerous travels around the world helped strengthen the Catholic Church throughout the non-Western world. A strong believer in social justice, John Paul was a powerful figure in reminding Europeans of their spiritual heritage and the need to temper the pursuit of materialism with spiritual concerns. He also condemned nuclear weapons and constantly reminded leaders and laity of their obligations to prevent war (see the box on p. 971).

Broadcasting networks (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Although developed in the 1930s, television did not become readily available until the late 1940s. By 1954, there were 32 million sets in the United States as televi- sion became the centerpiece of middle-class life. In the 1960s, as television spread around the world, American networks unloaded their products on Europe and the Third World at extraordinarily low prices. For instance, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) could buy American programs for one-tenth the cost per viewer of producing its own. Only the establishment of quota sys- tems prevented American television from completely in- undating these countries.

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) (3 CID) (KC 4.4)

An important contributor to the growth of the women's movement in the 1960s was Betty Friedan (free-DAN) (1921-2006). A journalist and the mother of three children, Friedan grew increasingly uneasy with her attempt to fulfill the traditional role of the ''ideal housewife and mother.'' In 1963, she published The Feminine Mystique, in which she analyzed the problems of middle-class American women in the 1950s and argued that women were being denied equality with men. She wrote, ''The problem that has no name—which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities—is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease.'' The Feminine Mystique became a best seller and propelled Friedan into a newfound celebrity. In 1966, she founded the National Organization for Women (NOW), whose stated goal was to take ''action to bring women into full partici- pation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.'' Friedan's voice was also prominent in calling for the addition to the U.S. Constitution of an amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women.

Grace Hopper (1906-1992) (7 TSI) (KC 4.1)

An important figure in the development of the early computer was Grace Hopper (1906-1992), a career Navy officer. Hopper was instrumental in inventing COBOL, a computer language that enabled computers to respond to words as well as numbers.

Developing and developed countries (2 ECD, 4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

Another challenge of globalization is the wide gap between rich and poor nations. The rich nations, or developed nations, are located mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. They include countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, and Japan, which have well- organized industrial and agricultural systems, advanced technologies, and effective educational systems. The poor nations, or developing nations, are located mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. They include many nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which often have pri- marily agricultural economies with little technology. A serious problem in many developing nations is the ex- plosive population growth, which has led to severe food shortages often caused by poor soil but also by economic factors. Growing crops for export to developed countries, for example, may lead to enormous profits for large landowners but leaves many small farmers with little land on which to grow food.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (2 ECD) (KC 4.2)

Another important component of economic globalization is free trade. In 1947, talks led to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a global trade organization that was re- placed in 1995 by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Made up of more than 150 member na- tions, the WTO arranges trade agreements and settles trade disputes. Yet many critics charge that the WTO has ignored environmental and health concerns, harmed small and developing countries, and created an ever-growing gap be- tween rich and poor nations

Multinational / transnational corporation (2 ECD) (KC 4.2)

Another reflection of the new global economic order is the multinational corporation or transnational cor- poration (a company that has divisions in more than two countries). Prominent examples of multinational corpo- rations include Siemens, General Electric, ExxonMobil, Mitsubishi, and the Sony Corporation. These companies are among the 200 largest multinational corporations, which are responsible for more than half of the world's in- dustrial production. In 2000, 142 of the leading 200 multinational corporations were headquartered in three countries—the United States, Japan, and Germany. In addition, these super corporations dominate much of the world's investment capital, technology, and markets. A recent comparison of corporate sales and national gross domestic prod- uct disclosed that only 49 of the world's largest economies are nations; the remaining 51 are cor- porations. For this reason, some observers believe that economic globalization is more appropriately labeled ''corporate globalization.''

Modern music (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

As artists and musicians became increasingly disenchanted with the excesses of the Reagan era, they also began to question the consumerism that had seemingly homogenized popular culture. The emergence of ''grunge'' music in the early 1990s reflected this attitude, as rock bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and Pearl Jam rejected the materialism of the previous decade. Employing distor- tion and amplified feedback in their music, grunge artists often sang of disillusion and angst. Rather than conform- ing to the mass-produced norms of the fashion industry, these musicians typically wore ripped jeans and weathered flannel attire to protest the excesses of capitalism. Hip-hop continued to gain popularity following the success of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (see Chapter 29). In the early 1990s, rappers like Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg created ''gangsta rap,'' an offshoot of hip-hop with raw lyrics praising violence, drugs, and promiscuous sex. By the late 1990s, teen and preteen con- sumers had steered the music industry back to pop music, generating millions of dollars of sales in the process. Many pop acts became successful as music turned away from grunge and gangsta rap. Instead, musicians and audiences favored the lighthearted music that made Ricky Martin and Britney Spears famous. Drawing from rhythm and blues, Latin music, and hip-hop, these artists used catchy dance beats and extravagant music videos to market their work.

Guest workers (2 ECD) (KC 4.4)

As the economies of the Western European countries re- vived in the 1950s and 1960s, a severe labor shortage en- couraged them to rely on foreign workers. Government and businesses actively recruited so-called guest workers to staff essential jobs. Scores of Turks and eastern and southern Europeans came to Germany, North Africans to France, and people from the Caribbean, India, and Pakistan to Great Britain. Overall, there were probably 15 million guest workers in Europe in the 1980s. They constituted 17 percent of the labor force in Switzerland and 10 percent in Germany.

NGO's (4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

As the heirs of Western civilization have become aware that the problems humans face are not just national but global, they have responded to this challenge in different ways. One approach has been to develop grassroots social movements, including environmental, women's and men's liberation, human potential, appropriate-technology, and nonviolence movements. ''Think globally, act locally'' is frequently the slogan of these grassroots groups. Related to the emergence of these social movements is the growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). According to one analyst, NGOs are an important instrument in the culti- vation of global perspectives: ''Since NGOs by definition are identified with interests that transcend national bound- aries, we expect all NGOs to define problems in global terms, to take account of human interests and needs as they are found in all parts of the planet.''7 NGOs are often represented at the United Nations and include professional, business, and cooperative organizations; foundations; reli- gious, peace, and disarmament groups; youth and women's organizations; environmental and human rights groups; and research institutes. The number of international NGOs increased from 176 in 1910 to 37,000 in 2000.

Vladimir Putin (b. 1952) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

At the end of 1999, Yeltsin suddenly resigned and was replaced by Vladimir Putin (POO-tin) (b. 1952), a former member of the KGB. Putin vowed to strengthen the role of the central government in managing the affairs of state. During the succeeding months, the parliament approved his proposal to centralize power in the hands of the federal government in Moscow. The new president also vowed to return the breakaway state of Chechnya to Russian authority and to adopt a more assertive role in international af- fairs. Fighting in Chechnya continued throughout 2000, nearly reducing the republic's capital city of Grozny to ruins. In July 2001, Putin launched reforms, which included the unrestricted sale and purchase of land and tax cuts aimed at boosting economic growth and budget revenues. Although Russia soon ex- perienced a budget surplus and a growing economy, seri- ous problems remained. Putin attempted to deal with the chronic problems in Russian society by centralizing his control over the system and by silencing critics—notably in the Russian media. Although he was criticized in the West for these moves, many Russians expressed sympathy with Putin's attempts to restore a sense of pride and discipline in Russian society. In 2008, Dmitry Medvedev (di-MEE-tree mehd-VYEH- dehf) (b. 1965) became president of Russia when Putin could not run for reelection under Russia's constitution. Instead, Putin became prime minister, and the two men have since shared power.

Inventions during and after WWII (7 TSI) (KC 4.1)

Before World War II, theoretical science and technology were largely separated. Pure science was the domain of university professors who were far removed from the practical technological concerns of technicians and en- gineers. But during World War II, university scientists were recruited to work for their governments and develop new weapons and practical instruments of war. In 1940, British physicists played a crucial role in the development of an improved radar system that helped defeat the Ger- man air force in the Battle of Britain. German scientists created self-propelled rockets and jet airplanes to keep Hitler's hopes alive for a miraculous turnaround in the war. The computer, too, was a wartime creation. The British mathematician Alan Turing designed a primitive computer to assist British intelligence in breaking the secret codes of German ciphering machines. The most famous product of wartime scientific research was the atomic bomb, created by a team of American and Euro- pean scientists under the guidance of the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Obviously, most war- time devices were created for destructive purposes, but merely to mention computers and jet airplanes demon- strates that they could easily be adapted for peacetime uses.

Brezhnev Doctrine (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Between 1964 and 1982, significant change in the Soviet Union seemed highly unlikely. The man in charge, Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), lived by the slogan ''No experi- mentation.'' Brezhnev had entered the ranks of the Party leadership under Stalin and, after the overthrow of Khrushchev in 1964, had become head of both the Communist Party and the state. He was optimistic, yet reluctant to reform. Overall, the Brezhnev years were relatively calm, although the Brezhnev Doctrine—the right of the Soviet Union to intervene if socialism was threatened in another socialist state—became an article of faith and led to the use of Soviet troops in Czecho- slovakia in 1968.

