The End of the Cold War: European Unity, Socialism and the Shift in Global Power

by Bogdan Denis Denitch

The End of the Cold War was first published in 1990. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. Against the backdrop of unprecedented change in the world political and social order, Bogdan Denitch charts the unique opportunities and potential pitfalls that accompany the increased economic and political integration of the European Community. Historically, any move toward unification has had broad ramifications. This, coming as it does in the wake of recent democratic upheavals in Europe, will bring to a close an entire era -- an era of a world dominated by superpowers and the cold war that defined there confrontations.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Son of a Yugoslav diplomat, Bogdan Denis Denitch is an American sociologist who's an emeritus professor at the City University of New York. He's an authority on the political sociology of the Balkans. Active in democratic left politics, he's an honorary chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America, & has served as its representative to the Socialist Internat'l. From '83 thru '04 he organized the annual Socialist Scholars Conference in NY. Since the '90s he's been an advocate for human rights & an opponent of nationalism in the former Yugoslavia.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 Key Arguments:

1. The end of the Cold War will result in a new era of European power: “The year 1992 therefore represents one of those historic turning points that will effect far-reaching changes in how we think of the world. In short, just as it was “normal” to think of the world as essentially dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union, it will become commonplace to conceive of a Europe independent of the two superpowers. In short, the central paradigm of how we understand the world order will change.” (5)

2. The new Europe will be one dominated by the ideals of Social Democracy; “Social democracy, all its existing ambiguities and problems notwithstanding, seems destined, through a series of historical developments, to be the dominant organizational and ideological force in Western European politics for the foreseeable future.” (64)

3. It is important to examine transnational organisations such as the Socialist International for their symbolic importance and usefulness as networks: “Although these international institutions of the labor and socialist movement are often weak and largely symbolic, symbols are important, and they form a stable international network linking the social democratic institutions in a way that has no parallel for the bourgeois parties.” (9)

4. Social Democratic politics differ from those of the New Left primarily in their pursuit of the possible: “Unfortunately, the student New Left of the 1960s also joined the attack on political parties as such, fighting a limited good in the name of perfection. That after all was the meaning of the slogan in those magic days of May 1968 in Paris, “Be realistic, demand the impossible!” Today the most difficult task is to restore a coherent vision of a democratic and radical politics of the possible.” (12)

5. The biggest problem which Social Democracy faces is in mobilising passions:
“Familiarity with social democracy means that it is less traumatic for the middle classes and the capitalist class to accept, albeit reluctantly, social democratic electoral victories or governments as perhaps unpleasant but legitimate. That same familiarity, unfortunately for the Social Democratic parties, also fails to inspire mass mobilization from below. It also makes it increasingly difficult to keep recruiting and retaining young members and activists.” (66),
“Social Democrats do not promise the same chiliastic individual and collective fulfillment and engagement revolutionary movements do… It does not generate commitment among movement activists and intellectuals.” (66) and my favourite quote:
“Whatever else one can say about social democracy, it is not culturally exciting; it does not give the certainty of being on the side of the elect revolutionary cadre threatening bourgeoise society itself… it does not generate new fashions like pseudoguerilla costumes… posters of contemporary European leaders will never grace student dorms- none of them looks anywhere nearly as funky as Che Guevara, Angela Davis or Chairman Mao.” (67)

[Schacco · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a long time I haven't read such a shallow and empty book.

[Chris Sharpe]

1969