The Fall of the Wall...20 Years Later

Twenty years is a long time and its been that long since one of the biggest moments in the last century. I was very young at the time and don't remember much of the night that the wall came down after twenty eight years. But I have seen videos and read about it and without it doubt, it was the defining moment in the Cold War.

The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 signaled the beginning of the end of communism in Europe and set off a domino effect to fall of the Cold War. And with a partnership with the Soviet Union. It brought about a transformation in Europe, which today is a whole and free and features a reunified Germany. However, not all is celebratory and smiles as there is division between Europe and the U.S. as to who brought about the change. There are questions whether the determination of an anti-communism approach by Ronald Reagan or the embrace of Eastern Europe from Western Europe was the main catalyst twenty years ago.

Looking at the U.S. angle and argument for why they were the catalyst for the fall of the wall and communism in Europe, it begins and ends with the presidency of Ronald Reagan. President Reagan and his military spending and hatred toward communism had much to do with the results of 1989. Also it is worth noting that globalization and democratization were heightened at the time that someone like Mikhail Gorbachev was inevitable to come into power. He was the difference in the U.S.-Soviet negotiations after years of conflicting personalities or a lack of leadership in the few years preceding Gorbachev. The end of the Cold War was brought about by "soft power" in the form of propaganda, diplomacy, and the Helsinki accords. Reagan's politics and nature were key, though, in how the Cold War was finally defused. In the U.S., there is the perspective then of us being firm and standing by our convictions of "tearing down that wall", but Europe disagrees. If 9 out of 10 Americans say that the U.S. was firm, 99% of Europeans would view the U.S. as soft and that is how the wall fell.

1989 and the fall of the Berlin Wall gave many Americans and Europeans a sense that it was possible that in the not too distant future there would be a crumbling of dictatorships and undemocratic societies through the same forces. Those being openness, economic liberalism, and strength behind the power of the people and select influential voices. Today, we can look back on that day and the events that lead up to that day and question how America has acted since. Some on the left would argue that President George W. Bush didn't learn from the 1980s with his use of force. While those on the right would argue that President Clinton and President Obama didn't learn either with their openness with totalitarian powers; whether it be China or Iran. However, there is agreement on both sides of the specialness of 1989.

The Soviet Union, now Russia, is not exactly a great friend to the U.S. and Europe, but the challenge there is a much safer one than twenty plus years ago. There is a feeling in Russia among many that Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, permitted the collapse of the empire to occur. Vladimir Putin, the former Prime Minister, called it the greatest geostrategic catastrophe of the last century. Putin's inability to willingly step aside echoes the viewpoint that things aren't as great as they could be twenty years later.

Russia remains a challenge for both the United States and Europe, but a much safer one, argues Sergei Karaganov, who leads the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy in Moscow and was an adviser to the Russian presidents Boris N. Yeltsin and Vladimir V. Putin. Many in Russia also argue that the end of the Warsaw Pact should have led to disbanding of NATO or at least not expanding the alliance to include states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. The U.S. came away from the end of the Cold War seeing itself as the victor conquering the Soviet Union and communism, but Russia does not see itself as the loser. At the time, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were the two superpowers of the world and the U.S. seemed to emerge as the unipolar nation. But today, we see the possibility of that ending especially if you ask many in Europe. That unipolarity led to a bit of arrogance on the part of the U.S. and after two wars and the struggles with them; that arrogance looks to be deflating a bit especially with new leadership over the last few years.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was viewed at the time as the end of something, but maybe it should have been viewed as more of the beginning of something. Hindsight is hard to gauge, but not viewing the fall as more of a beginning than an ending as led to many Western failures and faults. The U.S. not only feels heat from nations of Europe, but Russia, China, and India. All are big enough and have the capabilities to make the U.S. pay for errors on there part to not recognize that we aren't the sole superpower better than everyone else. America has prospered for the most part in the last twenty years, but it has at times forgot that they need others to be truly successful just as much as others need the United States.

For much of the last ten years, many in American leadership roles failed to notice the errors of their ways and failed to acknowledge or notice any decline. However, it is worth mentioning that things have not been great in Europe either. The European Union has struggled and has not been at agreement regarding creating a strong alliance. Western and Eastern Europe were supposed to be united after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but not much as changed overall since then. Europeans thought that 1989 would be a defining moment and a cause for celebration of things to come.

So, as we look back at the last twenty years and what November 9, 1989 meant; we can say that for that one night everything seemed perfect and right. Western Europe and Eastern Europe were reunited after several years apart. Communism looked to be over as did the Cold War. Russia and the U.S. looked to be embarking on a long a great friendship and partnership. Along with Russia, the U.S. looked to rekindle the glory of yester year of U.S. working with Europe to better each other along with the world. However, not everything has panned out as well as many might have been hoping that night. Russia has at times reverted away from the progress it seemed to be going forward with in the early 1990s. The U.S. has dealt with two wars and rough dealings with much of Europe along with other areas of the world. Twenty years ago, it seemed like the world was changed because a bad past was ending. Although, not enough took the time to view the fall of the wall as a new beginning as opposed to final ending. That is the biggest thing to take away twenty years later.