# America Between the Wars

The 12-year period between the end of the Cold War and the destruction of the Twin Towers was perceived as calm and peaceful. Yet foreign-policy experts say these were pivotal years in shaping America's role in the world. Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier examined those years in a lecture at the Library of Congress on their new book "America Between the Wars." The event was sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center at the Library. According to Chollet and Goldgeier, when the Berlin Wall collapsed on Nov. 9, 1989 - signaling the end of the Cold War - America and the West declared victory: democracy and free markets had prevailed and the United States emerged as the world's triumphant superpower. The finger-on-the-button tension that had defined a generation was over, and it seemed that peace was at hand. The next 12 years rolled by in a haze of self-congratulation, what some now call a "holiday from history." When that complacency shattered on September 11, confused Americans asked themselves: how did we get here? Chollet and Goldgeier examined how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the terrorist attacks shaped the events, arguments and politics of the world we live in today.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2008
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: War, History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687973/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021687973?play=1)