Detente (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Brezhnev benefited from the more relaxed atmosphere associated with detente (day-TAHNT) (see ''The Cold War: The Move to De ́tente'' later in this chapter). The Soviets had reached a rough parity with the United States in nuclear arms and enjoyed a sense of external security that seemed to allow for a relaxation of authoritar- ian rule. The regime permitted more access to Western styles of music, dress, and art, although dissenters were still pun- ished. Andrei Sakharov (1921- 1989), for example, who had played an important role in the development of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, was placed under house arrest for his defense of human rights.

Yuri Andropov (1914-1985) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

By 1980, the Soviet Union was ailing. A declining economy, a rise in infant mortality rates, a dramatic surge in alcoholism, and a deterioration in working conditions all gave impetus to a decline in morale and a growing perception that the system was foundering. Within the Party, a small group of reformers emerged who under- stood the real condition of the Soviet Union. One member of this group was Yuri Andropov (YOOR-ee ahn-DRAHP- awf) (1914-1985), head of the KGB and successor to Brezhnev after the latter's death in November 1982. But Andropov was already old and in poor health when he came to power, and he was unable to make any substan- tive changes. His most significant move may have been his support for a young reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev (meek- HAYL GOR-buh-chof) (b. 1931), who was climbing the rungs of the Party ladder. When Party leaders chose Gorbachev as Party secretary in March 1985, a new era began (see Chapter 30).

Contemporary art (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

By focusing on bodily experience and cultural norms, con- temporary artists have attempted to restore that which has been lost in the Digital Age. Kiki Smith (b. 1954), an American artist born in Germany, creates sculptures of the human body that often focus on anatomical processes. These works, commonly made of wax or plaster, question the politics surrounding the body, including AIDS and domestic abuse, while reconnecting to bodily experiences. Contemporary artists also continue to explore the in- teraction between the Western and non-Western world, particularly with the multiculturalism generated by global migrations (see ''The Social Challenges of Globali- zation'' later in this chapter). For example, the art of Yinka Shonibare (YEEN-kuh SHOW-nih-bar-eh) (b. 1962), who was born in London, raised in Nigeria, and now re- sides in England, creates works that investigate the notion of hybrid identity. This is evident in his work, How to Blow Up Two Heads at Once (Gentlemen), which depicts Euro- pean Victorian figures dressed in Dutch wax cloth.

Silvio Berlusconi (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Corruption has continued to trouble Italian politics. In 1993, hundreds of politicians and business leaders were under investigation for their involvement in a widespread scheme to use political bribes to secure public contracts. Public disgust with political corruption became so intense that in April 1996, Italian voters took the unusual step of giving control of the government to a center-left coalition that included the Communists. In recent years, Silvio Berlusconi (SEEL-vee- oh bayr-loo-SKOH-nee), owner of a media empire, has dominated Italian politics, even though he became a pol- itician primarily in order to protect his own business in- terests. Although he lost to Socialist Romano Prodi (b. 1939) in a close election in 2006, Berlusconi again became prime minister after new elections in 2008.

The Prague Spring (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Czechoslovakia did not share in the thaw of the mid-1950s and remained under the rule of Antonin Novotny (AHN-toh-nyeen noh-VAHT-nee) (1904-1975), who had been placed in power by Stalin himself. By the late 1960s, however, Novotny had alienated many members of his own party and was par- ticularly resented by Czechoslovakia's writers, such as the playwright Vaclav Havel (VAHT-slahf HAH-vul) (b. 1936). A writers' rebellion late in 1967, in fact, led to Novotny's resignation. In January 1968, Alexander Dubcˇek (DOOB-chek) (1921-1992) was elected first secretary of the Communist Party and soon introduced a number of reforms, including freedom of speech and the press, freedom to travel abroad, and a relaxation of se- cretpoliceactivities.Dubcˇekhopedtocreate''commu- nism with a human face.'' A period of euphoria erupted that came to be known as the ''Prague Spring'' (see the box on p. 928). It proved short-lived. The euphoria had led many to call for more far-reaching reforms, including neutrality and withdrawal from the Soviet bloc. To forestall the spreading of this ''spring'' fever, the Red Army invaded Czechoslo- vakia in August 1968 and crushed the reform movement. Gustav Husak (goo-STAHV HOO-sahk) (1913-1991), a committed nonreformist, replaced Dubcˇek, abolished his reforms, and reestablished the old order.

Nicolae Ceausescu (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Czechoslovakia's revolutionary path was considerably less violent than Romania's, where opposition grew as the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu rejected the reforms in Eastern Europe promoted by Gorbachev. Ceaus ̧escu's extreme measures to reduce Romania's external debt led to eco- nomic difficulties. Although he was successful in reducing foreign debt, the sharp drop in living standards that resulted from those hardship measures angered many Romanians. A small incident became the spark that ignited heretofore suppressed flames of discontent. The ruthless crushing of a demonstration in Timisoara in December 1989 led to other mass demonstrations. After the dictator was booed at a mass rally on December 21, the army re- fused to support any more repression. Ceaus ̧escu and his wife were captured on December 22 and tried and exe- cuted on Christmas Day. Leadership now passed into the hands of the hastily formed National Salvation Front.

Timothy Leary (3 CID) (KC 4.4)

For young people more interested in mind expansion into higher levels of consciousness, Timothy Leary, who had done psychedelic research at Harvard on the effects of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), became the high priest of hallucinogenic experiences.

Green movement (4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

Growing ecological awareness also gave rise to the Green movements and Green parties that emerged throughout Europe in the 1970s. The origins of these movements were by no means uniform. Some came from the antinuclear movement; others arose out of such causes as women's liberation and concerns for foreign workers. Most started at the local level and then gradually expanded to include activities at the national level, where they became formally organized as political parties. Green parties competed successfully in Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland. Most visible was the Green Party in Germany, which was offi- cially organized in 1979 and by 1987 had elected forty-two delegates to the West German parliament.

Domino theory (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

If the Communists succeeded in Vietnam, so the argument went, all the other countries in Asia freeing themselves from colonial domination would fall, like dominoes, to communism

Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In 1963, during a major economic recession, the Liberals had been returned to power in Canada. The most promi- nent Liberal government was that of Pierre Trudeau (PYAYR troo-DOH) (1919-2000), who came to power in 1968. Although French Canadian in background, Trudeau was dedicated to Canada's federal union, and in 1968, his government passed the Official Languages Act that al- lowed both English and French to be used in the federal civil service. Although Trudeau's government vigorously pushed an industrialization program, high inflation and Trudeau's efforts to impose the will of the federal gov- ernment on the powerful provincial governments alien- ated voters and weakened his government. Economic recession in the early 1980s brought Brian Mulroney (b. 1939), leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, to power in 1984

Helsinki Accords of 1975 (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In 1975, the Helsinki Accords provided yet another example of reduced tensions between the superpowers. Signed by the United States, Canada, and all European nations, these accords recognized all borders that had been established in Europe since the end of World War II, thereby acknowledging the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. The Helsinki Accords also committed the signatory powers to recognize and protect the human rights of their citizens.

Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In 1979, after Britain's economic problems had seemed to worsen during five years under a Labour government, the Conservatives returned to power under Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925). She became the first woman to serve as prime minister in British history (see the box on p. 930). Thatcher pledged to lower taxes, reduce government bureaucracy, limit social welfare, restrict union power, and end inflation. The ''Iron Lady,'' as she was called, did break the power of the labor unions. Although she did not eliminate the basic components of the social welfare system, she did use aus- terity measures to control inflation. ''Thatcherism,'' as her economic policy was termed, improved the British economic situation, but at a price. The south of England, for example, prospered, but the old industrial areas of the Midlands and north declined and were beset by high unemployment, poverty, and sporadic violence. Cutbacks in education seri- ously undermined the quality of British education, long regarded as among the world's finest. In the area of foreign policy, Thatcher, like Ronald Reagan in the United States, took a hard-line approach toward communism. She oversaw a large military buildup aimed at replacing older technology and reestablishing Britain as a world police officer. In 1982, when Argentina attempted to take control of the Falkland Islands (one of Britain's few remaining colonial outposts; known to Ar- gentines as the Malvinas) 300 miles off its coast, the British successfully rebuffed the Argentines, although at consid- erable economic cost and the loss of 255 lives. The Falk- lands War, however, did generate popular support for Thatcher, as many in Britain reveled in memories of the nation's glorious imperial past. In truth, however, in a world dominated by two superpowers—the United States and the Soviet Union—Britain was no longer a world power.

