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-Iran is not an Arab country.

-The native language is Farsi.

-They are the descendants of the Persians

-Were conquered by the Arab in the 7th century

-It is the home of the minority Sheet.

-In Iran there is a Shi͛a majority.

-The Shea tradition has become the official religion of the Persian dynasties.

-These differences create a separate identity between the Arab countries.

During the first decade of the Cold War, Iran was led by a Shah, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. He made
efforts to modernize the country in a Western way. This is why the leaders rejected the modernizing
by the Shah.

-The leading critic was Ayatollah Komeiny ʹ opposes modernization and rejects the monarchy.

-1978 - Mass protests against the reforms. These are the larges protests at that time in history,
almost 2 million people.

-January 1979, the Shah goes into exile.

-The Ayatollah installs a Islamic republic. He had very good political skills; he takes advantages of 3
contexts.

-He uses 3 crises that appear in the Iranian political:

1. American Hostages 1979. The American Embassy is occupied by Islamic student led by the son of
Komeiny. The crisis was until 1981. It was a huge blow to the Americans. The crisis ended because of
the war between Iraq and Iran. Komeiny couldn͛t handle 2 enemies in the same time.

2. Sadam wanted to become the main regional power. He began this war due to the fact that in Iran
55% of the population are the Shi͛a muslims and 45% of Sunni.

-Sadam also wanted access to the gulf.

-Sadam couldn͛t rely on the loyalty of the Shi͛a soldier in the army.

-The majority of other Muslim countries supported Iraq.

3. The drafting of the constitution of Iran which transformed the country into an Islamic republic. A
religious leader had the power to interpret the Islamic law. He was the commander and chief of the
army. Most of the power was in the hand of the supreme religious leader.

-The war between Iraq and Iran lasted until 1988.

× „
-International politics is very different during and after the Cold War.

-In the end of the Cold War, no one in the Western academies, no theories of international relations
could predict that the Cold War was going to end.

-1988 ʹ They͛ve only foreseen that the main treat to the USA was the Soviet Union. They didn͛t think
the Cold War was going to end.

-In the 70s the USSR was not capable of maintaining the arms race.

-In the 70s huge oil reserves were discovered in the USSR.

-The oil prices rose in the 70s, so the USSR could cover its economic deficits.

-20% of the USSR͛s GDP was spent on defense.

-The Soviet economy was id not keep up with technological advances of Western Europe.

-The economic system was based on the 5 years plan, and during the 70s they saw it was not
sustainable anymore.

-During the 80s there is a rise of a new inteligencia.

-This new inteligencia is more and more politically active, but not necessarily in the party.

-There is an elite which is emanated in the KGB. The KGB has a more and higher influence on the
party; it manages to recruit people while still in university.

-During the 80s the KGB creates a network of research institutes, all young an capable people are
attracted by the KGB.

-The economic nomenclature controls the trade.

-Party nomenclature old oligarchs of the party, they are hated by the young.

-These social changes made evolution likely.

-Gorbachev managed to start a process of reform which transformed itself into a revolution. He
never wanted to dismantle the party or the Soviet Union, but these were the result of reforms
started by him.

-He continued some of the reforms started by Andropov. Like alcoholism.

-Gorbachev takes power in 1985 and began his campaign against of alcoholism.
-This campaign ultimately affected the dismantlement of USSR.

-Nagorno Karabach was a part of Azerbaijan. The peasants lived by producing vine. This campaign
against alcoholism deprived them of their income.

-Gorbachev also tried to promote technology, a chapter in which the USSR was behind the USA.

-He͛s main reform was the economic ʹ perestroika. Perestroika meant the end of the 5 year plan. The
economic nomenclature was pressing of decentralization. They would still belong by the state, but
were not controlled by the party. Now they didn͛t have the pressure of the state to produce, but
they didn͛t have any incent of how much to produce. Nobody was asking them to produce anything.

-Also he wanted to promote glasnost. Glasnost was at first intended as a political weapon. Gorbachev
tried to get rid of the old leaders of the party. He hoped that a greater openness to the public would
open doors for new party members.

-Glasnost allowed for the creation of informal groups, and some kind of civic organization, that in
time became political.

-During communism any kind of organization had to exist within the party. If you had a chest club it
was inside the party. There was no organized group outside of the party. Glasnost allowed groups to
exist outside of the party.

-1988 ʹ Fist political party ʹ Democratic Union.

-Now it was possible that delicate issues were discussed by the media. If you read the papers during
the beginning of 80s everything was nice in the USSR, but by the end of the 80s, with tanks of
Glasnost, problems started to be public.

-And promoted the new political thinking. After Gorbachev came into power, he replaced the foreign
minister Gromyko (1957-1985), by a very young a charismatic figure Shevardnadze.

-Gorbachev had very good relationships with Thatcher and Reagan.

-1985 ʹ Arms limitation.

-1987 ʹ Signed by Gorbachev and Reagan.

-In Gorbachev͛s opinion the 2 sides were interdependent.

-The fact was that the USSR couldn͛t support the arms race anymore. The costs were huge for the
USSR.

-When the USSR dismantled in 1991, the Cold War was already over.

-During 1987-1988 there are more and more street movement throughout the USSR, they are less
violently repressed than before. The strongest manifestations were in the Baltic Republics.

-In 1988 there were some civic movement created all through the republics named the popular
fronts.
-Gorbachev encouraged the creation of these civic movements; he thought this was a way to reform
the old system.

-These popular fronts were the main instruments for the independence of the republics. These fronts
became parties for independence.

-1988 ʹ Meeting of the communist party ʹ all the party secretary were not going to be appointed by
Moscow, but elected at the basis of the party (by the local party members).

-1989 ʹ Congress of the Party - First time in history there were several candidates to choose from. A
certain character emerged, Boris Yelstine.

-Everything that was rotten inside the Communist Party was brought to surface.

-The party had a leading role in the society; in 1989 there are protests in order to pressure to break
this role.

-February 1990 ʹ New constitution ʹ installs a presidential regime.

-February 1990 ʹ Gorbachev makes a new federal treaty.



-USA Patriot Act ʹ Uniting and Strengthening America. Providing appropriate tools required to
intercept and obstructs terrorism.

-October 2006 ʹ Military commission act. In 2008 it was declared unconstitutional.

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