Episode 6 - Descent of the West

TIn this final programme Niall Ferguson shows how communism in Russia and eastern Europe finally gave way to capitalism, using images of the Berlin Wall crashing down in 1989. He explores the civil wars that followed, particularly in the former Yugoslavia, and the role that ethnicity played in the brutal violence of the early 1990s.

1979 was a key year for revolution and change. In fact, Niall mentions three revolutions that happened in that year. It was also the time when Margaret Thatcher came to power and started to introduce sweeping new policies, and when China began its free-market economic miracle. In Iran, the religious revolution began in this year as the Ayatollah Khomeini took control.

By the beginning of the 1990s, Mikhail Gorbachev had become the architect of the Soviet Union's collapse. His policies were to liberalise the economy towards capitalism (Perestroyka) and to open up political debate (Glasnost), and this led to the collapse of the Russian Empire within two years as neighbouring states turned to democracy and independence.

In the former Yugoslavia, Niall describes the events of the early 1990s, looking at the war in Bosnia in detail. The rise of Serbian Nationalism under Slobodan Milosevic led to a viscious campaign of ethnic violence against Bosnian Muslims who had made up two-fifths of the population. The town of Visegrad is just one of many where Muslims were massacred and women and girls raped. There had been 1,600 Muslims living in the town, but there are now only 100. On the official database, 92,000 Muslims have been listed as missing or killed during the war in Bosnia.

The economic miracle in China was the brainchild of Deng Xiaoping who, in 1978, decided to adopt free-market reforms. The Chinese succeeded where the Soviet Union failed – they managed to introduce capitalism to the economy whilst retaining total political control centrally. Now China is the fastest-growing economy in the world and a real match for USA power.

Globalisation now means that goods, services and people are moving easily between continents. With the migration of Muslim peoples to all major European cities to fulfil local economic needs, Niall describes these cities as the modern faultlines between cultures, where minority groups are integrated yet still vulnerable.

In his conclusion to the whole series, Niall cites the key elements that make up the formula for war in the 20th century: ethnic disintegration; economic volatility; and rivalry between superpowers and empires. It is no coincidence, he claims, that all the major conflicts of the 20th century have taken places at the fault-line between rising empire states and old declining empires. He warns us to learn from history to avoid past mistakes.

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

00.00 – 02.59

An introduction to the final programme of the series in which we see the Berlin Wall come down and the end of Communism in eastern Europe.

03.00 – 06.27

With a punk-rock soundtrack, we travel back to Britain in 1979 and see the impact of Margaret Thatcher and her radical new policies.

06.28 – 10.49

We see the rapid decline and fall of the Soviet Empire, and learn about the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev – Glasnost and Perestroyka.

10.50 – 16.38

The Balkan states emerge as communism gives way to capitalism. In Sarajevo, Niall describes the actions of Serb paramilitary death squads and the role of Slobodan Milosevic.

16.39 – 21.06

At the Bosnian town of Visegrad, we learn about the terrible fate of the Muslims in this region.

21.07 – 24.44

Niall describes the incidences of rape during the Bosnian conflict.

24.45 – 33.59

We learn how China was able to modernise its economic basis whilst retaining the Communist state.

34.00 – 39.25

Back to 1979, we witness the religious revolution in Iran as the Ayatollah Khomeini takes control. We see his policy of increasing the birth rate, at a time when the opposite is happening in Europe.

39.26 – 41.45

Ceuta in Spain – the frontline between North Africa and Europe – is the place where migrants enter Europe, both legally and illegally.

41.46 – 44.07

Niall looks back at the first stage of globalisation, before the First World War.

44.08 – 45.41

A reminder of the root causes of the wars of the 20th century and the lessons to be learnt if the same violence is to be avoided in the 21st century.

45.42 – 47.34

A summary of all the issues covered in this series.