Gerhard Schroder (b. 1944) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In 1998, voters took out their frustrations at the ballot box. Helmut Kohl's conservative coalition was defeated in new elections, and a new prime minister, Social Democrat Gerhard Schroder(GAYR-hahrtSHRUR-duh)(b.1944), came into office. But Schr€oder had little success at solving Germany's economic woes, and as a result of elections in 2005, Angela Merkel (b. 1954), leader of the Christian Democrats, became the first female chancellor in German history. Merkel pursued health care reform and new en- ergy policies at home while taking a leading role in the affairs of the European Union. After new elections in 2009, she began a second term as Germany's chancellor and in 2010 led EU nations in attempting a financial bailout of Greece's deteriorating economy.

Iraq War (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In 2002, President George W. Bush, charging that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (1937-2006) had not only provided support to bin Laden's terrorist organization but also sought to develop weapons of mass destruction, threatened to invade Iraq and remove him from power. Both claims were widely doubted by other member states at the United Nations. As a result, the United States was forced to attack Iraq with little world support. Moreover, the plan to attack upset many Arab leaders and fanned anti-American sentiment throughout the Muslim world. In March 2003, a largely American-led army invaded Iraq. The Iraqi army was quickly defeated, and in the months that followed, occupation forces sought to restore stability to the country while setting forth plans to lay the foundations of a future democratic society. But although Saddam Hussein was later captured by U.S. troops, Saddam's supporters, foreign terrorists, and Islamic mil- itants continued to battle the American-led forces. American efforts focused on training an Iraqi military force capable of defeating the insurgents and establish- ing an Iraqi government that could hold free elections and create a democracy. Establishing a new government was difficult, however, because of the differences among the three major groups in Iraqi society: Shi'ite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, and ethnic Kurds. Although a new Iraqi government came into being, it has been unable to es- tablish a unified state. By 2006, violence had increased dramatically and Iraq seemed to be descending into a widespread civil war, especially between the Shi'ites, who control southern Iraq, and the Sunnis, who control cen- tral Iraq. An increase in American troops in 2007 helped stabilize conditions within a year. The U.S. and Iraqi governments then agreed to a complete withdrawal of American troops by 2011, a goal that President Obama affirmed after taking office.

Lech Walesa (b. 1943) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In Poland, continued worker unrest led to the rise of the independent labor movement called Solidarity. Led by Lech Walesa (b. 1943), Solidarity represented 10 million of Poland's 35 million people. With the support of the workers, many intellectuals, and the Catholic Church, Solidarity was able to win a series of concessions. The Polish government seemed powerless to stop the flow of concessions until December 1981, when it arrested Walesa and other Solidarity leaders, outlawed the union, and imposed military rule.

Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

In particular, Gorbachev labored to cooperate more closely with Boris Yeltsin (YELT-sun) (1931-2007), who had been elected president of the Russian Republic in June 1991. By 1991, the conservative leaders of the traditional So- viet institutions—the army, government, KGB, and mili- tary industries—had grown increasingly worried about the impending dissolution of the Soviet Union and its impact on their own fortunes. On August 19, 1991, a group of these discontented rightists arrested Gorbachev and at- tempted to seize power. Gorbachev's unwillingness to work with the conspirators and the brave resistance in Moscow of Yeltsin and thousands of Russians who had grown ac- customed to their new liberties caused the coup to disin- tegrate rapidly. The actions of these right-wing plotters, however, served to accelerate the very process they had hoped to stop—the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Despite desperate pleas by Gorbachev, the Soviet re- publics soon moved for complete independence. Ukraine voted for independence on December 1, 1991, and a week later, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus (bell-uh- ROOSS) announced that the Soviet Union had ''ceased to exist'' and would be replaced by the new and voluntary Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev re- signed on December 25, 1991, and turned over his re- sponsibilities as commander in chief to Boris Yeltsin, the president of Russia. By the end of 1991, one of the largest empires in world history had evaporated, and a new era had begun in its lands.

Postmodern art (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

In the 1960s and 1970s, artists often rejected the notion of object-based artworks. Instead, performances and installations that were either too fleeting or too large to appear in the traditional context of a museum were produced. Allen Kaprow (1927-2006) suggested that ''happenings,'' works of art rooted in performance, grew out of Jackson Pollock's process of action painting. Rather than producing abstract paintings, however, Kaprow cre- ated events that were not scripted but chance occurrences. These ''happenings'' often included audience participation. Kaprow's emphasis on the relationship of art to its sur- roundings was continued in the ''land art'' of the early 1970s. In one such example, Spiral Jetty (1970), Robert Smithson (1938-1973) used a bulldozer to move more than 6,000 tons of earth into a 1,500-foot-long corkscrew in Utah's Great Salt Lake. Responding to the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency as well as to the cycles of nature, Smithson's artwork resembled a science- fiction wasteland while challenging notions of traditional fine art. Postmodernism's eclectic mixing of past tradition with Modernist innovation became increasingly evident in ar- chitecture. Robert Venturi (b. 1925) argued that architects should look as much to the commercial strips of Las Vegas as to the historical styles of the past for inspiration. Venturi advocated an architecture of ''complexity and contradiction'' as appropriate for the diversity of experi- ences offered by contemporary life. One example is pro- vided by Charles Moore (1929-1993). His Piazza d'Italia (1976-1980) in New Orleans is an outdoor plaza that combines Roman columns with stainless steel and neon lights. This blending of modern-day materials with his- torical reference distinguished the Postmodern architec- ture of the late 1970s and 1980s from the Modernist glass box. Another Postmodern response to Modernism can be seen in a return to Realism in the arts, a movement called Photorealism. Some Photorealists paint or sculpt with such minute attention to detail that their paintings ap- pear to be photographs and their sculptures living human beings. Their subjects are often ordinary individuals, stuck in ordinary lives, demonstrating the Postmodern empha- sis on low culture and the commonplace rather than the ambitious nature of high art. These works were often pessimistic or cynical.

Eurocommunism (2 ECD, 4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

In the 1970s and 1980s, Italy continued to practice the politics of coalitions that had characterized much of its history. Italy witnessed the in- stallation of its fiftieth postwar government in 1991, and its new prime minister, Giulio Andreotti (JOOL-yoh ahn- dray-AH-tee), had already served six times in that office. Italian governments continued to consist of coalitions mostly led by the Christian Democrats. In the 1980s, even the Communists had been included briefly in the government. The Italian Communists had become advocates of Eurocommunism, basically an at- tempt to broaden communism's support by dropping its Marxist ideology. Although its popularity declined in the 1980s, the Communist Party still garnered 26 percent of the vote in 1987. The Communists also won a number of local elections and took charge of municipal govern- ments in several cities, including Rome and Naples, for a brief time. In the 1970s, Italy suffered from a severe economic re- cession. The Italian economy, which depended on imported oil as its chief source of energy, was especially vulnerable to the steep increase in oil prices in 1973. Parallel to the economic problems was a host of political and social problems: student unrest, mass strikes, and terrorist at- tacks. In 1978, a former prime minister, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigades, a terrorist organization. Then, too, there was the all-pervasive and corrupting influence of the Mafia, which had always been an important factor in southern Italy but spread to northern Italy as well in the 1980s. Italy survived the crises of the 1970s and in the 1980s began to experience re- markable economic growth. But severe problems remained

Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

In the Catholic Church, an attempt at religious renewal also came from a charismatic pope. Pope John XXIII (1881-1963) reigned as pope for only a short time (1958- 1963) but sparked a dramatic revival of Catholicism when he summoned the twenty-first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Known as Vatican II, the council liber- alized a number of Catholic practices. For example, the liturgy of the Mass, the central feature of Catholic wor- ship, was now to be spoken in the vernacular, not in Latin. New avenues of communication with other Christian faiths were also opened for the first time since the Reformation

Neo-Expressionism (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

In the art world, Neo-Expressionism reached its zenith in the mid-1980s. The economic boom and free spending of the Reagan years contributed to a thriving art scene in the United States. Neo-Expressionist artists like Anselm Kiefer (AN-selm KEEF-uhr) and Jean-Michel Bas- quiat (ZHAHN-mee-SHELL BAHS-kwee-aht) (1960-1988) became increasingly popular as the art market soared. Born in Germany in 1945, Kiefer combines aspects of Abstract Expressionism, collage, and German Expres- sionism to create works that are stark and haunting. His works in the 1980s became a meditation on German history, especially the horrors of Nazism. Kiefer hoped that a portrayal of Germany's atrocities in such works as Departure from Egypt and Nigredo could free Germans from their past and bring some good out of evil. Another example of Neo-Expressionism can be seen in the work of Basquiat. The son of Haitian and Puerto Rican immigrants, Basquiat first made his name as a graffiti artist in New York City and became an overnight success during the 1980s art market boom. While some critics dismissed Basquiat's paintings as a fad, other artists were criticized for employing contro- versy to market their art. Moreover, artists whose works were deemed to be inappropriate also had to contend with censorship. Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe became the focal point of debate in the mid-1980s because they received financial aid from a U.S. government agency, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Mapplethorpe was known for his portraits of male nudes that often featured homoerotic imagery, while Serrano created photographs of objects submerged in bodily fluids, including a crucifix immersed in urine. As a result of the controversy, the U.S. Congress reduced the budget of the NEA for supporting indecency.

