Sample Solution

Philipp Ther, in his book An Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, offers an alternate explanation for the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War. Firstly, he argues that it was not Reagan’s aggressive stance but rather Gorbachev’s attempts at reforming Soviet society that began to weaken its grip on Eastern Bloc countries. He claims that this reform “unleashed a process of destabilization whose scope and rapidity were unforeseen” (Ther 2015, 12). In other words, his reforms had unintended consequences which allowed for greater freedom and autonomy within these nations.

Ther also suggests that during this period “historical forces [were] unleashed by long years of Communist rule” (Ther 2015, 217) which led to popular uprisings within East-Bloc countries and their subsequent independence movements. These mass demonstrations created a domino effect throughout the region as more people became emboldened to demand political change. Additionally, Ther highlights how economic stagnation further weakened the power of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe as they lost access to Western markets after 1989 (2015). All these factors combined meant that when Gorbachev finally removed Soviet troops from most eastern bloc nations in 1991 there was no longer any meaningful resistance against their dissolution into independent states.

In conclusion then, Philipp Ther presents an argument which paints a more complex picture than one often attributed to Ronald Reagan alone when looking at why communism collapsed so quickly in 1989-1991 across Eastern Bloc nations.