An Elusive New World Order, 1991–2005

The abrupt end of the Cold War in the late 1980s inspired hope that the material resources of the two superpowers and their respective allies could be redirected to address common human problems in a climate of cooperation and mutual support. But with the dissolution of the Soviet empire into 15 sovereign countries in 1991, the US was left as the world’s only power with a truly global reach. It quickly demonstrated that reach in the fall of 1991 by successfully leading a UN coalition of nations in a war to oust the Iraqi military from neighboring Kuwait. America’s preponderant wealth, technological prowess, and military might ensured that future international efforts to assist less-favored countries would most likely rely on its support. In a self-confident mood after the humbling of communism and the dethroning of command economies, politicians and pundits in the US affirmed that democratic political institutions and marketplace capitalism represented the universal road forward for all countries hoping to penetrate the envied portals of material affluence. President George H. W. Bush spoke optimistically of a “new world order” anchored in the proven values of Western political and economic thought.