Postmodern music (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Like modern art, modern music has focused on variety and radical experimentation. Also like modern art, modern classical music witnessed a continuation of pre- war developments. Some composers, the neoclassicists, remained closely tied to nineteenth-century Romantic music, although they occasionally incorporated some twentieth-century developments, such as atonality and dissonance. Their style was strongly reminiscent of Stra- vinsky (see Chapter 24). The major musical trend since the war, however, has been serialism. Inspired mostly by the twelve-tone music of Sch€onberg (see Chapter 26), serialism is a composi- tional procedure in which an order of succession is set for specific values: pitch (for tones of the tempered scale), loudness (for dynamic levels), and units of time (for rhythm). By predetermining the order of succession, the composer restricts his or her intuitive freedom as the work to some extent creates itself. Nevertheless, the mechanism the composer initially establishes could gen- erate unanticipated musical events, thereby creating new and exciting compositions. Serialist composition dimin- ishes the role of intuition and emotion in favor of intellect and mathematical precision. The first recognized serialist was the Frenchman Olivier Messiaen (oh-lee-VYAY meh- SYANH) (1908-1992). Significantly, Messiaen was influ- enced by, among other things, Indian and Greek music, plainchant, folk music, and birdsongs. Most critics have respected serialism, although the public has been largely indifferent, if not hostile, to it. An offshoot of serialism that has won popular support, but not the same critical favor, is minimalism. Like seri- alism, this style uses repeated patterns and series and steady pulsation with gradual changes occurring over time. But whereas serialism is often atonal, minimalism is usually tonal and more harmonic. Perhaps the most suc- cessful minimalist composer is Philip Glass (b. 1937), who demonstrated in Einstein on the Beach that minimalist music could be adapted to full-scale opera. Like other modern American composers, Glass found no contradic- tion in moving between the worlds of classical music and popular music. His Koyaanisqatsi (koh-YAH-niss-kaht-si) was used as background music to a documentary film on the disintegrative forces in Western society.

Chinese Cultural Revolution (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Mao was convinced that only an at- mosphere of constant revolutionary fervor could enable the Chinese to overcome the past and achieve the final stage of communism. Accordingly, in 1966 he unleashed the Red Guards, revolutionary units composed of unhappy Communist Party members and discontented young people who were urged to take to the streets to cleanse Chinese society of impure elements guilty of taking the capitalist road. Schools, universities, factories, and even government ministries were all sub- ject to the scrutiny of the Red Guards. This so-called Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (literally, the Chi- nese name translates as ''great revolution to create a proletarian culture'') lasted for ten years, from 1966 to 1976. Red Guards set out across the nation to eliminate the ''four olds''—old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits (see the box on p. 936). They destroyed tem- ples, books written by foreigners, and jazz records. They tore down street signs and replaced them with ones car- rying revolutionary names. Destruction of property was matched by vicious attacks on individuals who had sup- posedly deviated from Mao's thought. Those accused were humiliated at public meetings where they were forced to admit their ''crimes.'' Many were brutally beaten, often to death. Mao found, however, that it was not easy to maintain a constant mood of revolutionary enthusiasm. Key groups, including Party members, urban professionals, and many military officers, did not share Mao's desire for ''perma- nent revolution.'' People began to turn against the move- ment, and in September 1976, when Mao died, a group of practical-minded reformers seized power from the radicals and adopted a more rational approach to China's problems.

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Media critic and theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) pre- dicted in the 1960s that advances in mass communica- tions technology, such as satellites and electronics, would eventually lead to a shrinking of the world, a lessening of cultural distinctions, and a breaking down of cultural barriers, all of which would in time transform the world into a single ''global village.'' McLuhan was optimistic about these developments, and his ideas became quite popular at the time. Many critics have since argued that McLuhan was too utopian about the benefits of techno- logical progress and maintain that the mass media created by these technological breakthroughs are still controlled by a small number of multinational corporations that ''colonize the rest of the world, sometimes benignly, sometimes not.'' They argue that this has allowed Western popular culture to disrupt the traditional cultures of less developed countries and inculcate new patterns of be- havior as well as new desires and new dissatisfactions. Cultural contacts, however, often move in two directions. While the world has been ''Americanized'' to a great ex- tent, formerly unfamiliar ways of life and styles of music have also come into the world of the West (see Chapter 30).

National cinema (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Motion pictures were the primary vehicle for the dif- fusion of American popular culture in the years immedi- ately following the war, and they continued to dominate both European and American markets in the next decades (40 percent of Hollywood's income in the 1960s came from the European market). Nevertheless, the existence of a profitable art-house circuit in America and Europe en- abled European filmmakers to make films whose themes and avant-garde methods were quite different from those of Hollywood. Italy and Sweden, for example, developed a tradition of ''national cinema'' that reflected ''specific cultural traits in a mode in which they could be success- fully exported.'' The 1957 film The Seventh Seal, by the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), was a good example of the successful European art film. Berg- man's films caused him to be viewed as ''an artist of comparable stature to a novelist or playwright.'' So too were Franc ̧ois Truffaut (frahnh-SWAH troo-FOH) (1932- 1984) in France and Federico Fellini (1920-1993) in Italy; such directors gloried in experimenting with subject matter and technique and produced films dealing with more complex and daring themes than Hollywood would attempt.

Terrorist groups (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Motivations for terrorist acts varied considerably. Left- and right-wing terrorist groups flourished in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Left-wing groups, such as the Baader- Meinhof (BAH-durr-MYN-huff) gang (also known as the Red Army Faction) in Germany and the Red Brigades in Italy, consisted chiefly of affluent middle-class young people who denounced the injustices of capitalism and supported acts of revolutionary terrorism in an attempt to bring down the system. Right-wing terrorist groups, such as the New Order in Italy and the Charles Martel Club in France, used bombings to foment disorder and bring about authoritarian regimes. These groups received little or no public support, and authorities were able to crush them fairly quickly. But terrorist acts also stemmed from militant nation- alists who wished to create separatist states. Because they received considerable support from local populations sympathetic to their cause, these terrorist groups could maintain their activities over a long period of time. Most prominent was the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which resorted to vicious attacks against the ruling government and innocent civilians in Northern Ireland. Over a period of twenty years, IRA terrorists were responsible for the deaths of two thousand people in Northern Ireland; three- fourths of the victims were civilians.

Globalization (4 SOP) (KC 4.2)

Multiculturalism in literature reminds us that more and more people are becoming aware of the political, eco- nomic, and social interdependence of the world's nations and the global nature of our contemporary problems. We are coming to understand that destructive forces gener- ated in one part of the world soon affect the entire world. Smokestack pollution in one nation can produce acid rain in another. Oil spills and dumping of wastes in the ocean have an impact on the shores of many nations. As crises of food, water, energy, and natural resources proliferate, one nation's solutions often become other nations' problems. The new globalism includes the recognition that the challenges that seem to threaten human existence today are global. In October 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, British prime minister Tony Blair said, ''We are realizing how fragile are our frontiers in the face of the world's new challenges. Today, conflict rarely stays within national boundaries.'' As we saw in the discussion of the Digital Age, an im- portant part of global awareness is the technological di- mension. The growth of new technology has made possible levels of world communication that simply did not exist before. At the same time that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were denouncing the forces of moderniza- tion, they were doing so by using advanced telecommu- nication systems that have only recently been developed. The technology revolution has tied peoples and nations closely together and contributed to globalization, the term that is frequently used today to describe the process by which peoples and nations have become more inter- dependent. Economically, globalization has taken the form of a global economy.

Post-Communist Slavic presidents (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Nevertheless, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, many of these states, especially Poland and the Czech Republic, were making a successful transition to both free markets and democracy. In Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski (kwahsh-NYEF-skee) (b. 1954), although a former Communist, was elected president in November 1995 and pushed Poland toward an increasingly prosper- ous free market economy. His successor, Lech Kaczynski (LEK kuh-ZIN-skee) (1949-2010), emphasized the need to combine modernization with tradition. In July 2010, Bronislaw Komorowski (b. 1952) was elected president to succeed Kaczynski, who had died in a plane crash in April. In Czechoslovakia, the shift to non-Communist rule was complicated by old problems, especially ethnic issues. Czechs and Slovaks disagreed over the makeup of the new state but were able to agree to a peaceful division of the country. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Vaclav Havel was elected the first president of the new Czech Republic. In Romania, the current president, Traian Basescu (tri-YAHN buh-SES- koo) (b. 1951), leads a country that is just beginning to show economic growth and the rise of a middle class.

