End Of The Cold War Analysis

This essay will argue that the United States were the state to benefit most from the end of the Cold War as a result of their supremacy in a newly emerging unipolar security system, despite arguments from political scientists such as Richard Mayer that unipolar supremacy has proved to be a burden. Winning the Cold War has allowed the US to pursue an informal empire and the expansion of democracy using force if necessary. The common values that Europe and the US shared, allowed the former to thrive under US supremacy as an important ally and trading partner. This, along with the European Union’s establishment has allowed for a period of stability in Europe since the end of the Cold War, with the exception of Yugoslavia. Henrik Larsen has

It is arguable that the states within Europe to benefit most were those that had been satellite states of the Soviet Union as part of the Warsaw Pact. Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania as well as Third World and Middle Eastern states were now able to enjoy increased diplomatic freedom because the competition for Cold War allies was over. However, the transition into a unipolar system has allowed the US to bully other states such as Iraq in its quest to secure its economic interests, such as oil, under the banner of democratic expansion. Sebastian Rosato argues that ‘In practical terms democratic peace theory provides the intellectual justification for the belief that spreading democracy abroad will perform the dual task of enhancing American national security and promoting world peace’. The US dominance in world affairs has affected other states in both negative and positive ways, but has most importantly secured American hegemony across the globe, showing that it has benefitted the US most since the end of the

Globalization had created interdependency where the world’s largest power was needed to maintain the world order; a world order founded on the core principles of the west. NATO has continued to exist even after German reunification and Soviet defeat, encouraging a close relationship between the US and Europe. The European Union and the US enjoyed a close relationship, as they both sought to maintain their own interests. The principles of liberal democracy, economic liberalisation and human rights helped secure a natural relationship between Europe and the United States President Clinton stated that “Democracies don’t attack each other”. This is in line with Democratic Peace Theory, which has excluded non-democracies such as Iraq, since the end of the Cold War. Military action used under the banner of democratic expansion was supported by Europe which was in moral agreement with the United States. Also, as John Holmes states, Europe was able to benefit from being allied with the world’s most powerful state, as Europe was still fearful of the east. The US needed Europe, with US foreign policy needing justification on the international stage to maintain prestige and the reputation as a truly democratic and peaceful state. Aligning itself with the United States also meant that Europe had the most powerful state onside for its own economic and foreign policy objectives. The US’ position