After reading parts V and VI (chapters 14-18) in the Findley-Rothney textbook--this is a bit longer than the other paragaph reading--and my short note (below), answer the following question in a short paragraph of about one-half page in length:

How has the American understanding of democracy, as a political system, changed since 1945 with the emergence of more independent countries in the world?

In the viewpoint of many scholars who have studied the Western world, history since 1945 has primarily been seen as a hegemonic contest, winner-take-all, between democracy (representing the free world, the free market and free peoples), and communism (represented by the Iron Curtain, the planned market and not-so-free peoples).  That sort of "two camps" imagery can be traced back to the words of Winston Churchill in 1946. (See my remarks on the Cold War from HIS 242.)

Allegedly, with the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany and the elimination of the communist party monopoly of power in Russia--events that all occurred around 1990--democracy has won the battle.  That sort of simplistic view of contemporary history (It is so simplistic that I can't even begin to address it.) neglects to recognize the far more important processes that have been taking place in the world since 1945, namely the agricultural, medical, communication, green and technological revolutions and the decolonization process that involved much of the non-developed world (not to mention the worldwide spread of "pop" culture).  Indeed, the world today still faces fundamentally-critical problems that affect its future prospects for survival.