Karl Barth (BAHRT) (1886-1968) (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

One expression of this religious revival was the at- tempt by the Protestant theologian Karl Barth (BAHRT) (1886-1968) to infuse traditional Christian teachings with new life. In his numerous writings, Barth attempted to reinterpret the religious insights of the Reformation era for the modern world. To Barth, the sinful and hence imperfect nature of human beings meant that humans could know religious truth not through reason but only through the grace of God.

9/11 (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

One of the most destructive acts of terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001, in the United States. Four groups of terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airplanes after takeoff from Boston, Newark, and Washington, D.C. The hijackers flew two of the airplanes directly into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing these buildings, as well as a number of surrounding buildings, to collapse. A third hijacked plane slammed into the Penta- gon near Washington, D.C. The fourth plane, believed to be headed for Washington, crashed instead in an isolated area of Pennsylvania, apparently as the result of an at- tempt by a group of heroic passengers to overcome the hijackers. In total, nearly three thousand people were killed, including everyone aboard the four airliners. These coordinated acts of terror were carried out by hijackers connected to an international terrorist organi- zation known as al-Qaeda (''the Base''), run by Osama bin Laden (b. 1957). A native of Saudi Arabia, bin Laden used an inherited fortune to set up terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, under the protection of the nation's militant fundamentalist Islamic rulers known as the Taliban. Bin Laden was also suspected of directing earlier terrorist at- tacks against the United States, including the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and an attack on a naval ship, the U.S.S. Cole, in 2000.

Reunification of Germany (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Perhaps the most dramatic events took place in East Germany, where a persistent economic slump and the ongoing oppressiveness of the regime of Erich Honecker led to a flight of refugees and mass demonstrations against the regime in the summer and fall of 1989. After more than half a million people flooded the streets of East Berlin on November 4, shouting, ''The wall must go!'' the German Communist government soon capitulated to popular pressure and on November 9 opened the entire border with the West. Hundreds of thousands of Germans swarmed across the border, mostly to visit and return. The Berlin Wall, long a symbol of the Cold War, became the site of massive celebrations as thousands of people used sledgehammers to tear it down. By December, new polit- ical parties had emerged, and on March 18, 1990, in East Germany's first free elections ever, the Christian Demo- crats won almost 50 percent of the vote. The Christian Democrats supported rapid monetary unification, and on July 1, 1990, the economies of West and East Germany were united, with the West German deutsche mark becoming the official currency of the two countries. And after months of political negotiations be- tween West and East German officials as well as the original four postwar occupying powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union), po- litical reunification was achieved on October 3, 1990. What had seemed almost impossible at the beginning of 1989 had become a reality by the end of 1990.

Congress of People's Deputies (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Political reforms were equally revolutionary. At the Communist Party conference in 1988, Gorbachev called for the creation of a new Soviet parliament, the Congress of People's Deputies, whose members were to be chosen in competitive elections. It convened in 1989, the first such meeting in Russia since 1918. Early in 1990, Gorbachev legalized the formation of other political parties and struck Article 6, which had guaranteed the ''leading role'' of the Communist Party, from the Soviet constitution. At the same time, Gorbachev attempted to consolidate his power by creating a new state presidency. The new posi- tion was a consequence of the separation of the state from the Communist Party. Hitherto, the position of first sec- retary of the Party had been the most important post in the Soviet Union, but as the Communist Party became less closely associated with the state, the powers of this office diminished correspondingly. In March 1990, Gorbachev became the Soviet Union's first president.

Postmodern literature (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Postmodernism was also evident in litera- ture. In the Western world, the best examples were found in Latin America, in a literary style called ''magic realism,'' and in central and Eastern Europe. Magic realism com- bined realistic events with dreamlike or fantastic back- grounds. One of the finest examples of magic realism can be found in the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcıa Marquez (mar-KEZ) (b. 1928), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. The novel is the story of the fictional town of Macondo as seen by several gen- erations of the Buendias, its founding family. The author slips back and forth between fact and fantasy. Villagers are not surprised when a local priest rises into the air and floats. Yet, when wandering Gypsies introduce these vil- lagers to magnets, telescopes, and magnifying glasses, the villagers are dumbfounded by what they see as magic. According to the author, fantasy and fact depend on one's point of view. The European center of Postmodernism is well repre- sented by the work of the Czech writer Milan Kundera (MEE-lahn koon-DAYR-uh) (b. 1929). Like the magic real- ists of Latin America, Kundera also blended fantasy with realism. Unlike the magic realists, Kundera used fantasy to examine moral issues and remained optimistic about the human condition. Indeed, in his novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), Kundera does not despair because of the political repression in his native Czechoslovakia that he so aptly describes but allows his characters to use love as a way to a better life. The human spirit can be lessened but not destroyed.

Vaclav Havel (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

President Gustav Husak resigned and at the end of December was replaced by Vaclav Havel, a longtime dissident playwright who had played an important role in bringing the Com- munist government down. Havel set out on a goodwill tour to various Western countries where he proved to be an eloquent spokesman for Czech democracy and a new order in Europe (see the box on p. 953).

Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

Repression was also an important part of Romania's postwar history. By 1948, with Soviet assistance, the Communist People's Democratic Front had assumed com- plete power in Romania. In 1965, leadership of the Communist government passed into the hands of Nicolae Ceaus ̧escu (nee-koh-LY chow-SHES-koo) (1918-1989), who with his wife, Elena, established a rigid and dictatorial re- gime. Ceaus ̧escu ruled Romania with an iron grip, using a secret police force—the Securitate—as his personal weapon against dissent.

Post-Thatcher Prime Ministers (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

She was replaced by John Major, whose Conservative Party won a narrow victory in the general elections held in April 1992. His government, however, failed to capture the imagination of most Britons. In new elections on May 1, 1997, the La- bour Party won a landslide victory. The new prime min- ister, Tony Blair (b. 1953), was a moderate whose youthful energy immediately instilled new vigor into the political scene. Adopting centrist policies reminiscent of those followed by President Bill Clinton in the United States (see ''The United States: Move to the Center'' later in this chapter), his party dominated the political arena into the new century. Blair was one of the prominent leaders in forming an international coalition against terrorism after the terrorist attack on the United States in 2001. Three years later, however, his support of the U.S. war in Iraq, when a majority of Britons opposed it, caused his popularity to plummet, although the failure of the Conservative Party to field a popular candidate kept him in power until the summer of 2007, when he stepped down and allowed the new Labour leader Gordon Brown (b. 1951) to become prime minister. Elections held in early May 2010 were inconclusive: the Conservatives won the largest number of seats in Parliament but were twenty short of a majority. When Brown resigned a few days after the elections, Conservative David Cameron (b. 1966) be- came prime minister on the basis of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Small Is Beautiful (7 TSI) (KC 4.4)

Small Is Beautiful, written by the British economist E. F. Schumacher (1911-1977), was a fundamental critique of the dangers of the new science and technology (see the box on p. 939). The prolif- eration of fouled beaches and dying forests and lakes made environmentalism one of the im- portant issues of the late twentieth century.

Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) (3 CID) (KC 4.4)

The French revolt spurred student protests elsewhere in Europe, although none of them succeeded in becoming mass movements. In West Berlin, university students led a protest against Axel Springer, leader of Germany's largest newspaper establishment. Many German students were motivated by a desire to destroy what they considered to be the corrupt old order and were especially influenced by the ideas of the German American social philosopher Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979). In One-Dimensional Man, published in 1964, Marcuse argued that capitalism had undermined the dissatisfaction of the oppressed masses by encouraging the consumption of material things. He proposed that a small cadre of unindoctrinated students could liberate the masses from the control of the capitalist ruling class. But the German students' attempt at revolutionary violence backfired as angry Berliners sup- ported police repression of the students.

Persian Gulf War (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The Persian Gulf War provided the first major oppor- tunity for testing the new relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union in the post-Cold War era. In early August 1990, Iraqi military forces suddenly occupied the small neighboring country of Kuwait, in the northeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait sparked an international outcry, and an inter- national force led by the United States liberated Kuwait and destroyed a substantial part of Iraq's armed forces in the early months of 1991. The Gulf War was the first important mili- tary conflict in the post-Cold War period. Al- though Gorbachev tried to persuade Iraq to withdraw its forces from Kuwait before the war began, overall the Soviets played a minor role in the crisis and supported the American action. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union had dis- integrated, making any renewal of global rivalry between the superpowers impossible and leaving the United States as the world's leading military power. With the end of superpower rivalry and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, atten- tion focused on the new post-Cold War era. Many observers were optimistic. U.S. president George H. W. Bush looked forward to a new era of peace and international cooperation that he called the ''New World Order.'' Others predicted the beginning of a new ''American century,'' characterized by the victory of liberal democratic values and free market capitalism.

