Changes after the Cold War
Eastern Europe
East Asia
North America
Africa
Middle East
Western Europe
South and Southeast Asia
South/Central America
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Political
Social
Economic
Political
Political
The United States government oscillated between right and left leaning power. Canadian officials also changed between power because of the economic issues in Quebec.
Quebec, a French speaking Canadian province, just narrowly voted to stay with Canada and has been threatening to secede for decades. American people have been debating about what party should be in power.
The Reagan Administration spent considerably more money than past administrations, caused a budget crisis, and put the United States into debt.
Since the end of the cold war, many Latin American countries have switched their government to democracy. Many South American countries have also transitioned to democratic governments.
Hurricanes and earthquakes have devastated many countries such as Haiti and Honduras. El Salvador ha s had a bloody civil war and Honduras has had continued gang and police violence.
Income inequality has been a big issue in Latin America. Programs for increased public education and greater economic growth have helped to lessen the gap.
Some African nations are starting to gain political stability but overall most are racked with problems. Many nations are still ruled by brutal dictatorships.
HIV and AIDS is spreading very rapidly and is a widespread concern of Africa and the UN. The OAU, AEC, and AU are all organizations designed to help with the problems in Africa.
Most African nations are very poor and have incredibly high poverty rates. Rapid population growth has slowed economic growth.
Protests in Egypt resulted in the exile and imprisonment of the current president and Egypt continues to have an elected government.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims all consider Israel their holy land which results in Israel being a very dangerous place to be.
Growing poverty and unemployment rates create a downfall in Middle Eastern economy.
China's economy skyrocketed in the 1990s which led to poor working conditions and low salaries. Japan's economy was growing steadily until the 1990s when they slipped into a recession.
After Mao, China relaxed its policies letting people to wear and say what they want. In 1979, China adopted a one-child policy to control population.
Communism started to fail in China but continued to stay. North Korea has as communist government while South Korea has a democracy which creates political conflict.
Many South and Southeast Asian countries have once again moved toward democracy. However, there are still many other challenges faced by these nations. There is political unrest in in Indonesia and terrorism in the Philipines.
Rivalry continues with India and Pakistan and Pakistan deals with instability.This rivalry has a lot to do with Hindus and Muslims argueing and turning it into a country versus country debate.
India has used service and industry to build up their economy and GDP. Since 1990, most Southeast Asian countries have seen strong economic growth.
Goods and services under communism start to fail. economic policies led to a sharp drop in living standards. Starvation and malnourishment was common among people.
Groups of people rebelled from the government. People were unhappy that the could only make a certain amount of money even if they did harder jobs. This caused more rebellion.
Communism fails and new governments have to be created. The Soviet Union falls creating new problems for developing and developed countries.
Communism became less popular and western political ways were adopted. Different parties were eleceted and replaced.
People were tired of communism and wanted a change. Symbols of communism in the countries such as the Berlin Wall, were destroyed.
Unemployment rates were very high causing shortages in goods and services. The European Union was formed and created a common currency.