January 19-22 end of cold war and imposing liberalism

How did the Cold War end?

Ronald Reagan                  vs.                       Mikhail Gorbachev

                          (conservative)                                     (last communist leader in Russia)

                                

Ronald spent a lot of money of arms for the United States which eventually led them into debt.

Russia had a stagnant economy. Mikhail implemented reforms that split up into two categories: Glasnost and Perestroika.

Overall, the US outspent the USSR.

Imposing Liberalism = Forcing Freedom

Reasons for Imposing Liberalism:

• Self- interest eg. 9/11
• Humanitarianism eg. Countries sometimes feel morally obligated to intervene in another country in cases such as, Genocide, Oppression, Human Rights Abuses, Crisis, Extreme Human Suffering.etc

Imposing Liberalism on Iraq:

• Invading Afghanistan, removing Taliban government who trained 9/11 attackers.
• In 2003, Iraq is targeted for ‘regime change’. Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein was seen as a threat to the US so a preemptive strike was ordered. A liberal democracy would be established.
• A democratic system was put into place in Iraq.
• US faced setbacks eg. Prisoner abuse and torture
• Resistance in Iraq led to instability (ethnic violence)

Exporting a Liberal Democracy has economic benefits. There has never been a war between a liberal democracy and a liberal democracy.