The Reagan Revolution (2 ECD, 4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

The Reagan Revolution, as it has been called, consisted of a number of new policies. Reversing decades of increased spending on social welfare, Reagan cut back on the welfare state by reducing spending on food stamps, school lunch programs, and job programs. At the same time, his administration fostered the largest peacetime military buildup in American history. Total federal spending rose from $631 billion in 1981 to more than $1 trillion by 1986. But instead of raising taxes to pay for the new expenditures, which far outweighed the budget cuts in social areas, Reagan convinced Congress to rely on ''supply-side economics.'' Massive tax cuts would supposedly stimulate rapid economic growth and produce new revenues. Much of the tax cut went to the wealthy. Reagan's policies seemed to work in the short run as the United States experienced an economic upturn that lasted until the end of the 1980s. The spending policies of the Reagan administration, however, also produced record government deficits, which loomed as an obstacle to long- term growth. In 1980, the total government debt was around $930 billion. By 1988, the total debt had almost tripled, reaching $2.6 trillion.

American music (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

The United States has dominated popular music since the end of World War II. Jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, and rock-and-roll have been by far the most popular music forms in the Western world—and much of the non-Western world—during this time. All of them orig- inated in the United States, and all are rooted in African American musical innovations. These forms later spread around the globe, inspiring local artists who then transformed the music in their own way. Often these transformed models then returned to the United States to inspire American artists. This was certainly the case with rock-and-roll. Through the 1950s, American artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley inspired the Beatles and other British performers, who then led an ''invasion'' of the United States in the 1960s, creating a sensation and in part sparking new rockers in America. Rock music itself developed in the 1950s. In 1952, white disc jockeys began playing rhythm and blues and traditional blues music performed by African Americans to young white audiences. The music was popular with this audience, and record companies began recording watered-down white ''cover'' versions of this music. It was not until performers such as Elvis Presley mixed white ''folkabilly'' with rhythm and blues that rock-and-roll became popular with the larger white audience.

Disintegration of Yugoslavia (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The Yugoslav political scene was complicated by the development of separatist movements. In 1990, the re- publics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia began to lobby for a new federal structure of Yugoslavia that would fulfill their separatist desires. Slobodan Milosˇevic (sluh-BOH-dahn mi-LOH-suh-vich) (1941-2006), who had become the leader of the Serbian Communist Party in 1987 and had managed to stay in power by emphasizing his Serbian nationalism, rejected these efforts. He asserted that these republics could be independent only if new border arrangements were made to accommodate the Serb minorities in those republics who did not want to live outside the boundaries of a Greater Serbian state. Serbs constituted 11.6 percent of Croatia's population and 32 percent of Bosnia-Herzegovina's in 1991. growing role in military operations. Before a cease-fire was arranged, the Serbian forces had captured one-third of Croatia's territory in brutal and destructive fighting. Since 1991, Yugoslavia had been em- broiled in an appalling and destructive war, largely caused by the policies of Slobodan Milosevic. By 2000, the Serbian people had finally tired of the violence and in the fall elections ousted Milosevic from power. The new Serbian government under Vojislav Kosˇtunica (VOH-yee-slav kuh- STOO-nit-suh) (b. 1944) moved quickly to cooperate with the international community and begin rebuilding the Serbian economy. On June 28, 2001, the Serbian gov- ernment agreed to allow Milosˇevic to be put on trial by an international tribunal for crimes against humanity for his ethnic cleansing policies throughout Yugoslavia's disinte- gration. He died in prison in 2006 before his trial could be completed.

Playboy (3 CID) (KC 4.4)

The appearance of Playboy magazine in the 1950s had also already added a new dimension to the sexual revolution for adult males. Along with photographs of nude women, Playboy offered well-written articles on various aspects of masculinity. Playboy's message was clear: men were encouraged to seek sexual gratification outside marriage.

Right-wing European parties (4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

The arrival of so many foreigners strained not only the social services of European countries but also the patience of many native residents who opposed making their countries ethnically diverse. Antiforeign sentiment, espe- cially in a time of growing unemployment, increased and was encouraged by new right-wing political parties that catered to people's complaints. Thus, the National Front in France, organized by Jean-Marie Le Pen (b. 1928), and the Republican Party in Germany, led by Franz Schonhuber (1923-2005), a former SS officer, advocated restricting all new immigration and limiting the assimilation of settled immigrants. Although these parties had only limited suc- cess in elections, even that modest accomplishment en- couraged traditional conservative and even moderately conservative parties to adopt more nationalistic policies. Occasionally, an antiforeign party was quite successful. Jorg Haider (YORG HY-dur) (1950-2008), whose Freedom Party received 27 percent of the vote in 1999, cushioned his rejection of foreigners by appealing to Austrian na- tionalism and attacking the European Union: ''We Aus- trians should answer not to the European Union, not to Maastricht, not to some international idea or other, but to this our Homeland.''5 Even more frightening than the growth of these right-wing political parties were the or- ganized campaigns of violence in the early 1990s, espe- cially against African and Asian immigrants, by radical, right-wing groups.

Perestroika (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The cornerstone of Gorbachev's radical reforms was perestroika (per-uh-STROI-kuh), or ''restructuring'' (see the box on p. 950). At first, this meant only a reordering of economic policy as Gorbachev called for the beginning of a market economy with limited free enterprise and some private property. Gorbachev soon perceived, how- ever, that in the Soviet system, the economic sphere was intimately tied to the social and political spheres. Attempting to reform the economy without political or social reform would be doomed to failure. One of the most important instruments of perestroika was glasnost (GLAHZ-nohst), or ''openness.'' Soviet citizens and offi- cials were encouraged to discuss openly the strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet Union. Pravda (PRAHV-duh), the official newspaper of the Communist Party, began to in- clude reports of official corruption, sloppy factory work, and protests against government policy. The arts also benefited from the new policy. Previously banned works were now published, and music based on Western styles, such as jazz and rock, began to be performed openly.

German politicians after Adenauer (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The first Social Democratic chancellor was Willy Brandt (VIL-ee BRAHNT) (1913-1992). Brandt was espe- cially successful with his ''opening toward the east''— known as Ostpolitik (OHST-paw-li-teek)—for which he re- ceived the Nobel Peace Prize in 1972. On March 19, 1971, Brandt met with Walter Ulbricht, the leader of East Ger- many, and worked out the details of a treaty that was signed in 1972. This agreement did not establish full diplomatic relations with East Germany but did call for ''good neighborly'' relations. As a result, it led to greater cultural, personal, and economic con- tacts between West and East Germany. Despite this success, the discovery of an East German spy among Brandt's advisers caused his resig- nation in 1974. His successor, Helmut Schmidt (HEL-moot SHMIT) (b. 1918), was more of a technocrat than a reform-minded socialist and concentrated pri- marily on the economic problems largely brought about by high oil prices between 1973 and 1975. Schmidt was successful in eliminating a deficit of 10 billion marks in three years. In 1982, when the coalition of Schmidt's Social Democrats with the Free Democrats fell apart over the reduction of social welfare expenditures, the Free Demo- crats joined with the Christian Democratic Union of Helmut Kohl (HEL-moot KOHL) (b. 1930) to form a new government.

George Bush (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The first four years of Bush's administration were largely occupied with the war on terrorism and the U.S.- led war on Iraq. The Department of Homeland Security was established after the 2001 terrorist assaults to help protect the United States from future terrorist acts. At the same time, Bush pushed tax cuts through Congress that mainly favored the wealthy and helped produce record deficits reminiscent of the Reagan years. Environ- mentalists were especially disturbed by the Bush admin- istration's efforts to weaken environmental laws and impose regulations to benefit American corporations. In November 2004, after a highly negative political cam- paign, Bush was narrowly elected to a second term. From 2005 to 2007, Bush's popularity plummeted drastically as discontent grew over the Iraq War and financial corrup- tion in the Republican Party, as well as the admin- istration's poor handling of relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. The many failures of the Bush administration led to the lowest approval ratings for a modern president and opened the door for a dramatic change in American pol- itics.

