1989 – the beginning of history

In the 1990s 13 out 15 European countries were led by social democratic governments and the transatlantic relationship came out strong by “winning the Cold War”. The fall of Berlin Wall and dissolution of the Soviet Union was considered as a turning point for Europe’s future and it symbolized the greatest common achievement of US and Europe at that time. But since then, EU-US relations and most of the social democratic parties in Europe have been deteriorating. Did the West underestimate the forces of liberalism and globalisation which took European states by storm? In this episode, Sylvie Kauffmann with host Mark Leonard untangles some of the many interconnections and which 1989 provoked or brought to light.

This podcast was recorded on 4 December 2019.

Bookshelf:

• Sylvie Kauffmann's article series in Le Monde (in French)
  • (1/4) Qui a perdu la Russie?
  • (2/4) Comment la chut de l’URSS a bouleversé l’Occident
  • (3/4) La revanche de la Chine
  • (4/4) La social-démocratie, continent englouti
•  “Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy” by Andrei Kozyrev