The Global 1980s: People, Power and Profit (Decades in Global History)

Book Details

• Author: Jonathan Davis

• Publisher: Routledge

• Language: English

• Edition: 1

• ISBN: 9781138818378

• Pages: 288

• Cover: Paperback

• Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches

About the Book

The Global 1980s provides an insightful international perspective on the dramatic upheavals that defined the long 1980s (1979–1991), a decade that marked the end of the Cold War, the rise of free-market economies, and a more interconnected world. The 1980s were a period of transformative global change. At the beginning of the decade, many dictatorships appeared firmly in place, the state was still regarded as central to ensuring citizens' welfare, and the Cold War seemed destined to endure for the foreseeable future. By the end of the decade, however, the political landscape had drastically shifted—dictatorships had fallen, the Berlin Wall had crumbled, and the end of the Cold War seemed imminent.

Divided into four chronological parts, this book explores sixteen key themes such as domestic politics, the global spread of democracy, international relations, and pressing global issues like AIDS, acid rain, and nuclear war. Through case studies and thematic analysis, it delves into how worldwide change occurred both from top-down policies and bottom-up movements. Topics covered include ideological shifts in the liberal democratic West and the socialist East, protests for democratic governance and against nuclear weapons, rising environmental concerns, and the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.

The Global 1980s serves as a comprehensive guide to the decade of transition, in which the post-1945 global order gave way to a new, increasingly globalized world. Essential reading for students and scholars of the twentieth century, it offers a global lens on the pivotal decade that reshaped the political and economic landscape.