The Great Recession (2 ECD) (KC 4.2)

The global economy ex- perienced worldwide financial troubles beginning in 2007, following the collapse of the U.S. housing market. Spurred by low interest rates in the early 2000s, easily available mortgages drove up housing values in the United States. In response, investment banks began selling financial investments called collater- alized debt obligations (CDOs), which were based on bundles of mortgages. Banks in New York sold CDOs to banks in Europe and elsewhere, spreading the wealth and the risk of investment. Many of the mortgages used as investments had been subprime—issued to borrowers with low credit ratings and a high likehood of default. As the low introductory rates on the mortgages expired beginning in 2006, default rates increased, and all asset securities began to lose their value. By September 2008, a number of large financial institutions, insurance and mortgage com- panies, investment firms, and banks were approaching or had fallen into bankruptcy. The rapid collapse of CDO values and falling housing prices caused a precipitous de- cline in the U.S. stock market as stocks lost almost $8 trillion in value from mid-September to November.

Contemporary Canada (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The government of Brian Mulroney, who came to power in 1984, sought greater privatization of Canada's state- run corporations and negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States. Bitterly resented by many Canadians, the agreement cost Mulroney's government much of its popularity. In 1993, the ruling Conservatives were overwhelmingly defeated, and the Liberal leader, Jean Chretien (ZHAHNH kray-TEN) (b. 1934), became prime minister. Chretien's conservative fiscal policies, combined with strong economic growth, enabled his government to have a budgetary surplus by the late 1990s and led to another Liberal victory in the elections of 1997. Charges of widespread financial corruption in the gov- ernment, however, led to a Conservative victory early in 2006, and Stephen Harper (b. 1959) became the new prime minister. Mulroney's government had been unable to settle the ongoing crisis over the French-speaking province of Quebec. In the late 1960s, the Parti Quebecois (par-TEE kay-bek-KWA), headed by Rene Levesque (ruh-NAY luh- VEK), ran on a platform of Quebec's secession from the Canadian union. To pursue their dream of separation, some underground separatist groups even resorted to terrorist bombings. In 1976, the Parti Quebecois won Que- bec's provincial elec- tions and in 1980 called for a referen- dum that would en- able the provincial government to ne- gotiate Quebec's in- dependence from the rest of Canada. Que- bec voters narrowly rejected the plan in 1995, however, and debate over the province's status continues to divide Canada.

Janos Kadar (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The government of Janos Kadar in Hungary enacted the most far-reaching reforms in Eastern Europe. In the early 1960s, Kadar legalized small private enterprises, such as retail stores, restaurants, and artisan shops. His economic reforms were termed ''Communism with a capitalist face- lift.'' Under his leadership, Hungary moved slowly away from its strict adherence to Soviet dominance and even established fairly friendly relations with the West.

Multiculturalism in literature (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

The interaction of East and West has also preoccupied numerous authors since the late-1990s. Jhumpa Lahiri (JOOM-puh luh- HEER-ee) (b. 1967) has received international attention for writings that explore contemporary Indian life. Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for her collection of stories, Inter- preter of Maladies (1999), while her first novel, The Namesake (2003), chronicled the lives of Indian immi- grants in the United States. Both works examine genera- tion gaps, particularly the alienation and unique synthesis that can accompany cross-cultural exchange. The success of Lahiri's work and other novels such as Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha (1997) indicates how, in the Digital Age, Western peoples remain interested in other cultures and traditions. This emergence of a global culture has become part of the new globalism at the beginning of the twenty-first century

Barack Obama (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The new and often inspiring voice of Barack Obama (b. 1961), who campaigned on a platform of change ''we can believe in'' and ending the war in Iraq, resulted in an overwhelming Democratic victory in the elections of 2008. The Democrats were also aided by the dramatic collapse of the American financial system in the fall of 2008. Obama moved quickly in 2009 to deal with the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. At the same time, Obama emphasized the need to deal with the health care crisis, global warming, the decline in the educational system, and failed economic policies.

Bill Clinton (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The new president was a southerner who claimed to be a ''new Democrat''—one who favored fiscal responsibility and a more conservative social agenda—a clear indication that the rightward drift in American politics had not been reversed by his victory. During his first term in office, Clinton reduced the budget deficit and signed a bill turning the welfare program back to the states while pushing measures to provide job opportuni- ties for those Americans removed from the welfare rolls. By seizing the center of the American political agenda, Clinton was able to win reelection in 1996, although the Republican Party now held a majority in both houses of Congress. Clinton's political fortunes were helped considerably by a lengthy economic revival. At the same time, a steady reduction in the annual government budget deficit strengthened confidence in the performance of the na- tional economy. Much of Clinton's second term, however, was overshadowed by charges of presidential misconduct stemming from the president's affair with a White House intern. After a bitter partisan struggle, the U.S. Senate acquitted the president on two articles of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. But Clinton's problems helped the Republican candidate, George W. Bush (b. 1946), win the presidential election in 2000. Although Bush lost the popular vote to Al Gore, he nar- rowly won the electoral vote after a highly controversial victory in the state of Florida decided ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pop music (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

The period from 1967 to 1973 was probably the true golden age of rock. During this brief period, much ex- perimentation in rock music took place, as it did in so- ciety in general. Straightfoward rock-and-roll competed with a new hybrid blues rock, created in part by British performers such as the Rolling Stones, who were in turn inspired by African American blues artists. Many musicians also experimented with non-Western musical sounds, such as Indian sitars. Some of the popular music of the 1960s also focused on social issues. It was against the Vietnam War and materialism and promoted ''peace and love'' as alternatives to the prevailing ''establish- ment'' culture. The same migration of a musical form from the United States to Britain and back to the United States that characterized the golden age of rock also occurred when the early punk movement in New York spread to Britain in the mid-1970s after failing to make an immediate im- pact in the United States. The more influential British punk movement of 1976-1979 was also fueled by an economic crisis that had resulted in large numbers of unemployed and undereducated young people. Punk was not simply a proletarian movement, however. Many of its supporters, performers, and promoters were British art school graduates who applied avant-garde experimenta- tion to the movement. Punk rockers such as Britain's Sex Pistols rejected most social conventions and preached anarchy and rebellion. They often wore tattered clothes and pins in their cheeks, symbolizing their rejection of a materialistic and degenerate culture. Pure punk was short- lived, partly because its intense energy quickly burned out (as did many of its performers) and partly because, as ex- punk Mick Hucknall said, ''the biggest mistake of the punks was that they rejected music.'' Offshoots of punk proliferated through the 1980s, however, especially in Eastern Europe, with groups named Crisis, Sewage, and Dead Organism. The introduction of the video music channel MTV in the early 1980s radically changed the music scene by making image as important as sound in selling records. Artists like Michael Jackson became superstars by treating the music video as an art form. Jackson's videos often were short films with elaborate staging and special effects set to music. Technological advances became prevalent in the music of the 1980s with the advent of the synthesizer, an electronic piano that produced computerized sounds. Some performers replaced ensembles of guitar, bass, and drums with synthesizers, creating a futuristic and manu- factured sound. Paralleling the rise of the music video was the emer- gence of rap or hip-hop. Developed in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s, rap combined rhymed lyrics with disco beats and turntable manipulations. One scholar noted that hip-hop ''also encompassed break dancing, graffiti art, and new styles of language and fashion.'' Early rap groups like Public Enemy and Grand- master Flash and the Furious Five instilled social com- mentaries into their songs, using the popularity of hip-hop to raise awareness about social conditions in American cities.

Permissive society (3 CID) (KC 4.4)

The permissive society was a label used by critics to describe the new society of postwar Europe. World War I had opened the first significant crack in the rigid code of manners and morals of the nineteenth century. The 1920s had witnessed experimentation with drugs, the appear- ance of pornography, and a new sexual freedom (police in Berlin, for example, issued cards that permitted female and male homosexual prostitutes to practice their trade). But these indications of a new attitude appeared mostly in major cities and touched only small numbers of people. After World War II, changes in manners and morals were far more extensive and far more noticeable.

Munich Olympics (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The political nature of the games found expression in other ways as well. In 1956, six nations withdrew from the games to protest the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian uprising. In 1972, twenty-seven African nations threat- ened to pull out of the Munich Olympics because of apartheid in South Africa. Also at the Munich Games, the Palestinian terrorist group Black September seized eleven Israeli athletes as hostages, all of whom died in a con- frontation at an airport. The United States led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Soviets responded by boycotting the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

Existentialism (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

The sense of meaninglessness that inspired the The- ater of the Absurd also underscored the philosophy of existentialism. It was born largely of the desperation caused by two world wars and the breakdown of tradi- tional values. Existentialism reflected the anxieties of the twentieth century and became especially well known after World War II through the works of two Frenchmen, Jean- Paul Sartre (1905-1980) and Albert Camus (ahl-BAYR ka-MOO) (1913-1960). The central point of the existentialism of Sartre and Camus was the absence of God in the universe. The death of God, though tragic, meant that humans had no pre- ordained destiny and were utterly alone in the universe, with no future and no hope. According to Camus, then, the world was absurd and without meaning; humans, too, are without meaning and purpose. Reduced to despair and depression, humans have but one source of hope—themselves. Though the world might be absurd, Camus argued, it could not be absurd unless people judged it to be so. People are unique in the world, and their kind of being is quite different from that of all others. In the words of Sartre, human ''existence precedes essence.'' Humans are beings who first exist and then define themselves. They determine what they will be. According to Sartre, ''Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism.'' People, then, must take full responsibility for what they are. They create their values and give their lives meaning. And this can only be done by their in- volvement in life. Only through one's acts can one deter- mine one's values. Existentialism, therefore, involved an ethics of action, of involvement in life. But people could not define themselves without their involvement with others. Thus, existentialism's ethical message was just as important as its philosophy of being. Essentially, the message of exis- tentialism was one of authenticity. Individuals true to themselves refused to be depersonalized by their society. As one author noted, ''Existentialism is the struggle to discover the human person in a depersonalized age.

