1989

8 articles tagged with 1989 were found.

Berlin and Europe 1989 and now

On May 13--14, 2019 the Körber History Forum took place, where some 200 experts on European history and politics had gathered in the capital of Germany to discuss current European affairs and global issues. In particular, the imminent threat of Russia and the historical roots of the return of “strong leaders” in European politics were in focus in this year’s debates.

By Joakim Ekman June 18, 2019

1989 as Utopia. elske rosenfeld on politics and longing

Elske Rosenfeld was 15 when the Berlin Wall came down. She realized that this was the end of the critical discourse that the citizens’ movements had brought to life in the GDR. When the 1990 election results were announced in the media, she cried. Today the topic of 1989 is her professional project as an artist.

By Unn Gustafsson April 11, 2011

GORBACHEV AND PERESTROIKA: A TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY PERSPECTIVE

Professor Archie Brown argues that Gorbachev was not selected as General Secretary because he was a reformer. He did at the time he became party leader believe both that the system was reformable and that it must be reformed. But he did not, however, reveal the full extent of his existing reformism on the eve of perestroika.

Essay by Archie Brown August 25, 2010

After the “German question”: A “Russian question” in Europe remains

Södertörn University held a conference on the legacies of 1989, “Recasting the Peaceful Revolution”. The predominating perspective during the entire conference: the fall of communism was the result of popular pressure and protest from below, not of great-power politics. Much was to be celebrated the automn of 2009.

By Anders Mellbourn February 24, 2010

The Fall of the Wall. Fifty Years of Waiting for the Right to Vote.

Joachim Gauck was 50 years old when he first voted in a free, democratic election in the GDR. A conversation about power and powerlessness, culpability, and reconciliation. The opposite of Communism is individualism, he states.

By Anders Mellbourn February 19, 2010

Turning a blind Eye to the Obvious

István Rév opens the door to the Open Society Archives for a discussion about bloodshed as a poor gauge of a revolution, about honesty and decency as rare commodities, and about populism and utopianism.

By Anders Björnsson February 19, 2010

An economic explanation of 1989. When debt-ridden elites left the scene

In the fall of 2009, Uncivil Society: 1989 and the Implosion of the Communist Establishment by Stephen Kotkin was published. The book offers a new interpretation of the causes behind the Eastern European collapse of 1989, utilizing structural and economic explanations.

By AnuMai Kõll February 19, 2010

A Process of No Return. Responses within the European Community to the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Prospect of German Reunification

World leaders discussed things behind the scenes. Thatcher but also Mitterrand were against German reunification. An analysis of documents shows how Kohl managed to get the EU’s acceptance.

Essay by Karl Magnus Johansson February 12, 2010