The post-Soviet Collapse and the American perspective on Eastern European economic Transition in the 1990s

The post-Soviet Collapse and the American perspective on Eastern European economic Transition in the 1990s

Presenter(s)

Brant Bolton

Comments

Presentation: 1:00-3:30 p.m., Humanities 118

Description

The post-Soviet Collapse and the American perspective on Eastern European economic Transition in the 1990s.The economic, governmental, and social changes experienced by Eastern Europeans during the approaching Soviet Collapse in the late 1980s were caused by the democratization of the Soviet administration. The progressive Reforms brought by Mikhail Gorbachev, led to political strains between the Central Soviet government and the republics which made up the Eastern Block. Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved the USSR in 1991 and resined as Cremlin; this caused a massive shift in world politics since the USSR, a world Superpower, ceased to exist. This was a time referred to as Transition; the paper will examine the American media's portrayal of the Eastern European Transition. This presentation/paper will deliver the narrative that political Liberal and Conservative based newspapers used the dynamic of Eastern European Transition to extend into American-based political arguments targeted at the economic decisions of former Soviet countries. Using newspaper archives from 1989 through 1999, by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Bussines Insider, we can see both debates. The issue of German reunification became a primary issue for liberals debating that accepting other Eastern Europeans as ethnic Germans and accepting them as citizens was a moral right since Stalin removed them in the late 1940s. Conservatives speaking about the same event labeled it as poor administrative practice since becoming a German citizen gives them access to Gracious social services, such as housing, retirement pay, food, and mounthly allowances. The conservative narrative focused on Germany's poor economy due to incorporating East Germany and the social safety net provided by the government, as well as increasing the median wage they argued was poor administrative practice and economic practice.

Publication Date

4-19-2023

Project Designation

Capstone Project

Primary Advisor

Anca Glont

Primary Advisor's Department

History

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

The post-Soviet Collapse and the American perspective on Eastern European economic Transition in the 1990s

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