Postmodernism and other strands of thought (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

The term Postmodern covers a variety of artistic and intel- lectual styles and ways of thinking that have been prominent since the 1970s. In the broadest sense, Postmodernism rejects the modern Western belief in an objective truth and instead focuses on the relative nature of reality and knowl- edge. Human knowledge is defined by a number of factors that must be constantly revised and tested by human experiences. While existentialism wrestled with notions of mean- ing and existence, a group of French philosophers in the 1960s attempted to understand how meaning and knowledge operate through the study of language an signs. In the early twentieth century, the Swiss language scholar Ferdinand de Saussure (fayr-di-nawh duh SOH- SOOR) (1857-1913) gave birth to structuralism by as- serting that the very nature of signs is arbitrary and that language is a human construct. And though the external world has existed for ages, de Saussure believed that hu- mans possessed no capacity for knowledge until language was devised. Language employs signs to denote meaning and, according to de Saussure, possesses two components: the signifier, the expression of a concept, and the signified, its meaning. For de Saussure, meaning seeks expression in language, although the reliance on language for knowl- edge suggested that such meaning is learned rather than preexisting. Jacques Derrida (ZHAHK DEH-ree-duh) (1930-2004) drew on the ideas of de Saussure to demonstrate how dependent Western culture is on binary oppositions. In Western thought, one set of oppositions is generally fa- vored over the other (in the case of de Saussure, speech was favored over writing), but Derrida showed that the privileged depends on the inferior. Rather than revers- ing the opposition and claiming that writing surpasses speech, for example, Derrida showed that spelling often altered pronunciation. This indebtedness to written language demonstrates that oral speech is not superior. Poststructuralism, or deconstruction, which Derrida formulated, believes that culture is created and can therefore be analyzed in a variety of ways, according to the manner in which people create their own meaning. Hence, there is no fixed truth or universal meaning. Michel Foucault (mih-SHELL foo-KOH) (1926-1984) likewise drew upon de Saussure and Derrida to explore relationships of power. Believing that ''power is exercised, rather than possessed,'' Foucault argued that the diffusion of power and oppression marks all relationships. For ex- ample, any act of teaching entails components of assertion and submission, as the student adopts the ideas of the one in power. Therefore, all norms are culturally produced and entail some degree of power struggle. In establishing laws of conduct, society not only creates ideal behavior from those who conform, but it also invents a subclass of in- dividuals who do not conform. In The History of Sexuality, Foucault suggested that homosexuality was produced by cultures attempting to define and limit homosexual acts. Yet in seeking to control and delineate homosexuality, those in power established the grounds on which it could be defined and practiced. As such, power ultimately re- quires resistance for it to exist; otherwise, it loses all meaning.

Francois Mitterrand (1916-1995) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

The worsening of France's economic situation in the 1970s brought a shift to the left politically. By 1981, the Socialists had become the dominant party in the National Assembly, and the Socialist leader, Francois Mitterrand (frahnh-SWAH MEE- tayr-rahnh) (1916-1995), was elected president. His first concern was with France's economic difficulties. In 1982, Mitterrand froze prices and wages in the hope of reduc- ing the huge budget deficit and high inflation. He also passed a number of liberal measures to aid workers: an increased minimum wage, expanded social benefits, a mandatory fifth week of paid vacation for salaried workers, a thirty-nine-hour workweek, and higher taxes for the rich. Mitterrand's administrative reforms in- cluded both centralization (nationalization of banks and industry) and decentralization (granting local govern- ments greater powers). The party's victory had convinced the Socialists that they could enact some of their more radical reforms. Consequently, the government nation- alized the steel industry, major banks, the space and electronics industries, and important insurance firms. The Socialist policies largely failed, however, and within three years, a decline in support for the Socialists caused the Mitterrand government to turn portions of the econ- omy back over to private enterprise. Some economic im- provement in the late 1980s enabled Mitterrand to win a second seven-year term in the 1988 presidential elections.

War in Afghanistan (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

U.S. president George W. Bush vowed to wage a lengthy war on terrorism and worked to create a coalition of nations to assist in ridding the world of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. In October 2001, United States and NATO air forces began bombing Taliban-controlled command centers, airfields, and al- Qaeda hiding places in Afghanistan. On the ground, Afghan forces opposed to the Taliban, assisted by U.S. special forces, pushed the Taliban out of the capital city of Kabul and seized control of nearly all of the country by the end of November. A multiethnic government was installed but faced problems as a result of renewed Tal- iban activity after the United States began to focus much of its military attention on the war in Iraq. In 2009, President Obama decided to deal with the deteriorating situation by promising to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Visual artists (3 CID) (KC 4.3)

Whereas the iPod altered the way in which we listen to, store, and access music, innovations in digital technology have changed the sound and production of music. In the late-1990s, musicians such as Moby and Fatboy Slim be- came internationally famous for creating music layered with synthesizers, distorted guitars, and simulated drum beats. These artists sampled earlier soul music to create albums and film scores. Many visual artists have also adopted digital effects in producing artworks that fuse photography, sculpture, and cinema. Bill Viola (b. 1951) was one of the first artists to exclusively employ video in his exhibits. By projecting films in a gallery space, Viola created powerful sensory experiences. Using allusions to rebirth and mysticism, he evoked mystical sensations, contrasting light, sound, and focus with techniques of slow motion and editing.

The Treaty on European Union (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

With the addition of Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995, the European Community (EC) had grown to fifteen members. The EC was primarily an economic union, not a political one. By 2000, it contained 370 million people and constituted the world's largest single trading entity, transacting one-fourth of the world's commerce. In 1986, the EC had created the Single Europe Act, which had opened the door by 1992 to a truly united internal mar- ket, thereby eliminating all barriers to the exchange of people, goods, services, and capital. This was followed by a proposal for a monetary union and a common currency. The Treaty on European Union (also called the Maastricht Treaty after the city in the Netherlands where the agree- ment was reached) represented an attempt to create a true economic and monetary union of all EC members. On January 1, 1994, the EC renamed itself the European Union (EU). One of its first goals was to introduce a common currency, called the euro, adopted by twelve EU nations early in 1999. On June 1, 1999, a European Central Bank was created, and by January 2010, the euro had officially replaced sixteen national currencies. The euro serves approximately 327 million people and has become the world's second largest reserve currency after the U.S. dollar

Richard Nixon (1913-1994) (4 SOP) (KC 4.1)

With the election of Richard Nixon (1913-1994) as president in 1968, American politics made a shift to the right. Nixon ended American involvement in Vietnam by 1973 by gradually withdrawing American troops. Politi- cally, he pursued a ''southern strategy,'' carefully calcu- lating that ''law and order'' issues and a slowdown in racial desegregation would appeal to southern whites. The South, which had once been a Democratic stronghold, began to form a new allegiance to the Republican Party. The Republican strategy also gained support among white Democrats in northern cities, where court-mandated busing to achieve racial integration had led to a backlash among whites. As president, Nixon was paranoid about conspiracies and began to use illegal methods to gather intelligence on his po- litical opponents. One of the president's advisers explained that their intention was to ''use the available federal ma- chinery to screw our political enemies.'' Nixon's zeal led to the Watergate scandal—the attempted bugging of Democratic National Headquarters, located in the Watergate apartment and hotel complex in Washington, D.C. Although Nixon repeatedly lied to the American public about his involve- ment in the affair, secret tapes of his own conversations in the White House revealed the truth. On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned the presidency rather than face possible impeachment and then trial by the U.S. Congress.

Global warming (4 SOP) (KC 4.4)

Yet another threat to the environment is global warming, which has the potential to create a global crisis. Virtually all of the world's scientists agree that the greenhouse effect, the warming of the earth because of the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is con- tributing to devastating droughts and storms, the melting of the polar ice caps, and rising sea levels that could in- undate coastal regions in the second half of the twenty-first century. Also alarming is the potential loss of biodiversity. Seven out of ten biologists believe that the planet is now experiencing an alarming extinction of both plant and animal species.