In this episode I explore the factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. I will discuss the role colonialism played in the Yugoslavian and Rwandan genocides. Finally, I will discuss the origins of the continuing turmoil in the Middle East/Western Asia

• Why did the Cold War end?

• What were glasnost and perestroika, and how might they have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• In what way were the genocides in Yugoslavia and Rwanda the product of imperialism?

• Why has ethnic and religious tension in the Middle East persisted in the years since the end of the Cold War?

• What is the cause of anti-American Islamic extremist violence? How has the US responded to this violence, and how has this affected America’s position in the world?

00:00 Question 1

02:50 Question 2

04:43 Question 3

08:40 Question 4

11:12 Question 5

In this episode I examine developments in East Asia in the latter half of the 20th century. I will discuss the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and how those conflicts illustrate different aspects of the Cold War. I also take a closer look at the evolution of China from the Revolution of 1911 to the beginning of the Deng Xiaoping era.

• What is the significance of the Korean war in the context of the larger Cold War?
• What were the reasons for Japan’s economic success throughout the latter half of the 20th century?
• Why was the Japanese invasion of China good for the Chinese Communist party?
• Why was Mao’s embrace of the Chinese rural peasantry so key to his initial success?
• What was the Great Leap Forward and why did it fail?
• What was the Cultural Revolution, and what impact did it have on China’s development?
• What was the Gang of Four, and how did its demise signal a new era for China?
• Why were the Vietnamese able to withstand the superior military powers of Japan, France, and finally the United states to eventually achieve independence?

00:00 Question 1

01:39 Question 2

03:23 Question 3

06:48 Question 4

08:31 Question 5

10:32 Question 6

12:59 Question 7

15:00 Question 8

In this episode we will examine the era of decolonization, and the internal and external challenges faced by the newly independent states. We will look at the development of Muslim political identities in the Middle East/Western Asia, and the relationship that has developed between the United States and the Muslim world. Finally, we will explore the origins, formulation, implementation, and deconsrtuction of the apartheid system in South Africa.

• What conditions prompted the post-war independence movements in the colonies? What effects would these conditions have on post-colonial self-rule?

• What was the cause of the conflicts that developed in newly independent states after the initial phase of self-rule?

• What impact has population increases and urbanization had on post-colonial nations? What is a “parasitic city”?

• What is “neocolonialism”?

• Contrast the Free Officers movement with the Muslim Brotherhood as political alternatives in the post-colonial world.

• Why was India better poised to succeed in the post-colonial world? What steps has it taken to prosper in the years since it gained independence?

• What are the historical origins of Iran’s hostility towards the United States?

• Why was the policy of apartheid created, and why did it finally end?